Lendlease Ramps Up Development Plans With Big Greenpoint Acquisition
In a shot in the arm for the city’s frozen investment sales market, construction giant Lendlease has closed on a major land deal in Greenpoint.
Lendlease, with Australian pension fund Aware Super, paid $110.8M for the site at 1 Java St. in Brooklyn, the firm announced. The site spans 2.6 acres and is slated to become home to 800 new units, 30% of which will be affordable. The seller was JZ Capital Partners, according to The Australian Financial Review.
The sellers, which were not named in the release, are keeping a minority stake in the site, according to Lendlease.
The company will be making use of the Affordable New York Housing program, the replacement for 421a.
“The acquisition of this significant waterfront site at 1 Java further demonstrates Lendlease’s prowess to creatively unlock sites for development,” Lendlease New York Development Executive General Manager Melissa Román Burch said in a prepared statement.
“By drawing upon our proven placemaking capabilities, Lendlease will transform this underutilized site into a vibrant mixed-income and mixed-use community, and further build upon our 40-year track record of construction, development and investment in New York City.”
Lendlease formed a partnership with Aware two years ago to create the $2B Lendlease Americas Residential Partnership, which aims to develop and hold multifamily assets in targeted cities like Chicago, Boston and New York City.
Lendlease, headquartered in Sydney, has been working to broaden into development in the U.S. in recent years. It co-developed the Rafael Viñoly-designed luxury condo tower 277 Fifth Ave. with Victor Group. This summer, the firm locked down $250M in financing for a major mixed-use project it is building with L+M Development Partners on the Upper West Side.
“Lendlease believes in, and is committed to, long-term opportunities in New York and our other target U.S. gateway cities,” Lendlease Property Managing Director Jason Alderman said in the statement. “Everything that has always made New York a special place — its cultural activities, diversity, dining and entertainment, and most importantly the people who come to the city to make connections in their professional and personal lives — will endure beyond the current market challenges.”
