S&B gets competition on $160m construction loan.

Richard Bassuk, president of The Singer and Bassuk Organization announced the closing of a $159.4 million construction loan for 225 East 34th Street, a 191-unit, 251,600 s/f residential condominium project to be built on 34th Street, between Second and Third Avenues.

A portion of the proceeds for this transaction will be applied towards repaying a $45.3 million bridge loan provided by Bank of America, which SBO previously arranged for the project.

SBO arranged the construction financing for a joint venture consisting of LCOR Residential LLC and a major West Coast pension fund. HSBC Securities (USA) was the lead lender in providing construction financing in the amount of $159,435,000,000, with the Union Labor Life Insurance Company (ULLICO) as co-lead lender.

"In arranging the financing, we created keen competition between various lenders for the right to provide the financing for the project. The financing provided by HSBC and ULLICO exceeded the borrower's original expectations," said Bassuk.

"The substantial interest shown by the lending community is a testimony to the developers and their vision for the project and the community."

Kurt Eichler, executive vice president of LCOR, said "SBO acted as our financial advisor from the beginning of the project and provided us with both insight and assistance in the project's financing and other project areas.

"SBO was able to obtain extremely attractive offers from various lenders regarding structure, proceeds and pricing. Both HSBC and ULLICO were a pleasure to deal with, and these lenders met our requirements in a highly professional and cooperative manner. We look forward to working with them on future transactions."

David Sigman, senior vice president of LCOR, added "This transaction reinforced my belief that SBO provides owners and developers with the highest level of service available in the industry.

"These services include not only insight and knowledge of the lending community, but also analytical, processing and brokerage services, as well as advice on the structuring of the transaction and, above all, unmatched hands-on attention to all relevant details."