Extell Refinances First Phase of Hudson Piers in Yonkers With $185M NewBridge Loan

• NewBridge Lending and Meridian Capital refinance Phase I of Extell's Hudson Piers in Yonkers
• $185M replaces a Wells Fargo construction loan and mezzanine debt
• Covers 369 units across two seven-story buildings, Piers 3 and 4
• Works out to roughly $501,000 per unit on the phase alone

Gary Barnett is wagering that Yonkers becomes New York City renters' next escape valve, and NewBridge Lending just underwrote that bet with $185 million.

The Refinancing

NewBridge Lending, the bridge-to-agency lender co-designed with Meridian Capital Group, closed a $185 million refinancing on Phase I of Extell Development Company's Hudson Piers, the waterfront rental project at 45 and 55 Riverside Drive in downtown Yonkers. The loan pays off an existing construction loan from Wells Fargo along with mezzanine debt, and it's built to support the property through lease-up rather than force a near-term takeout. Meridian's Zev Karpel, Elliot Birnbaum and Ariel Taieb placed the deal.

Phase I is two seven-story, mixed-use buildings, known internally as Piers 3 and 4, totaling 369 luxury rentals with ground-floor retail and on-site parking. Pier 3 has already topped out and is leasing, with studios starting around $2,000 and three-bedrooms near $5,000. Pier 4 is still under construction. At $185 million against 369 units, the loan pencils to roughly $501,000 per unit, a number that reflects both construction cost and the value of an asset already generating rent roll on one of its two buildings.

"This was a highly structured transaction with several moving parts. Extell brought a clear vision and a deep commitment to executing on it, and NewBridge appreciated the nuance of each component of the transaction," said Zev Karpel, Executive Vice President, Head of Agency and Proprietary Lending, Meridian Capital Group.

Inside Phase I

The 369 units sit along the Hudson River across from the Palisades, with Manhattan skyline views and a walk to the Yonkers Metro-North station, about 30 minutes by train to Grand Central. Extell built out the amenity package to compete with the city rents it's undercutting: a waterfront pool with grilling stations, a spin studio, landscaped terraces with fire pits and hammocks, a bocce court, a dog park, a private screening room, a teen room and game room, and 24-hour concierge service.

A New Lender Building a Track Record

NewBridge is young. Founded roughly a year ago by former Wells Fargo executive Stender Sweeney and built with Meridian to offer bridge-to-agency loans running up to 30 months, the Hudson Piers deal is its third financing arranged through Meridian, following a $50 million refinancing in May for a 671-unit complex in Washington, D.C. That a de novo lender is now underwriting a $185 million check on a partially delivered Westchester waterfront project signals real appetite for transitional multifamily debt outside the five boroughs.

Hudson Piers isn't trading in a vacuum, either. Up the river in Sleepy Hollow, Walker & Dunlop arranged $237.5 million this spring to refinance Edge-on-Hudson, another Hudson River mixed-use community, evidence that lenders are increasingly comfortable sizing large refinancings against waterfront product in the lower Hudson Valley rather than just Manhattan and Brooklyn.

Phase I is the leading edge of a much larger bet. Hudson Piers is set to grow to six buildings, 1,400 apartments and four public parks along a newly extended 1.5-mile waterfront promenade, a roughly $585 million buildout on a 17.4-acre site that sat unused for decades. Yonkers granted the project a 20-year PILOT and a full abatement on improvement taxes, the largest incentive package the city's IDA has ever awarded a residential development.

"Extell is pleased to have concluded the refinancing of our first phase of Hudson Piers where our residents are enjoying the natural beauty of the waterfront along with a luxurious, quality lifestyle, all at rents that are a fraction of today's New York City rents," said Moshe Botnick, Senior Vice President of Development at Extell Development Company.

What's Next

Pier 4 construction continues alongside Pier 3's lease-up, with Extell still working toward the project's remaining phases and its full 1,400-unit build-out. The refinancing gives Extell room to keep leasing Phase I on its own timeline rather than racing a maturing construction loan, and it hands NewBridge a marquee name to point to as it builds out its bridge-to-agency book.