The 10 biggest Brooklyn deals in Q2 2018

Starrett City topped the list by a margin of more than $700M

Clockwise from the top left: Starrett City, 237 11th Street, Aby Rosen, Jared Kushner, Brad Lander and 175-225 3rd Street (Credit: LIVWRK, RFR, Getty Images and Twitter)
Clockwise from the top left: Starrett City, 237 11th Street, Aby Rosen, Jared Kushner, Brad Lander and 175-225 3rd Street (Credit: LIVWRK, RFR, Getty Images and Twitter)

The Starrett City sale dominated Brooklyn’s real estate market during the second quarter.

The massive deal was the largest in Brooklyn by far at about $887.3 million, according to data from Real Capital Analytics. This was more than $700 million higher than the deal in second place: RFR Realty’s $114 million purchase of SL Green Realty and Kushner Companies’ Gowanus site.

Half of the borough’s largest sales were retail sites, while the remaining five were split between two residential sites, one development site, one general site and one senior housing site.

The deals were worth about $1.4 billion overall, a large increase from the first quarter of the year, when they were worth about $802 million in total, and from the fourth quarter of last year, when they totaled about $692 million.

The full list of Brooklyn’s top 10 deals for the first quarter is below:

1. 1255 Pennsylvania Avenue, approximately $887.3 million
Buyer: Brooksville Company and Rockpoint Group
Seller: Starrett City Associates
The gargantuan Starrett City sale was the largest deal in Brooklyn during the second quarter by an extremely wide margin. The East New York complex is now known as Spring Creek Towers, and it is the country’s largest federally subsidized housing development with 46 buildings and 5,881 housing units across 145 acres. The deal officially closed in May, when Brooksville and Rockpoint bought it from Starrett City Associates, which has owned the complex since it opened in 1974 and is controlled by Disque Deane’s widow Carole Dean.

2. 175-225 Third Street, $114 million
Buyer: RFR Realty
Seller: SL Green and Kushner Companies
Kushner Companies and SL Green Realty sold their Gowanus development site to Aby Rosen’s RFR Realty in April for $114 million. The site is located across the street from Whole Foods, and Kushner and SL Green bought it in 2014 for $70 million. Rosen landed a $74 million mortgage for the purchase from Maryland-based Union Labor Life Insurance Company. The city is expected to rezone Gowanus, which could increase the value of the site, but local City Council member Brad Lander said in a November interview with WNYC that he was not sure if he could vote “to take part in enriching the White House senior adviser.” Charlie Kushner later told The Real Deal that he viewed this as discrimination.

3. 237 11th Street, approximately $81.2 million
Buyer: Trinity Place Holdings
Seller: Adam America Real Estate, Slate Property Group, Naveh Schuster
This mixed-use building in Park Slope contains 105 units and stands 12 stories tall. Trinity closed on the purchase in May, financing it with a $67.8 million loan. The building includes 6,264 square feet of retail, and a Starbucks occupies part of the space.

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4. 520 Prospect Place, approximately $64 million
Buyer: Cassena Care
Seller: Center for Nursing and Rehabilitation
Nursing home operator Cassena Care purchased this Crown Heights senior housing and care building for $64 million from the Center for Nursing and Rehabilitation in June. The building spans 118,230 square feet.

5. 118 Second Avenue, $53 million
Buyer: Two Trees Management
Seller: Forest City Ratner
Two Trees closed on this retail property in Gowanus in April for $53 million. The company purchased the site from Forest City Ratner. It is currently home to a Lowe’s that spans 400,000 square feet, and it has the potential for a project that would span about 800,000 square feet. Two Trees also reportedly paid about $65 million for an 800,000-square-foot site nearby at 1-37 12th Street, but that deal has not closed yet.

6. 8973 Bay Parkway, approximately $43 million
Buyer: Gazit-Globe
Seller: Surrey Equities
The Tel Aviv-based company Gazit Globe entered into a joint venture with Surrey Equities for the leasehold interest at Caesar’s Bay Bazaar, a shopping center located in deep Brooklyn along the Bath Beach waterfront. Gazit took a 41 percent economic interest and a 50 percent voting interest. Tenants at the 300,000-square-foot shopping center include Best Buy, Modell’s Sporting Goods and Kohl’s.

7. 584 Driggs Avenue, $31.1 million
Buyer: David Duke Dweck
Seller: Boricua College
Developer David Duke Dweck purchased three Williamsburg buildings from Boricua College in April for $31.1 million. He plans to build a mixed-use project on the site with rental apartments. The property consists of two adjoining lots with three buildings: a gym, a main school building, and a multifamily property, spanning about 68,700 square feet overall. Dweck financed the deal with $30 million from G4 Capital Partners.

8. 1100 Kings Highway, $30.5 million
Buyer: AB Capstone, Richard Harris
Seller: New York REIT
AB Capstone and Richard Harris teamed up to purchase 1100 Kings Highway and 2067 Coney Island Avenue in Gravesend in May. AB Capstone owns a 70 percent stake in the New York REIT properties, while Harris owns a 30 percent stake. The adjacent retail sites are fully leased and span slightly more than 43,000 square feet. Tenants include Dressbarn, Annie Sez and Chase Bank. The sales were part of New York REIT’s liquidation of its portfolio, which totals 4.4 million square feet.

9. 4525 8th Avenue, $28 million
Buyer: New York School Construction Authority
Seller: Wei (Ricky) Guo
The city purchased this supermarket site in Sunset Park for $28 million, where it plans to build two elementary schools for children in pre-K through fifth grade. They bought it from 4509 Eighth LLC, which investor Wei (Ricky) Guo controls. The SCA had considered using eminent domain to take over the property, as the owners wanted to build a mixed-use project on the site and were reluctant to give it up, but the two sides were ultimately able to agree on a purchase price.

10. 542 Atlantic Avenue, $27.5 million
Buyer: Sterling Town Equities
Seller: James Pappas
Sterling Town Equities bought this two-story Boerum Hill retail building for $27.5 million from multiple Greek families. Bank Hapoalim provided the company with a $15 million mortgage on the site. The families had owned the site as least since 2016.