LOANS PAYABLE AND SECURED LINE OF CREDIT

12 Months Ended

Dec. 31, 2018

Long-term Debt, Unclassified [Abstract]

LOANS PAYABLE AND SECURED LINE OF CREDIT

NOTE 10 – LOANS PAYABLE AND SECURED LINE OF CREDIT

Loans Payable

237 11th Loans

On May 24, 2018, in connection with the acquisition of the 237 11th property, wholly owned subsidiaries of ours entered into two-year interest-only financings with an aggregate principal amount of $67.8 million, comprised of a $52.4 million mortgage loan with Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce and a $15.4 million mezzanine loan with RCG LV Debt VI REIT, LLC (the “237 11th Loans”), bearing interest at a blended average rate of 3.72% over the 30-day LIBOR, each with a one year extension option upon satisfaction of certain conditions. The 237 11th Loans are non-recourse to us except for environmental indemnity agreements, certain non-recourse carve-out and carry guaranties covering, among other things, interest and operating expenses, and in the case of the mortgage loan, a guaranty of 25% of the principal amount, decreasing to 10% of the principal balance upon the debt yield ratio becoming equal to or greater than 7.0%. The effective rate at December 31, 2018 was approximately 6.22%. The 237 11th Loans are prepayable at any time in whole, provided that prepayment of the mortgage loan must be accompanied by prepayment of the mezzanine loan, and under certain circumstances in part, upon payment, in the case of the mortgage loan, of a 0.50% deferred commitment fee (unless the loan is refinanced with the mortgage lender in which case no such fee is payable), and, in the case of the mezzanine loan, with no fee if prepaid after 12 months, and if prepaid prior to such date, subject to a make-whole fee equal to the interest that would have been paid through the balance of the 12-month period.

The collateral for the 237 11th mortgage loan is the fee interest of our subsidiary in the 237 11th property and the collateral for the 237 11th mezzanine loan is our equity interests in the mortgage loan borrower. The 237 11th Loans require us to comply with various customary affirmative and negative covenants and provide for certain events of default, the occurrence of which would permit the lenders to declare the 237 11th Loans due and payable, among other remedies. As of December 31, 2018, we were in compliance with all covenants in the 237 11th Loans.

77 Greenwich Construction Facility

On December 22, 2017, a wholly-owned subsidiary of ours closed on a $189.5 million construction facility (the “77 Greenwich Construction Facility”) with Massachusetts Mutual Life Insurance Company, as lender and administrative agent (the “Lender”). We will draw down proceeds as costs related to the construction are incurred for 77 Greenwich over the next few years for the construction of the new mixed-use building containing approximately 300,000 square feet of gross floor area. The plans call for the development of 90 luxury residential condominium apartments, 7,500 square feet of street level retail space, a 476-seat elementary school serving New York City District 2, including the adaptive reuse of the landmarked Robert and Anne Dickey House, and construction of a new handicapped accessible subway entrance on Trinity Place. There was an outstanding balance of approximately $51.5 million and $32.7 million on the 77 Greenwich Construction Facility at December 31, 2018 and 2017, respectively. As of December 31, 2018, we were in compliance with all covenants of the 77 Greenwich Construction Facility.

The 77 Greenwich Construction Facility has a four-year term with one extension option for an additional year under certain circumstances. The collateral for the 77 Greenwich Construction Facility is the borrower’s fee interest in 77 Greenwich, which is the subject of a mortgage in favor of the lender. The 77 Greenwich Construction Facility will bear interest on amounts drawn at a rate per annum equal to the greater of (i) LIBOR plus 8.25% and (ii) 9.25%. The effective interest rate on the 77 Greenwich Construction Facility was 10.6% as of December 31, 2018 and 9.81% at December 31, 2017. The 77 Greenwich Construction Facility provides for certain interest payments to be advanced as an interest holdback and to the extent that the cash flow from 77 Greenwich is insufficient to pay the interest payments then due and payable, funds in the interest holdback will be applied by the lender as a disbursement to the borrower to make the monthly interest payments on the 77 Greenwich Construction Facility, subject to certain conditions. The 77 Greenwich Construction Facility may be prepaid in part in certain circumstances such as in the event of the sale of residential and retail condominium units. Pursuant to the 77 Greenwich Construction Facility, we are required to achieve completion of the construction work and the improvements for the project on or before a completion date that is forty-two (42) months following the closing of the 77 Greenwich Construction Facility, subject to certain exceptions. In connection with the 77 Greenwich Construction Facility, we executed certain guaranties and environmental indemnities, including a recourse guaranty under which we are required to satisfy certain net worth and liquidity requirements including the Company maintaining liquidity of at least $15.0 million, consisting of cash and qualified lines of credit, and additional customary affirmative and negative covenants for loans of this type and our agreements with the SCA. The liquidity requirement will decrease to $10.0 million upon transfer of the school condominium to the SCA which is currently expected to occur in the third quarter of 2019. We also entered into certain completion and other guarantees with the Lender and the SCA in connection with the 77 Greenwich Construction Facility.

On December 22, 2017, we entered into an interest rate cap agreement as required under the 77 Greenwich Construction Facility. The interest rate cap agreement provides the right to receive cash if the reference interest rate rises above a contractual rate. We paid a premium of approximately $393,000 for the 2.5% interest rate cap on the 30-day LIBOR rate on a notional amount of $189.5 million. The fair value of the interest rate cap as of December 31, 2018 and December 31, 2017 was approximately $497,000 and $344,000, respectively, and is recorded in prepaid expenses and other assets, net in our consolidated balance sheets. We did not designate this interest rate cap as a hedge and are recognizing the change in estimated fair value in interest expense. At December 31, 2018, the approximate $152,000 increase in value of this instrument had been recorded as interest income and subsequently capitalized to real estate, net.

Prior 77 Greenwich Loan

On February 9, 2015, our wholly-owned subsidiary that owns 77 Greenwich and related assets entered into a loan agreement with Sterling National Bank, as lender and administrative agent, and Israel Discount Bank of New York, as lender, pursuant to which we borrowed $40.0 million (the “Prior 77 Greenwich Loan”). The Prior 77 Greenwich Loan, which was scheduled to mature on November 8, 2017, was extended to February 8, 2018 and repaid in full on December 22, 2017 in conjunction with the closing of the 77 Greenwich Construction Facility. The effective interest rate on the Prior 77 Greenwich Loan was 5.5% as of September 30, 2017.

West Palm Beach, Florida Loan

On May 11, 2016, our subsidiary that owns our West Palm Beach, Florida property commonly known as The Shoppes at Forest Hill, entered into a loan agreement with Citizens Bank, National Association, as lender (the “WPB Lender”), pursuant to which the WPB Lender agreed to provide a loan in the amount of up to $12.6 million, subject to the terms and conditions as set forth in the loan agreement (the “WPB Loan”). $9.1 million was borrowed at closing. The WPB Loan requires interest-only payments and bears interest at 30-day LIBOR plus 230 basis points. The effective rate was 4.8% at December 31 2018 and 3.86% at December 31, 2017. The WPB Loan matures on May 11, 2019, subject to extension until May 11, 2021, under certain circumstances, and can be prepaid at any time, in whole or in part, without premium or penalty. The balance of the WPB Loan was $9.1 million at December 31, 2018 and $3.5 million remains available to be borrowed under the WPB Loan. 

The collateral for the WPB Loan is the borrower’s fee interest in the West Palm Beach, Florida property. The WPB Loan requires the borrower to comply with various customary affirmative and negative covenants and provides for certain events of default, the occurrence of which would permit the WPB Lender to declare the WPB Loan due and payable, among other remedies. As of December 31, 2018, we were in compliance with all covenants in the WPB Loan.

On May 11, 2016, we entered into an interest rate cap agreement as required under the WPB Loan. The interest rate cap agreement provides the right to receive cash if the reference interest rate rises above a contractual rate. We paid a premium of $14,000 for the 3.0% interest rate cap on the 30-day LIBOR rate on a notional amount of $9.1 million. The fair value of the interest rate cap was approximately $1,000 and $5,000 as of December 31, 2018 and December 31, 2017, respectively, and is recorded in prepaid expenses and other assets, net in our consolidated balance sheets. We did not designate this interest rate cap as a hedge and are recognizing the change in estimated fair value in interest expense. For both the years ended December 31, 2018 and 2017, we recognized the change in value of approximately $3,000 in interest expense.

Secured Line of Credit

On February 22, 2017, we entered into two secured lines of credit for an aggregate of $12.0 million, with Sterling National Bank as the lender, which were secured by our properties located in Paramus, New Jersey and Westbury, New York, respectively, and had an original maturity date of February 22, 2018. On August 4, 2017, in connection with the sale of the Westbury, New York property, the $2.9 million line of credit secured by this property, which was undrawn, matured. The remaining $9.1 million line of credit, secured by the Paramus, New Jersey property, was increased to $11.0 million in September 2017, and the maturity date extended to February 22, 2019. The $11.0 million line of credit was increased to $12.75 million in December 2018 and the maturity date was extended to February 21, 2020. The line of credit, which previous to December 2018 bore interest, for drawn amounts only, at 100 basis points over Prime, as defined in the underlying credit agreement, bears interest at 200 basis points over the 30-day LIBOR, and is pre-payable at any time without penalty. A portion of the line of credit is subject to an unused fee. This secured line of credit was undrawn as of December 31, 2018.

Principal Maturities

Combined aggregate principal maturities of mortgages and other loans payable as of December 31, 2018, excluding extension options, were as follows (dollars in thousands):

Year of Maturity	Principal
2019	$	9,100
2020		67,800
2021		51,532
		128,432
Less: deferred finance costs, net		(5,099	)
Total loans payable, net	$	123,333

Interest

Consolidated interest (income) expense, net includes the following (dollars in thousands):

	Year Ended December 31, 2018			Year Ended December 31, 2017			Year Ended December 31, 2016
Interest expense	$	6,848		$	2,488		$	2,110
Interest capitalized		(6,848	)		(2,488	)		(1,929	)
Interest income		(212	)		(215	)		(223	)
Interest income, net	$	(212	)	$	(215	)	$	(42	)