JLL arranges $230M refinancing for new Lionsgate Studios in Yonkers

NEW YORK, April 4, 2022 - JLL Capital Markets announced today that it has arranged a $230 million refinancing for Lionsgate Studios Yonkers, a 500,000 square foot, state-of-the-art film production complex at 28 Wells Avenue in Yonkers.

JLL worked on behalf of the borrower, National Resources, a Connecticut-based developer and one of the largest private owners of Hudson River waterfront in the New York metro region, to originate the five-year, fully extended loan. The funding will allow the sponsor to repay a construction loan originated for phase one of the project.

National Resources is an investment partner in the studio venture with Lionsgate and UK-based Great Point Capital Management, a media-focused investment fund run by Hallmark Channel founder Robert Halmi, and Fehmi Zeko. Phase one opened in January 2022, coinciding with an announcement from Great Point Capital Management that it planned a $500 million expansion that will position the facility as the largest modern-built film and television production campus in the Northeast.

The transaction covers the latest component of the expanding production complex. When completed, the one-million-square-foot development will have more 20,000-square-foot stages on one campus than any other facility in the Northeast. It will have 11 soundstages: eight 20,000-square-foot stages, two 10,000-square-foot stages and a 30,000 square-foot stage. It will also include parking for more than 750 cars and 100 trucks.

A JLL Capital Markets team lead by Managing Directors Michael Zaremski and Michael Shmuely, Vice President John Flynn and Associate Jimmy Cochran represented the borrower.

“We are pleased to have arranged financing for this ambitious development that will bring new jobs, economic activity and a little bit of movie magic to Yonkers,” said Zaremski. “National Resources has been a leading force in the transformation of some of America's largest former industrial sites into vibrant workplaces and the company’s plans will benefit Yonkers and the region.”

JLL Capital Markets is a full-service global provider of capital solutions for real estate investors and occupiers. The firm’s in-depth local market and global investor knowledge delivers the best-in-class solutions for clients — whether investment sales and advisory, debt advisory, equity advisory or a recapitalization. The firm has more than 3,000 Capital Markets specialists worldwide with offices in nearly 50 countries.

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