By: Benyamin Davidsons
The Related Cos. and Hudson Cos. have inked a major financing deal which will enable the developers to move forward with construction of the last planned building in the Riverwalk complex.
As reported by Crain’s NY, the developers have reached an agreement to receive $185 million in construction financing for Riverwalk 9. The companies confirmed with Crain’s on Monday that thanks to the deal, they are executing their ground lease for the site with the Roosevelt Island Operating Corp. Some $111 million of the financing package came from Wells Fargo Bank, while the remaining amount came from Related and Hudson themselves, along with other private funding.
The project is a luxury residential rental project at Riverwalk Crossing on Roosevelt Island. This is the ninth residential building in the 19-acre project, with a total of over 2,000 residences, 40 percent of which are affordable. The Roosevelt Island Operating Corp. designated the joint venture of Related and Hudson back in 1997 to partner them on the general development plan for the island. The two firms also own 90,000 square feet of retail space, spanning across 33 stores on Main Street. The 9-building complex also includes retail, restaurants and parks.
Riverwalk 9, located at 430 Main St., is planned as a 28-story building. “The start of work on Riverwalk 9 marks the culmination of a quarter century of work with our partner to build an entirely new and thriving neighborhood on Roosevelt Island,” Hudson Cos. CEO David Kramer said in a statement.
As per Crain’s, the building will offer 253 market-rate apartments, and 104 homes designated as housing for employees at the nearby Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center. The building’s ground floors will feature office space for the Roosevelt Island Operating Corp. Amenities for residents at the luxury building will include a basketball court, a fitness center and a party room. There will also be amenities shared in a common area between the eighth and ninth buildings—which will include a dog run and outdoor grilling space.
Handel Architects has been tapped for the project’s design and Monadnock Construction will be building it. Construction at the final building is expected to begin in the next few weeks. The project is slated for completion in mid-2025.
The project hopes to transform Roosevelt Island into an up-and-coming residential neighborhood, just minutes from Midtown Manhattan, boasting peaceful surroundings and panoramic views of New York City, including the Manhattan skyline and the East River. Roosevelt Island also got its first hotel last year. The Graduate, is a 18-story, 224-key hotel across the street from the Cornell Tech University campus.