In an effort to raise cash for construction of a residential complex where a lumber warehouse currently stands in Williamsburg, developer Isack Rosenberg will convert the warehouse into lofts and rent them out. According to the Brooklyn Paper, Rosenberg will pay $3.1 million to convert the top two floors of the warehouse, at 490 Kent Avenue, into 30 units, while he awaits financing for a proposed 754-unit, three-tower complex that is projected to cost $400 million. He will offer month-to-month, market-rate leases as a stopgap measure to generate revenue for the project, which has shown no progress since being approved in March 2010. [more]

484 Kent Avenue (source: PropertyShark)

It seems there’s even more housing on the way for Williamsburg’s booming Kent Avenue. According to Brownstoner, a permit was recently filed with the Department of Buildings for a new residential conversion at 484 Kent Avenue, between South 11th and South 10th streets. The three-story industrial building, part of the would-be site for developer Isaac Rosenberg’s 800-unit Rose Plaza on the River, is slated to get 30 units on the second and third floors, though the first floor will remain a warehouse. Property records show that Rosenberg, the formerly bankrupt developer of the nearby Warehouse 11 condominium, is still behind this project, though it’s unclear what the latest plans mean for Rose Plaza. It’s also unclear whether condos or rentals are planned for the conversion. Lender Capital One filed a lis pendens at the property on Rosenberg’s $3.76 million mortgage in 2009. . [Brownstoner] [more]

Developer Isack Rosenberg has won the support of Williamsburg Council member Steve Levin after upping the number of affordable units in his Rose Plaza on the River complex. The developer, who had agreed earlier in the week to make 30 percent of the 774-unit project affordable at the request of Levin, will now also increase the number of family-sized units to 74 and designate all of those larger units for below-market rates. The larger units are intended to accommodate the area’s large Hasidic population, which, prior to the new Levin-Rosenberg deal, were angling to block the developer’s proposed rezoning for the Kent Avenue project. Rose Plaza got the go-ahead from the Department of City Planning last month. [Brooklyn Paper]

Developer Isack Rosenberg has agreed to cut down the size of his proposed Williamsburg mixed-use development, Rose Plaza, to 776 apartments from 801, as a concession to the City Council members who will vote on his plan this month. Rosenberg’s olive branch also comes with an 8 percent uptick in the number of affordable housing units, resulting in 28 percent of the development earmarked for low-income units. But this isn’t enough to Council member Steve Levin, who wants to see 30 percent of the residential units set aside for low-income use and is demanding the inclusion of four-bedroom units, which aren’t on the docket at the moment. “The community board and the borough president specifically asked for this,” Levin said at a council land use committee meeting today. Rosenberg, who saw his Warehouse 11 evade bankruptcy last month, will likely see the committee vote before April 14.

One of the developers of Williamsburg’s Warehouse 11, the 120-unit luxury condominium at 214 North 11th Street, has exited Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection. The deal cut down the debt load of developer Isack Rosenberg and his partners at McCaren Park Mews to $35 million. The partners, who defaulted on their $50 million mortgage with Capital One Bank last summer, hope to pay off their remaining balance through sales of the remaining 36 units in the Karl Fisher-designed building. Sales had come to a halt during the bankruptcy process, but relaunched with verve in January as the developers slashed prices and raced against the clock to raise cash by a lender-imposed deadline. Aptsandlofts.com, which is marketing the building, expects the remaining units to go quickly now that the developers have worked through the bankruptcy. [Brooklyn Paper]

Down the road from the fledgling Domino Sugar factory development site on the Williamsburg waterfront, another large-scale residential complex is having better luck in getting off the ground. The Department of City Planning has approved a rezoning proposal for the three-building, 801-unit complex that developers Abraham and Isack Rosenberg dubbed Rose Plaza on the River, in a 7-5 vote that allows the plan to proceed. It will now move on to the City Council for final approval, as part of the city’s public review process. A vote from the council is expected by early May. But the success of Rose Plaza could be a good sign for the developers of Domino Sugar, who were dealt an overwhelming rejection from Community Board 1 last night. Rose Plaza, which offers relatively little affordable housing — just 160 units — has been largely unpopular with the community throughout its public review process as well and was vetoed by Community Board 1 in December.

Warehouse 11

A U.S. Bankruptcy Court judge rejected on Friday a settlement agreement
that would have extended until next month the deadline for the
developers of Williamsburg’s Warehouse 11 to buy the property’s
discounted debt from lender Capital One. Under the original agreement, which still stands unless an appeal next
week is successful, the developers had until Dec. 21 to find an outside
investor who would purchase the $50.8 million note at an undisclosed
discount. Otherwise, Capital One could resume shopping it to an outside
party. The 120-unit condominium at North 11th and Roebling streets appears to
be the most valuable asset one of the developers, Isack Rosenberg, has
an interest in out of at least six under siege by 10 creditors in
Brooklyn’s bankruptcy court. Rosenberg had hoped to use any profits from selling the condos toward
settling his other debts, which have as collateral a lumberyard and
adjacent warehouse on Kent Avenue; the rental portion of Olive Park in
Williamsburg; a banquet hall on Flushing Avenue; and a home renovations
center in Boro Park. [more]

From left: 360 Smith Street, 73 Pineapple Street, 303 East 51st Street, Beekman Tower and 189 Schermerhorn Street

From the February issue:Hundreds of dormant construction sites still dot the city, but a
handful of these beleaguered projects are finally seeing new life –
even if it’s not what was once dreamed of for the location. Those that
have seen some type of resolution were able to do so by selling off
their debt at steep discounts, slimming their construction costs or
setting their sights way lower.
This month, The Real Deal tracked down 20 stalled projects
that have seen some type of resolution within the past several months
(see chart after the jump).  [more] [more]

Williamsburg’s Rose Plaza on the River development proposal will move on to public hearing later this month after receiving approval from Brooklyn Borough President Marty Markowitz Wednesday night. The mixed-use waterfront apartment complex was overwhelmingly vetoed by Community Board 1 in December on the grounds that developers Abraham and Isack Rosenberg had not allocated enough of the planned 801 units for affordable housing. The current proposal calls for 160 affordable units, or 20 percent. The developers are seeking a zoning variance for the 3.7 acre site at 470 Kent Avenue because the current manufacturing zone allows buildings to be only 185 feet tall. Markowitz noted in his approval that he would like to see more affordable units and larger apartments for big families in exchange for the permit to build higher towers.
The City Planning Commission is scheduled to hear the proposal Jan. 27. [Post]

A proposal for a mixed-used Williamsburg waterfront apartment complex was overwhelmingly vetoed last night by Community Board 1. The developers, Abraham and Isack Rosenberg, did not allocate enough affordable housing for their 801-unit, three-building Rose Plaza on the River, CB1 members said, especially for a project that sought a zoning variance for the heights of the three 18-, 24- and 29-story towers. The site, between Division Avenue and the Schaefer Landing complex, currently sits in a manufacturing zone, which means the developers would otherwise need to work within a height limit of 185 feet. “I didn’t think the committee vote was ‘no way,’ we just want to see the project to become better,” CB1 Land Use Committee chairman Ward Dennis said at that hearing, noting that that board has “always pushed for 40-percent affordable housing for new projects.” In the Rosenbergs’ proposal, just 20 percent of the units were designated as affordable.