Saffioti and Tapper of Eastern Consolidated arrange equity partnership to fund $66 million sale

In a transaction that will result in one of the largest urban-style, mixed-use development sites in Williamsburg, the sale of the Bedford portfolio comprised of several contiguous parcels spanning nearly the entire city block on Bedford Ave., has closed for a price of $66 million. The Bedford Ave. parcels consist of 50,000 s/f of retail space, 39 residential units, plus a 5,000 s/f vacant lot. Eastern Consolidated directors Gabe Saffioti and Benjamin Tapper introduced Waterbridge Capital to RedSky Capital, arranging a joint venture partnership between the two, for the purposes of financing the acquisition. RedSky will act as the manager of the joint venture. "For this transaction to close by a date certain set by the seller The Backer Group, we quickly brought Waterbridge, together with RedSky to procure the appropriate equity partners to finance and close the deal," said Saffioti. "The deal had many moving parts, we were pressured to come up with a minimum of $22 million of equity within a matter of days, and fortunately both parties agreed to terms because they understood the huge potential to maximize the underlying value of these assets in the future." Cooper-Horowitz's Richard Horowitz and Mark Niman sourced the senior debt for the Bedford Ave. portfolio, eventually placing $51 million in debt on the parcels. David Felt, Esq. acted for the buyer, Waterbridge Capital LLC with Dennis Sughrue, Esq. of Herrick Feinstein, while Mark Nussbaum of Altman Schocket LLP acted for the seller, The Backer Group and Jonathan Bernstein, Esq. represented RedSky Capital LLC and The Jordan Group. Kaye Scholer's Trevor Owens Esq. represented Jefferies LoanCore who financed the senior debt on the Bedford Ave. portfolio. Waterbridge's president Joel Schreiber acted quickly maintaining an underlying belief in the neighborhood's upside potential and a strong desire to tie up the parcels and seek partners with experience in the Williamsburg sub-market. Williamsburg is a unique market, one with extremely strong demand and very little availability. "The property's average in-place rent on Bedford is $54 per s/f, however market rents along Bedford are three to four times that amount, demonstrating the significant upside potential of this asset" said David Kessler, the director of acquisitions of Waterbridge Capital. "With 175 feet on Bedford, we have the ability to offer tenants anywhere from 1,000 s/f to 10,000 s/f. This parcel is the only one available along Bedford that offers both big box retailers and local businesses retail space of this scale," he added. Ultimately, the contiguous sites will become a key mixed-use landmark for Williamsburg, spanning nearly the entire block on Bedford Ave. between North 3rd and North 4th Sts., extending east to Driggs Ave. The new owners are looking to lease retail space to a collection of fashion retailers, necessity retailers, and restaurant tenants.