Savanna Secures $264M in Financing for Brooklyn Project

141 Willoughby. Rendering courtesy of Savanna

Real estate investment manager Savanna has closed on $264 million of debt financing for its office and retail development project in downtown Brooklyn, 141 Willoughby.

A group of lenders including funds managed by CarVal Investors provided the financing for the 400,000-square-foot building, which broke ground in late 2020.

JLL’s Aaron Niedermayer and Kellogg Gaines advised Savanna on the deal. Savanna partnered with Gilbane Building Co. and its own construction affiliate SavCon to build the sustainable tower at the corner of Willoughby Street and the Flatbush Avenue Extension. The new development neighbors 1 Willoughby Square, a 34-story office tower developed by JEMB Realty Corp.

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Designed by Fogarty Finger with SLCE Architects as the executive architect, 141 Willoughby, 141 Willoughby is being constructed to LEED Gold and Well Silver or higher standards and will integrate health and wellness features including touchless entry, a sophisticated HVAC system with MERV 13 filtration and thoughtfully designed common areas and amenity spaces. The project will also offer high ceilings, outdoor terraces and large floor-to-ceiling windows with wraparound views.

Savanna’s project will be located blocks away from the Jay Street-MetroTech, DeKalb Avenue and Nevins Street subway stations, with access to Lower Manhattan in about 15 minutes. The future office tower is also situated diagonally across from the planned, 1-acre Willoughby Square Park and directly north of the City Point Brooklyn shopping and dining complex.

Manhattan-based Savanna, which focuses on property investments throughout New York City’s five boroughs, last year signed up Plaza Construction for a full-floor lease at 360 Lexington Ave., which the investment manager acquired in 2019.

CarVal Investors has roughly $10 billion in assets under management spanning corporate securities, loan portfolios, structured credit and hard assets. The global alternative investment manager partnered with CleanCapital in 2019 to purchase a 75.2-megawatt solar portfolio in New Jersey.