Time Equities has paid $8.1 million for two residential rental buildings in Brooklyn’s Greenwood Heights, city records filed today show. Francis Greenburger, the developer’s chairman and CEO, told The Real Deal that the buildings would be operated as rentals, but could be considered for a condominium conversion in the future.
The deal for 655 Fifth Avenue and neighboring 251 19th Street — a 17,716-square-foot building with 1,700 square feet of retail space and an eight-unit, 9400-square-foot residential building, respectively — closed April 29, records show.
“It’s an area that we thought was interesting, and it had potential,” Greenburger said.
The two buildings allow for developments of 13,500 square feet and 10,000 square feet respectively, but Greenburger insisted that any condo project would be a conversion rather than a new building.
The seller was Paul Joffe of Brooklyn Lofts, which owns and manages several converted loft buildings in Brooklyn, including the Ballroom Building in Williamsburg.
Joffe was represented by GFI Realty Services’ Richard Helfand and Yanni Simantov, while GFI’s Jeremy Curtin worked to bring in Time Equities’ Chris Pulling, who handled the deal in-house.
Time Equities is no stranger to conversion projects, having done several dozen in the last 25 years, including the 12-building, 1,200-unit Clinton Hill Cooperative Apartments complex. This is also not their first foray into this area of Brooklyn, though plans to buy and rehabilitate two major government-owned sites along the Brooklyn waterfront in Sunset Park were ultimately shelved, as TRD reported.
Greenwood Heights — which lies between Park Slope and Sunset Park — has seen an influx of young professionals in the past decade, given its good transit options and relative affordability compared to Park Slope.
“It’s interesting how the R train has become a real option for people,” Curtin said.