Long Island City life science project receives $156M financing

NEW YORK CITY, January 9, 2020 – JLL Capital Markets announced today that it 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 the Long Island City neighborhood of Queens, New York.

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-square-foot, six-story office building that is ideally suited for a life science conversion due to its desirable floor plates, ample floor loading capacity, freight elevator configuration, basement for equipment/storage and additional as-of right development potential of up to 106,000 square feet. 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 offers an abundance of neighborhood amenities such as dining, cultural institutions and greenspace. The transit-oriented building is directly adjacent to seven subway lines, with easy 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. Additionally, 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 expect to grow their portfolio of top quality, life science real estate,” added LaBine.

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 advisory, debt placement, equity placement or a recapitalization. The firm has more than 3,700 Capital Markets specialists worldwide with offices in nearly 50 countries.

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King Street Properties has a 17-year track record of successful life sciences transactions with a primary focus in adaptive re-use and ground up life science development. As the largest private owner of science-based real estate in the world’s preeminent life science cluster, greater Boston, the firm's highly experienced principals possess unrivaled expertise and longstanding connections with all industry stakeholders.

Committed to building a better New York since 1952, GFP Real Estate is a vertically integrated owner, operator, property manager and developer of commercial real estate in the New York metropolitan area. With over 50 buildings and more than 11 million square feet under ownership, GFPRE’s portfolio includes some of New York’s most iconic real estate assets.

The Carlyle Group is a global investment firm with deep industry expertise that deploys private capital across four business segments: Corporate Private Equity, Real Assets, Global Credit, and Investment Solutions. With $222 billion of assets under management as of September 30, 2019, Carlyle's purpose is to invest wisely and create value on behalf of its investors, portfolio companies and the communities in which we live and invest. The Carlyle Group employs more than 1,775 people in 33 offices across six continents.