OakNorth Bank, BridgeCity Capital Provide $83.5M Co-Loan for CSC Real Estate's Midtown Office-to-Residential Conversion
OakNorth Bank and BridgeCity Capital have provided an $83.5 million co-loan to CSC Real Estate to refinance existing debt and support the conversion of a 20-story office building at 136 East 57th Street in Midtown Manhattan into 136 residential apartments, OakNorth announced.
The financing will support the transformation of the 1931-built property, at the corner of Lexington Avenue, into Class A rental housing. The development will include 102 market-rate and 34 affordable apartments, along with approximately 3,500 square feet of ground-floor retail space and a range of resident amenities.
Co-Loan Structure and Use of Proceeds
The $83.5 million co-loan from OakNorth Bank and BridgeCity Capital will refinance existing debt and fund the repositioning of the building. The transaction is best characterized as a refinancing-plus-redevelopment loan rather than a stabilized multifamily financing.
Property records indicate CSC Real Estate acquired the building for $10 million on March 6, 2026, and a $23.5 million loan from Genesis LLC was recorded the same day. A subsequent $29.65 million mortgage was recorded against the property on November 4, 2026. Based on a building size of approximately 85,604 square feet, the purchase price equated to about $117 per square foot.
Using the same square footage, the $83.5 million financing works out to roughly $976 per square foot, or about $614,000 per planned apartment. These are simple sizing calculations rather than reported underwriting metrics. The planned 136 units imply roughly 630 square feet per apartment before accounting for retail, amenities and common areas.
Property and Development Plan
The building at 136 East 57th Street was constructed in 1931 and renovated in 2021. The conversion will deliver a mix of studio, one-, two- and three-bedroom apartments. Planned amenities include resident lounges, a library, co-working facilities, a fitness center, sauna and steam room, a children's playroom and a games room.
The property is within walking distance of Central Park, Fifth Avenue and Rockefeller Center, and near the Lexington Avenue/59th Street subway station. A 2026 alteration filing initially referenced eight apartments, suggesting the conversion plan was subsequently expanded or revised.
Of the 136 units, 34, or 25%, will be designated affordable.
Sponsor and Lender Background
CSC Real Estate is a real estate investment and development firm led by brothers Alberto and Salomon Smeke. The firm said it has completed more than $4 billion in acquisitions and repositioning projects across the U.S. and Mexico, with experience across multifamily, mixed-use, hospitality, office and retail assets and a growing focus on converting underutilized commercial properties into residential accommodation.
BridgeCity Capital, founded in 2017, is a New York-based real estate financing platform specializing in acquisition, construction and bridge loans across residential and commercial real estate. The firm said it has completed more than 200 transactions totaling over $4 billion, financing multifamily, condominium, mixed-use and other commercial projects across the U.S.
OakNorth, launched in September 2015, describes itself as a digital bank for entrepreneurs. The bank said it has provided more than $24 billion in lending to businesses across the U.K. and U.S. BridgeCity Capital and OakNorth have worked together previously.
Executive Comments
"This project represents an exciting opportunity to transform an underutilized office building in one of Manhattan's most desirable locations into high-quality residential accommodation," said Alberto Smeke, co-founder and managing partner of CSC Real Estate. "With 136 apartments, including 34 affordable units, we're helping address New York City's housing needs while bringing new life to an existing asset. OakNorth and Bridge City Capital demonstrated a strong understanding of our vision and the complexities of office-to-residential conversions, providing the tailored financing needed to bring this project forward."
Louis Lebovits, CEO of BridgeCity Capital, said: "CSC Real Estate has extensive experience identifying and repositioning underutilized properties, and this project is another excellent example of that expertise. Its prime Midtown Manhattan location, strong transport connections and planned residential offering make it particularly compelling. Having worked with OakNorth previously, we knew their team would bring the expertise, flexibility and responsiveness needed to structure a financing solution of this scale and complexity. We're delighted to partner with them again on this transaction."
Alex Gursky, director of debt finance at OakNorth, added: "New York City's office-to-residential conversion market continues to present significant opportunities to repurpose underutilized commercial space and deliver much-needed housing. This project stands out given its prime location, experienced development team and the inclusion of 34 affordable apartments. We're delighted to support CSC Real Estate alongside Bridge City Capital, building on our existing relationship and demonstrating our continued appetite to provide flexible, tailored financing solutions for complex real estate transactions across the US."
Manhattan Conversion Market Context
The project is part of a growing Manhattan office-conversion pipeline. Newmark reported 17.6 million square feet of active and planned office-to-residential conversions in Manhattan, following 5.6 million square feet converted since 2020. Construction had begun on 33 conversion projects, including 18 in Midtown.
A New York City Comptroller's report cited approximately 16,400 apartments in Manhattan's office-conversion pipeline at the end of 2024, nearly comparable with the borough's 17,600-unit new-building pipeline. The report also identified other sizable conversion projects, including 300 East 42nd Street and 6 East 43rd Street, which together could add about 600 apartments.
Conversion activity is occurring alongside a stronger Midtown office leasing market. Newmark reported 34.9 million square feet of Manhattan leasing year to date through the third quarter of 2026, up 8.4% year over year and the strongest comparable period since 2019. Midtown accounted for 15.8 million square feet of leasing in the first half, up 20.9% year over year, with availability at 12.8% and average asking rent at $83.44 per square foot.