Madison buys Brooklyn warehouse for $45M from Chaim Miller

Miller will have "profit participation" in the 215K sf Wallabout property on Ryerson Street

From left: 29 Ryerson Street and Josh Zegen
From left: 29 Ryerson Street and Josh Zegen

Madison Realty Capital paid real estate investor Chaim Miller $45 million for a vacant 215,000-square-foot building at 29 Ryerson Street in Brooklyn, The Real Deal has learned.

The firm purchased the building, located in the Wallabout section of Brooklyn, in an off-market transaction, according to Madison co-founder Josh Zegen.

The building last changed hands in 2013, when 11-45 Ryerson LLC — an entity managed by Miller — bought the property for $26.4 million, according to city records.

Zegen said that the seller will have a future “profit participation” in the property, but Madison will be the sole owner. No brokers were involved in the deal.

The former warehouse storage facility is located on two lots — 29 Ryerson Street And 256 Flushing Avenue — directly across the street from the Brooklyn Navy Yard.

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“We think that the momentum is going in the right direction,” Zegen told TRD. “We are planning on renovating and bringing it to the level that a tech tenant would demand.”

The eight-story building, which boasts large floor plates and high ceilings, was delivered vacant. The property has 440 feet of frontage on Ryerson Street and 110 feet of frontage on Flushing Avenue.

Zegen said he is looking for more opportunities in the neighborhood. In neighboring Clinton Hill, Madison is developing two rental buildings on Myrtle Avenue.

Miller and his investment partners are in contract to buy the landmarked Beekman Tower at 3 Mitchell Place in Manhattan for $137.5 million, as TRD reported. But Miller is also embroiled in legal drama over at 45 John Street, where he is being sued by Chun Peter Dong, his partner on the Financial District project. Madison provided a $45 million acquisition loan to Miller when he bought that property for $60 million last March.