Olnick Lands $171M Loan For Lenox Terrace
Olnick Organization landed a loan to refinance its Lenox Terrace, years after a bid to expand the six-building Harlem multifamily campus complex fell flat.
Chase Bank provided a $170.5 million balance sheet loan for 484 Malcolm X Boulevard, the 1,700-unit complex developed by Robert Olnick. Walker & Dunlop’s Jonathan Schwartz, Aaron Appel and Michael Ianno arranged the financing on behalf of the landlord. The fresh debt replaced the existing loan from Capital One.
Lenox Terrace was Olnick’s first major development and was built as part of a Harlem urban renewal effort spearheaded by city planner Robert Moses. The six 16-story buildings were completed in 1958 and 80 percent of the apartments are rent-stabilized. Olnick has retained ownership of the complex and the surrounding 15-acre site since its development.
Olnick tried for years to upsize the complex, which occupies three blocks between Fifth and Lenox avenues and West 132nd and 135th streets. The developer first floated an expansion in 2003, and later called for additional apartment buildings on the site.
Olnick proposed to build an additional 1,600 units across five new rental apartment buildings, 400 of which would have been affordable. But a City Council subcommittee in 2020 unanimously rejected the zoning change the developer sought. The Land Use Committee followed with its own unanimous rejection, and the applications were ultimately withdrawn.
Some community members opposed the expansion, saying adding new units to the local housing supply would accelerate gentrification and displacement. Residents also objected to the size of the proposed buildings and the inconvenience of construction.
There are no indications that Olnick plans to revive its attempt for a larger development, but the city’s new Expedited Land Use Review Procedure (Elurp) could make it easier to get approvals. The new ballot measure speeds up the approval process for rezonings. The city also created an appeals board that can reverse City Council rejections of projects that add affordable housing.
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