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ThinkForward commercial condo project rendering

Clients

Diverse in their Contribution, Expansive in their Impact

Millions Raised for Capital Improvements

Realizing Potential

Real estate and capital expansion projects shouldn’t be cost prohibitive for social change agents. ThinkForward’s work has translated into significant reductions in financing and operating costs for our clients. This has enabled numerous, community-based organizations to prosper and grow.

New Clients & Transactions

$43,000,000

ORTHODOX UNION

Lower Manhattan

Headquarters relocation to Class A office building. We arranged 100% tax-exempt bond financing through our banking relationship and the issuer Build NYC Resource Corp.

$20,000,000

PHOENIX HOUSE

Long Island City and Ronkonkoma, LI

Debt refinancing resulting in significant savings for the New York chapter of prominent national mental health and substance abuse service provider.

$6,000,000

JOUFFRE, INC.

Long Island City

French-owned manufacturer of custom upholstery serving high-margin clientele. We secured mortgage financing from a relationship bank. The larger facility allows for increased production capacity.

$35,000,000 (pending)

YORK STUDIOS MASPETH EXPANSION

Maspeth, Queens

Financing to expand York Studios Maspeth campus, which is ideally located minutes from Midtown Manhattan. An additional 133,000 sf will be devoted to film and television production facilities.

$51,000,000

YORK STUDIOS

South Bronx

Construction of a new, NYS-qualified motion picture and television production facility. We arranged $33M in New York City and State incentives and $26.5M in construction financing.

$10,000,000

CONSORTIUM FOR WORKER EDUCATION

Manhattan

Nonprofit agency provides industry-specific workforce training services. Build NYC tax exempt bonds financed acquisition and renovation of a commercial condo.

$11,000,000, $8,500,000

GUTTMACHER INSTITUTE

Downtown, Manhattan

Acquisition and construction financing for purchase, renovation of commercial office condo through NYCIDA (2008). Later, we refinanced bonds through a taxable bank loan. Capital costs reductions, from 5.75% to 2.05%.

$17,350,000

BOYCE TECHNOLOGIES, INC.

Long Island City, Queens

Financial advisory services for extensive renovation and expansion, involving tax credits, grants, and incentives from NYS and EDC development agencies.

$71,000,000

AB CAPSTONE GROUP (ZETA CHARTER SCHOOL)

Bronx

Construction loan and incentives secured for school + Class A office space at 425 Westchester Avenue—in an Opportunity Zone. The 10-story building also houses a nonprofit agency and ground floor retail.

$75,000,000

UOVO ART, LLC

Williamsburg, Brooklyn

Tax incentives from NYCIDA for a new arts center with storage, transportation, installation, and project management facilities.

$25,000,000

ARTSCROLL MESORAH PUBLICATIONS

Rahway, NJ

We arranged an $8.2M incentives package from NJ Economic Development Authority for relocating the company’s manufacturing & distribution facility from Brooklyn to Rahway.

$31,000,000

BARONE MANAGEMENT MIXED-USE

Long Island City, Queens

We arranged developer NYCIDA incentives for a newly constructed industrial/office facility for Long Island City small businesses.

Nonprofits

Education

$22,000,000

Manhattan Country School

Upper West Side, Manhattan

Purchase of the Mannes Music Building doubled capacity for pre-K—8th programming. The difficult financing required creative structuring with a relationship bank.

$10,000,000

Browning School

Upper East Side, Manhattan

$10M raised to finance facilities expansion. We placed tax-exempt, low interest bond financing with a non-bank lender and managed the bond issuer approval process.

$68,600,000

Touro College

Chelsea, Manhattan

Despite a credit rating downgrade, the college acquired assets from NY Medical College. We arranged the difficult financing through creative structuring and collateral packages.

$7,500,000

Diller-Quaile School of Music

Upper East Side, Manhattan

Purchase of an adjacent townhouse provided sufficient space to increase enrollment. We arranged tax-exempt bond financing with a private bank.

$8,500,000

Confidential Client School

Upper East Side, Manhattan

Larger facility acquired to accommodate new pre-school arts program. We arranged a taxable loan with a private bank.

$8,900,000

Metropolitan Montessori School

Upper West Side, Manhattan

Acquired existing facilities for pre-K—elementary programming. We arranged fixed rate acquisition financing with a local commercial bank.

$4,250,000

Lawrence Woodmere Academy

Woodmere, Long Island

Small, independent, private school, pre-K—12th grades. We arranged taxable financing with a credit union.

$9,000,000

Sh'or Yoshuv Institute

Five Towns & Far Rockaway, Queens

Construction of a new yeshiva school building. We placed tax-exempt bonds with a commercial bank and managed the approval and funding process.

$6,000,000

Yeshiva Tiferes Yisroel

Borough Park, Brooklyn

New school facilities constructed adjacent to the existing yeshiva. We arranged construction and permanent financing through a commercial bank.

Social Services

$20,000,000

PHOENIX HOUSE

Long Island City ad Ronkonkoma, LI

Debt refinancing resulting in significant savings for the New York chapter of prominent national mental health and substance abuse service provider.

$10,000,000

Consortium for Worker Education

Manhattan

Nonprofit agency provides industry-specific workforce training services. Build NYC tax exempt bonds financed acquisition and renovation of a commercial condo.

$11,000,000, $8,600,000

Urban Resource Institute

Downtown, Manhattan

Funding for new programs and facilities for domestic violence survivors and their families. We managed the financing process, including existing high-cost bank debt.

$36,000,000

Metropolitan Council on Jewish Poverty

Staten Island, NY

"Met Council" provides affordable housing for vulnerable populations. We placed fixed rate tax-exempt bonds and procured a $45M capital grant for facilities construction.

$38,860,000

Jewish Home at Rockleigh

New Jersey

Skilled nursing resident and senior care facility. We placed Variable Rate Demand Bonds with institutional investor through the NJ Economic Development Authority.

Cultural

$43,000,000

ORTHODOX UNION

Lower Manhattan

Headquarters relocation to Class A office building. We arranged 100% tax-exempt bond financing through our banking relationship and the issuer Build NYC Resource Corp.

$8,900,000, $10,700,000

Tenement Museum

Lower East Side, Manhattan

Acquisition of property for additional exhibit space. We structured and placed tax-exempt bond financings and secured capital grants from the NYC Economic Development Corp.

$5,000,000, $4,320,000

Manhattan News Network

Harlem

New studio and office space. We arranged bond financing, which we later refinanced with a bank loan to provide debt service savings.

$4,000,000

Arverne by the Sea YMCA

Rockaway Beach, Queens

Construction of new recreational complex. Client received $10M in city funding. We arranged a $4M bridge loan to bridge a foundation disbursing capital grants.

$9,000,000

Fencers Club

Midtown Manhattan

Commercial office condo financing. The community organization qualified for tax-exempt bond financing placed with a commercial bank at low interest rates.

$75,000,000

Uovo Art, LLC

Williamsburg, Brooklyn

Tax incentives from NYCIDA for a new arts center with storage, transportation, installation, and project management facilities.

Policy & Research

$10,000,000

New York Stem Cell Foundation

Upper West Side, Manhattan

Consolidation and renovation project involving new laboratory and office spaces. We arranged financing with a commercial bank.

$11,000,000, $8,500,000

Guttmacher Institute

Downtown, Manhattan

Acquisition and construction financing for purchase, renovation of commercial office condo through NYCIDA (2008). Later, we refinanced bonds through a taxable bank loan. Capital costs reductions: from 5.75% to 2.05%.

Industrial & Commercial

Technology

$17,350,000

Boyce Technologies, Inc.

Long Island City, Queens

Financial advisory services for extensive renovation and expansion, involving tax credits, grants, and incentives from NYS and EDC development agencies.

$11,000,000

Modern Meadow, Inc.

Sunset Park, Brooklyn

Redesign and renovation of R&D infrastructure and construction of advanced bio-fabrication space. We secured tax credits and a grant from Empire State Development.

$2,000,000

Epic Pharma

Jamaica, Queens

Developer, manufacturer, and marketer of generic pharmaceuticals. We reduced operational costs of plant by securing NYS tax credits.

Food

$3,000,000

Neuman's Kitchen

Long Island City, Queens

Facilities relocation from Lower East Side to leased space in LIC with new catering facility. We arranged an SBA 7a loan with a non-bank lender for leasehold improvements.

$6,000,000

Ace Natural

Mount Vernon, Westchester

Financial advisory services for organic food distribution business serving NYC restaurants, caterers, food retailers and distributors.

$10,250,000

Victory Food Service

Bronx

Acquisition of large distribution facility located in the former 132nd Street Post Office Building. We arranged 90% financing for the project, including an SBA loan.

$11,250,000

Royal Foods

Long Island City, Queens

We arranged financing with an insurance company lender for the acquisition of property for the specialty food distributor.

$12,000,000

Fairway Markets & Bakery

Bronx

We arranged various IDA benefits and NYC incentives for the lease, renovation, and outfitting of a food production and distribution facility.

$4,000,000

Morrison Pastry

Maspeth, Queens

We arranged financing and tax incentives for the food processing facility of the national distributor of Grandpa's Original Yogurt Muffins & Loaves.

Entertainment

$35,000,000 (pending)

YORK STUDIOS MASPETH EXPANSION

Maspeth, Queens

Financing to expand York Studios Maspeth campus, which is ideally located minutes from Midtown Manhattan. An additional 133,000 sf will be devoted to film and television production facilities.

$51,000,000

York Studios

South Bronx

Construction of a new, NYS qualified, motion picture and television production facility. We arranged $33M in NYC incentives and $26.5M in construction financing.

$33,500,000

Nitehawk Cinemas

Park Slope, Brooklyn

Acquisition and renovation of historic neighborhood movie theater in disrepair. We arranged financing with a local bank and a second SBA mortgage.

$75,000,000

Carmike Cinemas

New Jersey

We financed multiple movie theaters by placing Variable Rate Demand Bonds with a major financial institution.

$6,000,000

Broadway Stages

Greenpoint, Brooklyn

We arranged financing for a new studio, secured through a commercial bank. We also obtained Empire Zone incentives from Empire State Development.

Construction

$13,500,000

Skyline Restoration Inc.

Long Island City, Queens

Acquisition of office, warehouse, and fabrication facilities. We arranged the required 90% financing and $7M in tax benefits.

$5,500,000

A-Val Architectural Products

Mount Vernon, Westchester Co.

For the building materials supplier, we arranged private activity tax-exempt bonds and placement with a commercial bank.

$5,000,000

United Air Conditioning

Long Island City, Queens

Acquisition of manufacturing facilities to expand sheet metal business. We arranged bond financing and obtained various incentives from NYCIDA.

$9,000,000

Cool Wind & Ventilation

Glendale, Queens

Facilities expansion for the steel duct systems manufacturer. We arranged low cost tax-exempt bond financing for the project.

$5,500,000

AABCO Sheet Metal Co., Inc.

Ridgewood, Queens

Air conditioning and sheet metal contractors and fabricators. For the expansion of the company's current facilities, we arranged tax benefits through the NYCIDA.

Made-In-New York

$6,000,000

JOUFFRE, INC.

Long Island City

French-owned manufacturer of custom upholstery serving high-margin clientele. We secured mortgage financing from a relationship bank. The larger facility allows for increased production capacity.

$5,500,000

Watermark Designs

East New York, Brooklyn

We placed fixed rate bonds with a commercial bank for the Brooklyn-based manufacturer of environmentally responsible, luxury faucets, showers, and bath accessories.

$2,100,000

Simon Liu, Inc.

Greenwood, Brooklyn

We arranged 90% financing for the major relocation of the arts supply manufacturer to a new facility. We also secured tax benefits through NYCIDA.

$5,500,000

Hindustan Granites Inc.

Williamsburg, Brooklyn

For the importer and wholesaler of stone tiles, etc., we arranged 90% fixed rate financing, an SBA 504 loan with a commercial bank, and incentives through NYCIDA.

$10,600,000

M. Fried Store Fixtures

Williamsburg, Brooklyn

For the full-service commercial fixture and design company, we secured 90% financing for purchase of a new manufacturing facility. We also secured various tax incentives.

Distributors

$28,700,000

Barnes & Noble, Inc.

New Jersey

We successfully placed variable rate demand bonds through the NJ Economic Development Authority to finance the company's national distribution center.

$16,000,000

Fesco Electronics Distributors

Williamsburg, NY

We secured financing for a new distribution facility for a leading distributor of name brand consumer electronics and accessories.

$25,000,000

Artscroll Mesorah Publications

Rahway, NJ

We arranged an $8.2M incentives package from NJ Economic Development Authority for relocating the company’s manufacturing & distribution facility from Brooklyn to Rahway.

$5,500,000

Perfume Center of America

Plainview, Oyster Bay, Nassau Co.

We arranged for the wholesale distributor to refinance outstanding debt through fixed rate financing with a commercial bank, significantly reducing debt service payments.

$5,000,000

Mondial Automotive, Inc.

College Point, Queens

We leveraged resources through the NYCEDC and secured NYCIDA tax benefits for the company's ongoing success.

$5,500,000

Nicka K New York

Jamaica, Queens

The cosmetics distribution company acquired a new warehouse facility. We arranged a fixed rate loan with an insurance company and secured NYCIDA tax benefits.

Real Estate Development

$71,000,000

AB CAPSTONE GROUP (ZETA CHARTER SCHOOL)

Bronx

Construction loan and incentives secured for school + Class A office space at 425 Westchester Avenue—in an Opportunity Zone. The 10-story building also houses a nonprofit agency and ground floor retail.

$31,000,000

Barone Management Mixed-use

Long Island City, Queens

We arranged developer NYCIDA incentives for a newly constructed industrial/office facility for Long Island City small businesses.

$15,500,000

Arverne By the Sea

Rockaway Beach, Queens

Using specially allocated recovery zone bonds, we financed key commercial properties in the 120-acre development, including retail center, YMCA, and Stop & Shop Supermarket.

$17,000,000

Artex Fine Arts Services

Long Island City, Queens

Acquisition and renovation of an existing property by a Manhattan-based developer, in conjunction with the company's owners. We secured NYCIDA benefits to finance the effort.

$4,500,000

Sandy Hook Pilots Association

Staten Island

We secured construction financing and tax benefits from the NYCIDA for the association’s new and expanded headquarters.

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