Bank of China contributes to a $425 million USD syndicated loan for The Orchard Project

Project narrative

Circa June 21, 2023, a syndicate of six banks — including the Bank of China (BOC) — entered into a $425 million USD loan agreement with BLDG Orchard LLC — a New York-incorporated special purpose vehicle (SPV) wholly-owned by BLDG Management Co., Inc., a United States-incorporated privately-held real estate and development firm based in New York City, New York — for The Orchard Project. The proceeds were to be used by the borrower to finance the construction of a 780-foot, 69-story 800,000-square-foot mixed-use tower with 13,000 square feet of ground-floor retail spaces, over 60 floors of residential units (824 apartments), and 207 parking spaces at 42-02 Orchard Street known as The Orchard in Long Island City, Queens, New York City, New York. The tower included over 100,000 square feet of amenities including a 24-hour attended lobby, a fitness center, indoor and outdoor pools, spa with a steam room and sauna, dog spa, basketball court and multi-sport simulator, movie screening rooms, and self-storage and a package room with refrigerated storage options, a bike room, and shared laundry facilities and a 1.5-acre roof deck with a pickleball court, great lawn with an outdoor screen, yoga and fitness areas, barbecue area, dog park, children's play area, and a one-eighth mile running track. The Orchard would be the tallest residential tower in Queens. The property was eligible to receive a 35-year real estate tax exemption under the 421a Affordable New York Housing Program, which requires 30% of the units be set aside for households earning at or below 130% of the area median income. Triton Construction was the general contractor. Perkins Eastman was the project designer. The project was expected to completed around 2026. Construction began in 2022. In addition to BOC, the following lenders contributed to the loan syndicate: M&T Bank, U.S. Bank, Israel Discount Bank of New York, City National Bank, and Bank Hapoalim B.M. M&T Bank served as administrative agent. BOC and U.S. Bank served as co-joint lead arrangers. Israel Discount Bank of New York, City National Bank, and Bank Hapoalim were participants..