JDS secures $664M construction loan for Brooklyn’s future tallest tower

Otera and Silverstein provided the debt for the 1,066-foot-tall 9 DeKalb Avenue

Michael Stern of JDS Development and a rendering of 9 DeKalb Avenue in Brooklyn (Credit: Ackerman Development)
Michael Stern of JDS Development and a rendering of 9 DeKalb Avenue in Brooklyn (Credit: JDS Development Group)

After a years-long search for financing, 9 DeKalb Avenue is set to rise.

Michael Stern’s JDS Development this week secured a $664 million construction loan from Silverstein Capital and Otera Capital, according to the Wall Street Journal.

The planned 1,066-foot-tall tower, which will become Brooklyn’s tallest skyscraper and will contain 400 rental apartments and 150 condominiums, alongside 120,000 square feet of retail space. The building is expected to be completed by 2022.

In November, Stern was in discussions with Silverstein Capital for a $240 million mezzanine loan, as part of a $650 million loan package. The developer was at the time still looking for a lender to provide a $400 million senior loan.

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A JLL team led by Aaron Appel, Keith Kurland and Jonathan Schwartz represented JDS in the deal.

The loan marks the first made by Silverstein Capital, the recently established lending arm of Larry Silverstein’s eponymous development company.

Stern purchased the lot in 2014 with Joseph Chetrit for $43.5 million, before purchasing the neighboring Dime Savings Bank building for $90 million the following year. In 2017, the partners secured a $135 million land-loan package from Bank of the Ozarks, now Bank OZK, and Melody Finance. And in 2018, Stern bought Chetrit’s stake in the project for $60 million. [WSJ] — David Jeans