Dive Brief:
- Renderings for the Lightstone Group's new David Adjaye–designed, $700 million New York City luxury condominium tower have been unveiled by The Real Deal.
- The 750-foot-tall skyscraper will offer 228-244 units, with prices ranging from $630,000 to $4.7 million, according to Dezeen. The exterior will feature a golden facade with arched windows along the length of the building.
- This is Adjaye's first skyscraper in New York City. His U.S. projects include the Museum of Contemporary Art in Denver and the National Museum of African American History and Culture in Washington, DC, which opened last year.
Dive Insight:
Adjaye, who also designed the Sugar Hill affordable housing development in Harlem, was featured in Time magazine's list of the 100 most influential people in 2017.
In March, Lightstone announced that it had secured a $305 million construction loan for the 130 William Street project, an impressive feat given the tight lending market for high-end luxury condo projects. The company said the cash infusion would pay for half the construction costs.
Lightstone plans to finance $112.5 million of construction using its own money and land equity but is also pursuing $100 million in EB-5 program funding from investors in China and Vietnam, according to The Real Deal.
The controversial investment program allows foreign investors to put between $500,000 and $1 million into qualified U.S. projects in return for expedited processing of their green card applications. There are 10,000 EB-5 visas allocated each year by the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Service, and \ the majority of investors come from China.
Major developers utilize the program, and Hudson Yards developer Related Cos. reportedly raised $600 million using that method. The company has also spent $1.4 million for lobbying efforts in support of expanding, or at least maintaining, the EB-5 option.
