Eichner partnering with Lincoln Equities on giant Crown Heights resi development

1M sf project to be 50% affordable

Bruce Eichner, Joel Bergstein and 120-136 Montgomery Street (Credit:L CUNY TV and Google Maps)
Bruce Eichner, Joel Bergstein and 120-136 Montgomery Street (Credit:L CUNY TV and Google Maps)

UPDATED, Sep. 20, 12:42 p.m.: Bruce Eichner’s Continuum Company and Joel Bergstein’s Lincoln Equities are planning to develop a 1-million-square-foot mixed-income residential project in Crown Heights — one of the largest developments in the history of the neighborhood.

Lincoln recently went into contract to buy two parcels at 120-136 Montgomery Street spanning a combined 88,800 square feet, as The Real Deal reported Monday. The partners are also buying two adjacent lots at 964-968 Franklin Avenue. Speaking at the RealInsight New York Multifamily Summit on Wednesday, Eichner said the assemblage spans 120,000 square feet. He declined to say how much the partners paid for the site, but claimed the entire project will cost more than $500 million.

Cushman & Wakefield’s Robert Knakal is brokering the land sale.

The partners hope to develop four buildings and earmark 50 percent of the units for below-market rents in return for a rezoning that allows for more density. The project still has to go through ULURP and win city approval. According to Eichner, it will be built under the city’s Mandatory Inclusionary Housing program.

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Eichner also said he will develop the project with union labor. He claimed AFL-CIO’s Housing Investment Trust signed a letter of intent to finance the development in a bond deal that would cover 75 percent of the cost. The trust could not immediately be reached for comment.

The site is three blocks from the Bedford-Union Armory, where Donald Capoccia ran into fierce local resistance against his mixed-use redevelopment plans.

Eichner most recently developed the luxury condo high-rise at 45 East 22nd Street and is currently looking for a $180 million condo inventory loan for unsold units there. He also planned to build a 32-story rental building at 1800 Park Avenue in Harlem but ended up selling that site to the Durst Organization last year.