Dive Brief:

• Developer GID and partner Henley Holding Co., a subsidiary of the Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, have secured $1.24 billion in construction loans from a Wells Fargo-led bank syndicate to fund the development of the luxury 1,132-unit Waterline Square on Manhattan's West Side, according to The Wall Street Journal.

• The deal is part of a $2.3 billion financing package, which includes equity investments from GID and Henley, at a time when getting banks to finance such a large majority of construction costs can be a challenge.  

• The project is slated for completion in 2019 and will include rental apartments and condominiums. The design team includes architects Rafael Vinoly, Richard Meier & Partners Architects and Kohn Pedersen Fox, the Real Deal reported.

Dive Insight:

The Waterline Square development will include sports and leisure facilities in addition to a park. The developer will claim the 421-a tax abatement in exchange for making 20% of the units available to qualifying residents at below-market rates, The Journal reported.

Although major urban centers like New York City are in the grips of an affordable housing shortage, luxury projects are coming online as developers eye the attractive margins of and demand for higher-end projects.

Earlier this year, Extell Development Co. unveiled plans for a $3 billion, 1,550-foot-tall luxury residential complex in New York, the Central Park Tower, which will be the tallest residential building in the Western Hemisphere when finished.

In some markets, however, the appetite for luxury residential projects may be subsiding as the lending environment cools nationwide and land prices climb amid competition for the remaining prime real estate. In Miami, The Related Group was recently forced to delay construction on its Auberge Residences & Spa Miami project in response to sluggish presales amid a lack of foreign buyers.

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