Joseph Brunner buys again in north Brooklyn

Weeks after inking a pricey deal for a Williamsburg development site, investor Joseph Brunner is again taking on north Brooklyn with the purchase of a Greenpoint site.

Brunner closed Tuesday on the $18 million purchase, paying $317 per square foot for a seven-building package at 1050-1066 Manhattan Avenue and 154 Eagle Street.

The seller was Kajo Realty, which had assembled the properties over the past 50 years. Kajo manager Howard Josephs’ family runs a hardware shop and a furniture store at the site, which comes with nearly 57,000 square feet of buildable space as of right.

That figure could be increased to 74,000 square feet if Brunner, who is said to be planning a mixed-use rental building, were to participate in the city’s inclusionary housing program.

Shaun Riney, Mike Salvatico and Jim Saros of Marcus & Millichap represented both parties in the deal.

The neighborhood is expected to grow significantly with the massive, 5,500-unit Greenpoint Landing project coming to the waterfront. Riney said developers are looking to cash in on the coming boom, especially on the commercial corridors of Franklin Street and Manhattan Avenue where “the retail component should appreciate significantly over a five-to-10-year hold from where it is valued presently.”

According to CPEX Real Estate’s most recent report, retail rents nearby Brunner’s Site Along Manhattan Avenue range from $50 to $60 per square foot.

In June, the investor, along with partner Abe Mandel, signed a contract to buy a development site on Wythe Avenue in Williamsburg for $700 per square foot. Also that month, he picked up a pair of Nolita rental buildings for $31 million.