Houlihan Parnes Realtors and Q10 New York are pleased to announce the closing of a first mortgage loan in the amount of $50,000,000 secured by Two Fordham Square, a 250,000 square foot 4 & partial 5-story mixed-use, office and retail building located at the “Crossroads of the Bronx”- Fordham Road and The Grand Concourse. The borrower is a partnership comprised of the partners of Houlihan Parnes and members of the Jemal family, headed by Jack and Sam Jemal. The non-recourse PAR loan was placed with a major NY bank for a term of seven (7) years. The interest rate was locked for the full term of the loan at 3.94% and provided for 2-years of IO with amortization based on a 30-year schedule thereafter. The borrower has the privilege to prepay the loan without penalty during the final 60-days of the loan term. The lender won the business based on its highly competitive loan terms and it uncanny knowledge and understanding of the Bronx commercial mortgage market.

Two Fordham Square underwent a total gut renovation by the borrowers 9 years ago when they acquired a then totally vacant building. It had housed both the former Alexander’s and Caldor department stores which vacated the building in 1993 and 1997, respectively. The borrowers successfully leased the building within months of the completed renovation to a mix of national, regional and local retailers all of whom signed long-term leases and who occupy prime ground floor and lower level space (e.g. P.C. Richard, Marshalls (TJX) and Bally Fitness). The building offers 3-1/2 floors of highly desirable Class A office space with 52,000 sf floor-plates, a rarity in the area. The demand for quality office space in the Bronx continues to be extremely strong as evidenced by the fact the building has always been 100% occupied. The building’s prime location is a strong draw and appeals to the existing office tenants in the building, several of whom are state and city-related agencies, including CUNY on the Concourse, Local 1199 Health & Hospital Workers Union and A.C.S.

Elizabeth Smith, Esq. of Goldberg Weprin Finkel Goldstein, LLP represented the borrower. Title was insured by Chicago Title and All New York Title Agency, Inc. The loan was placed by a team of mortgage brokers lead by Jeanne Cronin, Mike O’Neill, Jerry Houlihan and Kelly Houlihan of Houlihan Parnes and Q10NY.