Claremont Development has secured a $16 million loan for the acquisition and pre-development financing of St. Lucy’s Tower and construction financing for a 56,000 s/f shelter in Jersey City.
Cushman & Wakefield served as the exclusive adviser to Claremont in securing the loan from Lionheart Strategic Management. An Equity, Debt & Structured Finance team of John Alascio, Chuck Kohaut, TJ Sullivan, and Zachary Kraft represented the borrower.
Built in 1884 for the former St. Lucy’s Church at 619 Grove Street, the 23-story mixed-use redevelopment will include 444 residential units, 5,600 s/f of ground floor commercial space, a five-story parking deck and 18,500 s/f of indoor and outdoor amenity space (rendering top).
Across the street at 610-620 Grove Street, a 56,000 s/f shelter will include community facilities, space for administrative and counseling services and a homeless shelter operated by Catholic Charities. Completion is slated for the fourth quarter of 2022.
Mayor Steven Fulop joined the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Newark, Catholic Charities, Claremont Development, and Arc Building Partners to officially begin construction on the development last week (picture above).
“With this groundbreaking, we’re building a safe space that will not only provide food and shelter for those in need, but we’re also utilizing St. Lucy’s established success as the foundation to build a brighter, more prosperous future for our neediest residents and families for generations to come,” said Mayor Fulop.
“As we work collectively to eradicate homelessness, the City is committing over $2 million in grant funding to help expand beyond traditional shelter services to also include more permanent housing options and transitional support as well as everyday necessities that better address the health and well-being of our most vulnerable residents.”
The newly expanded St. Lucy’s campus will feature a total of 165 beds for individuals who are homeless, 14 units of transitional housing for individuals with HIV, five permanent supportive housing units specifically for families, and 15 permanent affordable housing studio apartments. The housing and public services site also provide its temporary and permanent residents with access to comprehensive case management services offered on-site, with the goal being to help the individual find permanent housing, find employment, and address any other needs that they may have, such as physical health, mental health, or substance use.
In the new shelter, Catholic Charities will have staff offices on the second floor where clients can be seen. The second floor will also include a drop-in area for nonresidents in need who can utilize St. Lucy’s services for showers, meals, and the new laundry facilities.
The St. Lucy’s Public Benefit Project and related St. Lucy’s Tower development effort has been underway since 2015 and includes a series of now complete property exchanges, zoning approvals, and overall planning consent.
“It’s amazing to see several years of hard work come together in a project kickoff moment like this, especially with the amount of different governing agencies, local interest groups, stakeholders, professionals and partners that have been intricately involved in this process to get us where we are today.” said Maximilian Dorne, Partner at Claremont Development. “We know the St. Lucy’s Project is the important first step in reimagining the entire development site, and we couldn’t be more excited to begin seeing this project come to fruition.”
“This development is yet another example of the type of community-centric, high-profile projects that we love to help build—because efforts like this really do make a difference for local residents,” said Frank Ciminelli, President and CEO of Arc Building Partners. “As part of our role as project partner and in coordination with the St. Lucy’s groundbreaking festivities, we are also pleased to share that Arc Building Partners will be donating two vehicles—separate Ford truck models from 2015 and a 2019 (valued at $40,000)—to help support Catholic Charities’ ongoing transport needs. The donation will include a $1,000 fuel card for usage with the vehicles as well.”
The current construction schedule calls for expected build-out completion by late-2022 or early-2023.
