Northwind Group originated a $45-million senior first-mortgage loan for the acquisition and predevelopment of 300 E. 42nd St., an 18-story office building located in Manhattan’s Midtown East submarket. The loan will bridge the property’s conversion into a mixed-use asset with 135 multifamily rental units in addition to a long-term leased office component.

The acquisition and conversion of 300 E. 42nd are led by a group of seasoned New York City-based developers, with whom Northwind has a longstanding lending relationship. “We identified an opportunity to originate this loan at a favorable basis, representing a 75% discount to the prior ownership’s cost basis for a project that is zoned as-of-right, with no need to relocate tenants, and a clean path to conversion capitalizing on the experience we gained lending on similar assets in NYC,” said Ran Eliasaf, founder and managing partner of Northwind Group.

The financing was arranged by Morris Betesh at Arrow Real Estate Advisors.