Crown Acquisitions secures $97M refi for BK, Queens retail

Goldman Sachs provides financing for seven buildings leased to Walgreens, Planet Fitness

From left: 1501 86th Street in Bensonhurst, Isaac Chera and Aaron Appel
From left: 1501 86th Street in Bensonhurst, Isaac Chera and Aaron Appel

The Chera family’s Crown Acquisitions pulled off a $97 million refinancing from Goldman Sachs for seven buildings in its fast-growing portfolio of outer-borough retail properties, sources told The Real Deal.

The properties are spread across Brooklyn and Queens, including neighborhoods such as Bensonhurst, Corona and Ridgewood. There are five Walgreens stores as well as Planet Fitness, CVS, TD Bank and Duane Reade locations.

Crown, which is a major owner and developer of retail properties in the city, acquired the properties in 2013 and 2014. Addresses include 1501 86th Street and 6628 18th Avenue in Brooklyn and 38-02 Junction Boulevard and 329 Wyckoff Avenue in Queens.

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A JLL team led by Aaron Appel, Mark Fisher and Mark Kindrachuk brokered the refinancing. JLL confirmed the refinancing, but declined to comment on the lender.

The tenants largely have long-term leases, and the buildings are almost fully leased, the JLL brokers said.

Crown has made other big moves in Brooklyn and Queens of late. Earlier this year, the firm signed a 99-year lease for the 225,000-square-foot Macy’s building in Flushing and paid $30 million for two office-and-retail buildings in Downtown Brooklyn.