1277 East 14th Street, 45-57 Davis Street and 575 Grand Street (StreetEasy, Google Maps, iStock)
Brooklyn dominated the list of April’s 10 largest real estate loans in the outer boroughs, with six projects fetching $361 million in proceeds.
The 10-loan total of $675 million represented a drop from the previous month’s $1.03 billion and from April 2021’s $830 million.
An acquisition loan used by the Dermot Company to purchase an apartment building in Midwood topped the list at $108 million. The humble neighborhood also captured the 10th spot with a $31 million acquisition loan. The area has attracted significant investment lately, including by the Modell family and Baruch Singer.
Here are details of last month’s largest outer-borough loans.
1. Mighty Midwood | $108 million
Dermot used a $108 million acquisition loan from Signature Bank to buy a 302-unit apartment building at 1277 East 14th Street in Midwood, Brooklyn, for $180 million. Hampshire Properties took on a $92 million construction loan in 2018 to develop the property. Midwood has recently seen other multifamily and office deals, a testament to the feeling that rising rents will drive tenants further from the city center.
2. Industrial refresher | $90 million
Innovo Property Group received $10.8 million in construction loans as part of a $90 million refinancing package from Cerberus Real Estate Capital Management at 1132 Oak Point Avenue in Hunts Point. No construction plans have been filed with the Department of Buildings for the Bronx site, where in 2018 Innovo began subleasing 270,000 square feet in three industrial buildings from Commonwealth Industrial Parks.
3. Affordable refi | $88 million
Solomon Feder received $88 million from Signature Bank to refinance its affordable housing development at 45-57 Davis Street in Long Island City. Signature originated $18 million in debt for the nine-story building with 158 apartments and replaced debt held by Shelter Growth Capital Partners. About 30 percent of units are reserved for households at 130 percent of the area median income, from $73,920 to $183,300 depending on the size of family.
4. Goose & SCALE | $88 million
Goose Property Management received $87.6 million from SCALE Lending to acquire and develop 575 Grand Street in Williamsburg. Goose will raise a 175,000-square-foot, 9-story building with 186 residential units, 30 percent of which will be affordable. Goose bought the site in March for $42.5 million from Tapps Supermarkets, which has been owned by Pasquale Conte, reportedly a captain in John Gotti’s crime syndicate.
5. Big dig in Flushing | $81 million
Local developer Gary Tsan secured $81 million from Madison Capital Realty to build a 300,000-square-foot, mixed-use building at 133-25 37th Avenue in Flushing with 150 residential units and 202 hotel units, according to an application filed with the Department of Buildings. The funds refinance a $27 million senior loan previously held by W Financial. Tsan bought the site, one of the last remaining sizable parcels in downtown Flushing, in 2020 for $60 million.
6. Lender to last | $55 million
KABR Group and FCA-Orbita Group used a $55.3 million acquisition loan from KKR to buy two industrial buildings at 184-10 and 184-60 Jamaica Avenue in Hollis, Queens, for $73.5 million. The companies plan to upgrade the interconnected five- and six-story buildings, which span 620,000 square feet and are 60 percent occupied. Madison Realty Capital and Artemis Real Estate Partners bought the buildings in 2017 for $78 million, also using a loan from KKR.
7. Friedman in Flatbush | $50 million
Local developer Anshel Friedman secured a $49.6 million refinancing from Kearny Bank that includes $20.7 million in new funds for a 120,000-square-foot, mixed-use building at 2708 Snyder Avenue, also known as 885 Rogers Avenue, in Flatbush. The project includes 105 rental units and two commercial condos, an enlargement of 20 percent from earlier filings. Construction finished in 2021.
8. Bushwick builder | $49 million
Ekstein Development Group secured $48.8 million from Santander Bank, including $37.5 million in construction financing, to build a 20-story building with 106 apartments across 102,000 square feet at 1325 Broadway in Bushwick. Standard Real Estate Investments closed a $30 million equity investment in the project in April, Commercial Observer reported.
9. Shadowy shelter | $35 million
A limited liability company reportedly controlled by Yosef Zvieli, a.k.a. Sefi Zvieli, received $35 million, including $4.8 million in new funds, at 1 Kenilworth Place in Flatbush, Brooklyn, from a shell company registered to a law firm in Brooklyn. The address,also known as 2604 Farragut Road, will be used as a women’s shelter following its closure as a dormitory for Brooklyn College. Brooklyn’s Community Board 14 has asked Comptroller Brad Lander to review the project.
10. Mighty Midwood II | $31 million
Moshe Greenzweig used a $31.4 million acquisition loan from New York Community Bank to buy a four-building portfolio with 245 residential units in Midwood, Peter Kraus sold the buildings for $41.9 million, public records show.