Simonowitz of Berko arranges construction financing – $4.15 million

Alan Simonowitz, a director at Berko & Associates has arranged for a $4.15 million in construction financing for a ground up development of a 6-story mixed-use building in the Astoria neighborhood. The building, located at 2751-53 Crescent St., will contain 25,880 s/f and be made up of 16 rental apartment units and four medical office spaces.

The financing was arranged for the borrower, Crescent of Astoria Holdings LLC, with a national lender who according to Simonowitz, “loved the transaction because of the strong residential market in Astoria and the site’s close proximity to Mt. Sinai Queens Hospital.” Despite the still relatively tight and conservative construction lending environment, Simonowitz arranged for the funding at a competitive interest rate and favorably high loan to cost. “This transaction was completed due to the exemplary track record of the borrower and a construction lender ready to invest in sensible opportunities,” said Simonowitz, a 23-year veteran of the real estate industry, who has arranged for nearly a billion dollar in debt, equity and mezzanine financing as both an intermediary and as a principal.