NEW YORK, NY - The Dermot Company, Inc. and its partner, the AFL-CIO Building Investment Trust, announce the acquisition and groundbreaking of 21 West End Avenue, which is located at the southwest corner of West 61st Street and West End Avenue. This 43-story building will be LEED certified and have 616 rental apartments, with over 30,000 square feet of extraordinary amenities for its residents, a four-story New York City public school for children pre-kindergarten through 8th grade, and 23,725 square feet of retail space.
"We're very excited about bringing this special building to the Upper West Side," said Stephen N. Benjamin , COO of The Dermot Company. "We believe that 21 West End Avenue will generate strong interest for renters on the Upper West Side, and the new public school will be a great benefit for the building residents and others in the neighborhood."
The 112,440-square-foot public school, which will be turned over to the School Construction Authority ("SCA") to complete interior fit-out, is expected to be open for the 2016 school year. The pre-kindergarten through grade eight school will offer general education classrooms, a gym and auditorium, a science laboratory, a library and more. There will be two open play areas on separate roof terraces. The school will be built to comply with the SCA Green Schools requirements. "I look forward to working in this public-private partnership, which will provide a brand new school for our students," said Lorraine Grillo , President and Chief Executive Office of the School Construction Authority. "It will include state-of-the-art school construction with sustainability in mind."
This is the fourth project in which the AFL-CIO BIT has invested with Dermot and is the BIT's twelfth investment in New York City. "The BIT is excited to be making this investment in New York and to participate in the creation of additional jobs," remarked Kevin McCarthy , President of PNC Realty Investors, Inc., the investment advisor for the BIT. "In addition to being a prudent investment for the BIT, 21 West End Avenue will create over 2,000 jobs for the skilled men and women of the New York Building Trades."
The Dermot Company and the BIT envision 21 West End Avenue as the most visually attractive and elegant new rental building on the Upper West Side. "We expect that the tenants at 21 West End Avenue will really enjoy the superior interior finishes and amenities in the building," added Benjamin.
Utilizing the most advanced lighting technology, the lobby's digital waterfall will light-up with designs displayed on the surface of falling water. Residents will also enjoy an extensive amenity package, including a 60-foot, custom shaped swimming pool and separate hot tub, a 21,000-square-foot fitness center, a yoga and dance room, a private wine bar and lounge, a children's play area, a hobby room, a dog grooming area and other inviting features that will be available exclusively to the tenants in the building.
Apartment homes will include floor-to-ceiling windows, washers and dryers, walk-in closets, hardwood flooring, stainless-steel kitchen appliances and high-end kitchen and bathroom finishes and fixtures. Views from the apartment homes will showcase the Hudson River and vast cityscapes.
21 West End Avenue will be built under the New York State Housing Finance Agency's 80/20 Program. The completed property will have 616 units of which 489 units (80%) will be market-rate and 127 units (20%) will be low-income units with a mixture of studio, one-bedroom, two-bedroom and three-bedroom apartments. The 80/20 Program uses long-term 34-year, tax-exempt bonds to create affordable housing for low-income tenants in residential locations throughout New York City.
The $275 million bond offering will be used to finance the construction and lease-up of 21 West End Avenue. Bank of America, N.A. and Capital One, N.A. served as joint book runners and joint lead arrangers for the letter of credit providing credit enhancement for the bond issuance.
"Bank of America Merrill Lynch is pleased to support our friends at The Dermot Company and play a role in bringing this remarkable development to the Upper West Side," said Brad Dubeck , Senior Vice President Bank of America Merrill Lynch.
Construction has commenced at the property and completion is anticipated by June 2015. 21 West End Avenue is the first building of the five-building Riverside Center Master Development plan approved in December 2010.