JLL Capital Markets has arranged $156 million in construction financing for the adaptive re-use of 45-18 Court Square into a Class A, state-of-the-art life science building in Long Island City.
JLL worked on behalf of a joint venture between affiliates of King Street Properties, GFP Real Estate and funds managed by The Carlyle Group, to secure the construction loan through ACORE Capital.
45-18 Court Square currently comprises a 161,000 s/f, six-story office building that is suited for a life science conversion due to its floor plates, floor loading capacity, freight elevator configuration, basement for equipment/storage and additional as-of right development potential of up to 106,000 s/f.
The asset will be redeveloped into a best-in-class, purpose-built lab facility by constructing a four-story addition above an existing, two-story annex and two six-story ground-up components in existing, vacant parking lots.
Occupying the entire block between Court Square West and Pearson Street, the project is positioned in the heart of Long Island City, a live-work-play community that is directly across the East River from Midtown Manhattan.
Long Island City is one of the fastest growing neighborhoods in the U.S. and the building is directly adjacent to seven subway lines, with access to both Grand Central and Penn Station, a short walk from the Long Island Railroad and NYC Ferry, and a short drive to JFK and LaGuardia airports.
45-18 Court Square is well-located in relation to the life science institutions concentrated on the east side of Manhattan and the Cornell Tech Campus on nearby Roosevelt Island.
The JLL Capital Markets team representing the joint venture was led by Managing Directors Greg LaBine and Steven Klein, Senior Director Geoff Goldstein and Associate Alex Staikos.
“45-18 Court Square is positioned to be the preeminent purpose-built lab product in the market, developed and operated by a best-in-class team, and ideally located in epicenter of Long Island City offering unparalleled access to New York City’s research institutions and highly educated workforce,” said Klein.
“Additionally, the property will be delivered into an environment of limited supply and strong pent up demand fueled, in part, by the city’s burgeoning life science incubators.”
“JLL was pleased to be able to continue its long-standing relationship with the borrower in assisting them in entering a new and exciting market in which they expectt to grow their portfolio of top quality, life science real estate,” added LaBine.
