Fortress Provides $115M Bridge Loan for East Orange Mixed-Use Development Recapitalization

Fortress has closed a $115 million senior secured bridge loan as part of a $133.5 million recapitalization of construction financing for Phase I of The Crossings at Brick Church Station, a mixed-use development in East Orange, New Jersey.

Co-developers Triangle Equities and Incline Capital announced the financing package on Feb. 3, 2026. The recapitalization includes the bridge loan from funds managed by affiliates of Fortress, $16.5 million in Low Income Housing Tax Credit equity provided by Affordable Equity Partners, and $2 million in proceeds from the partial redemption of Redevelopment Area Bonds.

JLL's Debt Advisory Capital Markets team, led by Geoff Goldstein and Gerard Quinn, represented the borrower in the transaction.

Commercial Real Estate Financing Structure

The financing builds upon an existing capital stack for the retail and residential portions of the project. Additional funding sources include equity from co-developers Triangle Equities and Incline Capital, Basis Investment Group, The Urban Investment Group at Goldman Sachs Alternatives, NJ Infrastructure Bank, NJ Housing & Mortgage Finance Agency, City of East Orange, and other public and private sources.

Real Estate Development Details

The Crossings at Brick Church Station is located directly adjacent to NJ Transit's historic Brick Church Train Station. Phase I includes the Embark at The Crossings residential building with 400 units and a grocery-anchored retail component.

The retail space features a full-service ShopRite supermarket as the anchor tenant. Additional community-serving tenants include Newark Community Health Center, Dunkin' Donuts, Ashley Stewart, Rita's Italian Ice, and Angel Nails, with additional retail announcements expected soon.

"This investment from Fortress and Affordable Equity Partners is more than just an investment in The Crossings. It is an investment in East Orange and the region at large, allowing us to deliver hundreds of new housing units, along with much-needed retail offerings and job opportunities," said Josh Weingarten, Executive Vice President at Triangle Equities. "I want to thank the Fortress team for its commitment to The Crossings, and for its solutions-based approach to pushing this complex closing across the finish line."

Class Community Anchored Real Estate Project

Upon completion, The Crossings at Brick Church Station will deliver approximately 1,000 new residences and over 200,000 square feet of retail real estate across multiple phases. The development is designed to reshape downtown East Orange.

The development team recently launched leasing at Embark at The Crossings.