Eichner, Lincoln Equities close on purchase of Crown Heights megaproject site

Loan will finance companies’ acquisition of land and rezoning application

Ian Bruce Eichner, Joel Bergstein and Crown Heights (Credit: CUNY TV and Airbnb)
Ian Bruce Eichner, Joel Bergstein and Crown Heights (Credit: CUNY TV and Airbnb)

Fortress Investment Group has given a $35.4 million loan to Ian Bruce Eichner’s Continuum Company and Joel Bergstein’s Lincoln Equities for the acquisition of the site of their massive residential project in Crown Heights, The Real Deal has learned.

The 18-month acquisition loan allows the companies to close on the site and finance their rezoning application, according to Eichner. The companies plan to develop four buildings on the parcels at 120-136 Montgomery Street and 964-968 Franklin Avenue with 50 percent affordable housing in exchange for a rezoning allowing for higher density.

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The residential project will span 1 million square feet, making it one of the largest developments in the history of Crown Heights. Eichner previously told TRD that the project would cost more than $500 million. AFL-CIO Housing Investment Trust is slated to provide the project with construction financing, and Eichner will only use union labor on the site as part of the deal.

The controversial Bedford-Union Armory project has recently dominated Crown Heights real estate news, and the city recently said it would reconsider its decision to include 40 market-rate condominiums in the mixed-use project.