Thomas Breen photo
201 Munson: Enough $ now on hand to turn this into ...
Ironburgh Organization image
... this?
A New York City-based developer claims his company is just weeks away from resuming work on a long-delayed, nearly 400-unit apartment complex on the Dixwell/Newhallville/Science Park border — thanks to yet another ownership reshuffling, as well as a newly pulled $78 million mortgage loan.
That’s the latest in the years-long saga of 201 Munson St.
According to the city’s online land records database, on May 6 a New York City-based holding company called 201 Munson Borrower LLC spent a total of $8 million across six different transactions purchasing the 12.7‑acre vacant former site of the Olin Chemical Company at 201 Munson St. and 23 Shelton Ave.
The new ownership company purchased the former industrial site from previous owners MelanieChinMunson LLC, LinMunson LLC, Lin Family Holding LLC, CindyChinMunson LLC, HM New Haven LLC, and ShermanChinMunson LLC. Those previous ownership companies are controlled by investors Sherman Chin, William Lin, and William Cote.
And then, on May 10, 201 Munson Borrower LLC pulled a $78 million mortgage loan for the Munson Street property from the California-based commercial real estate lender, ACORE Capital. Cote, who is the CEO of the New York City-based building firm Hudson Meridian, signed that mortgage document on behalf of 201 Munson Borrower LLC.
What does all of that mean?
According to Jeffrey Chung of the New York City-based Ironburgh Organization, this flurry of real estate records spells good news for a long-stalled development. It also means that the same owners are still involved, just under a slightly different ownership structure — and with enough money now on hand to move forward with the project.
He predicted that the quiet former industrial site that for the past four years has been covered by cracked asphalt, overgrown vegetation, and a massive pile of dirt should soon start humming with environmental remediation and construction activity.
Years and years after the Board of Alders OK’d a zoning change for the site in January 2018, after the City Plan Commission approved a site plan for a 398-unit mostly market-rate apartment complex in December 2019, and after Ironburgh’s investors first bought out original 201 Munson co-developers Brent Anderson in April 2019 and Doug Gray in May 2021. (Click here to read a previous Independent story about how Anderson and Gray cashed out of the government-supported, undeveloped project at $15 million. And click here to read about the site plan-approved plans to construct 21 three-story townhouses facing Munson Street; a five-story, 371-unit apartment complex directly behind those, bordering the canal trail; a total of 474 surface and covered and townhouse garage parking spaces spread throughout the eastern half of the site; and a sprawling green expanse of lawn that slopes up in the direction of Shelton Avenue.)
Thomas Breen file photo
Ironburgh's Jeffrey Chung at 2019 City Plan Commission meeting.
“We’re extremely happy to be able to finally execute on our original vision, and are looking forward to getting construction started and getting this project built,” Chung told the Independent in a Monday phone interview. “We think it’s going to be a great addition to New Haven’s real estate market.”
According to Chung, this latest transfer of legal ownership of the property to Cote’s 201 Munson Borrower LLC does not actually mean that the site has changed hands.
Rather, he said, this land-record move was simply to “consolidate” ownership of 201 Munson St. “into a single-purpose LLC.”
When Ironburgh’s investors first bought out Anderson in 2019 and Gray in 2021, he said, they set up 201 Munson’s ownership in what’s called a “tenancy-in-common (TIC) structure.”
That meant that the different investors legally owned different shares of the site — and could take advantage of a federal capital gains tax deferral under a so-called “1033 exchange.” Now that the two-year time limit for such a 1033 exchange is up, Chung said, the owners transferred the property to one LLC — which, he said, also made it easier to attract a lender.
Which Ironburgh has done with ACORE Capital.
What will this newly pulled $78 million allow Ironburgh to do?
The 201 Munson dirt pile, now hidden by overgrown vegetation.
A construction trailer recently set up on the long-vacant industrial site.
Looking out on Munson.
First, Chung said, the company will resume environmental remediation at the site — which should take six months to complete. There are “a few different spots where PCBs from transformer leaks” have to be cleaned up, he said. In those cases, “soil will be physically removed from the site.”
“Everything else,” he said, is mostly lead-contaminated soil, which can be kept on site and “capped.” “It doesn’t leave the site,” he said.
All of the excess clean soil trucked over and piled up on 201 Munson St. years ago, he said, will then be used to backfill and level the entire site. And Ironburgh can then proceed with pouring a foundation and actually beginning construction.
Chung predicted that all of this should take two years to complete, starting whenever the remediation resumes in the next few weeks.
What’s been the cause of the delays over the past year, ever since Ironburgh took full ownership of the site in May 2021 after buying out Gray?
“The capital markets really started to open up more so last summer,” Chung said. “It just took some time for the debt markets to open back up again” after the initial shock of the Covid-19 pandemic.
Hudson Meridian & Paredim Partner Up
Below is an email press release that the builders of 201 Munson sent out the day after this article originally published. In it, they announce that the project will be built by an affiliate of Hudson Meridian, and that Paredim Partners — the same company that recently bought the Taft Apartments for $52 million — will be in charge of leasing and property management at the new apartment complex.
An affiliate of Hudson Meridian Construction Group, a premier builder and developer of residential and commercial properties in the Northeastern United States, is pleased to announce that it has obtained construction financing from ACORE Capital and Sculptor Real Estate to fund the development of a 6‑story, 398-unit multifamily community at 201 Munson Street in the growing Science Park section of New Haven. The financing was arranged by Tessera Partners and Capital & Venture Resources. Hudson Meridian also announced that New Haven investor Paredim Partners LLC has joined the Munson development partnership and the firm’s Paredim Communities division will conduct the leasing and management activities upon completion. This truly extraordinary community will offer a flexible unit mix including 90 studios, and 208 1‑bedroom units, 78 2‑bedroom units and 22 3‑bedroom townhome-style units. Select homes will contain additional “live/work” spaces and many layouts will have outdoor spaces. The project will also feature a richly styled, best-in-class amenity offering, including state of the art clubhouse and fitness center building, sprawling recreational roof deck with several grilling and dining areas, a variety of lounge areas and an outdoor pool with a luxe sun deck and cabana area.
Situated adjacent to the popular Farmington Canal Heritage Trail and Yale Science Park’s main commercial corridor, this urban infill project will occupy the site of the former Olin Corp. This former manufacturing site had degraded to a seriously contaminated eyesore after sitting vacant for many years. This exceptional residential project will also contribute to the neighborhood’s revitalization and ongoing Science Park redevelopment that has become home to numerous global leaders in the biotech and technology companies, Yale University and not-for-profit organizations serving New Haven communities.
Bill Cote, CEO of Hudson Meridian, said “We are excited to contribute to the excellent progress being made in the redevelopment of Science Park area with the development of this great new amenity rich apartment community to meet the growing demand for young urban professionals to live, work, and enjoy the lifestyle in New Haven. 201 Munson presented a unique set of development challenges that required a skilled execution team and a committed group of investors over the 3‑year predevelopment period. We are grateful to our partners, the Lin and Chin families who remained steadfast in their commitment to see this project developed to serve the surrounding neighborhood.”
David Parisier, Managing Director of Paredim Partners, said “Paredim has been an active investor and manager of multifamily communities throughout New Haven since 2003, and we are so excited to be part of delivering this best-in-class community in of one of New Haven’s most vibrant and fastest-growing neighborhoods.”
Hudson Meridian Construction Group, based in New York City, is one of the tri-state region’s top construction firms and has received numerous awards for its work in both the private and public sectors. Since its formation in 2002, HMCG has completed over $5 billion of construction for clients ranging from institutional property investors to healthcare, educational, religious, and not-for-profit organizations.
Paredim Partners LLC, based in Elmsford, NY, is a leading regional owner/operator of multifamily apartment communities, having acquired, repositioned, or developed over 3,000 apartment units in Connecticut since 2002. Paredim Communities, Paredim’s in-house management organization, provides key market, leasing, and operational expertise for the company’s real estate portfolio.
Three-Fifths and I have sparred over the years on how widespread gentrification is in New Haven. He sees it happening with every new development. I don’t. But this development has the potential of transforming the demographics of the surrounding neighborhood.
One unintended consequence of the Inclusionary Zoning ordinance is that it makes developments like this one more attractive. The developer of this project received zoning approval before the ordinance was adopted, and therefore will not be required to include affordable units.