Savanna snaps up City Point-adjacent development site

From left: Savanna's Christopher Schlank and 141 Willoughby Street
From left: Savanna's Christopher Schlank and 141 Willoughby Street

Savanna Partners has snapped up a potentially lucrative Brooklyn lot, just across from City Point, the controversial Downtown Brooklyn mixed-use megadevelopment.

Savanna has purchased 141 Willoughby Street, across the street from Arcadia Realty Trust’s project, for an undisclosed amount from the Institute of Design and Construction, Crain’s reported. The building currently on the site rises three stories, but the site could support a new development of up to 240,000 square feet.

141 Willoughby Street is a prime location in Downtown Brooklyn and we see tremendous future value,” Christopher Schlank, a managing partner at Savanna, said in a statement to Crain’s.

The site is currently zoned for up to 120,000 square feet of residential space, Vincent Battista, president and chairman of the board for the Institute of Design and Construction, told the magazine. But if Savanna can land a special city permit, as much as double that amount will be possible on the site.

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Because neighboring City Point is zoned for such high-rise development, Battista told Crain’s he expects Savanna would have little trouble securing such a waiver.

“Much of the surrounding area allows for large towers to be constructed,” Battista said. “We expect that it is a reasonable request to change the zoning here so that this site too can benefit from higher density.”

While neither buyer nor seller would disclose the purchase price, Battista told Crain’s that the deal was engineered so that the Institute will get a bonus should Savanna secure a permit to rezone for a larger building.

Woody Heller and Will Silverman of Studley represented the seller in the deal. [Crain’s]Julie Strickland