The Jehovah’s Witnesses’ massive selloff of its remaining Brooklyn properties dominated the biggest deals in Brooklyn during the third quarter of 2017, occupying both the number one and the number three spots on the list.
The religious organization, which recently moved its headquarters to Warwick, New York, sold its former hotel at 90 Sands Street to Aby Rosen’s RFR Realty in August for $135 million — number one on the list — and sold its apartment building at 97 Columbia Heights to Hawkins Way Capital in August for $58 million —number three on the list. The Witnesses‘ roughly $18 million sale of its building at 119 Columbia Heights to Hawkins just missed out on making it into the top 10 for the third quarter.
Half of the top 10 sales were residential buildings, while one was a hotel, one was industrial and three were development sites. The deals were worth about $831.5 million overall, significantly more than the $468.3 million recorded in the second quarter but lower than the roughly $1 billion in the first quarter.
Other notable deals from July, August and September include the Brodsky Organization spending $98 million for a majority stake in City Point and Wildenstein & Co’s $51 million purchase of The Saint Marks in Bushwick.
The full list of Brooklyn’s top 10 sales is as follows:
1. 90 Sands Street, $135 million
Buyer: RFR Realty and LIVWRK
Seller: Jehovah’s Witnesses
The Jehovah’s Witnesses continued to check out of Brooklyn with the $135 million sale of their former residential hotel at 90 Sands Street to Aby Rosen’s RFR Realty. LIVWRK is a partner on the deal. Kushner Companies had been a partner but exited before the deal closed. The site is part of a six-building portfolio that the church originally went into contract to sell in 2013 for $375 million to RFR, LIVWRK, Kushner and Invesco.
2. 7 Dekalb Avenue, approximately $98 million
Buyer: Brodsky Organization
Seller: Acadia Realty and Washington Square Partners
Brokerage: CBRE
The Brodsky Organization spent about $98 million in August to obtain a majority stake in City Point, a megaproject in Downtown Brooklyn with 250 residential units across 23 floors. BFC Partners developed the tower with Acadia Realty Trust and Washington Square Partners, and the company is keeping its stake in the project.
3. 97 Columbia Heights, $58 million
Buyer: Hawkins Way Capital
Seller: Jehovah’s Witnesses
Brokerage: Leslie J. Garfield & Co.
The Witnesses took the number three spot on this list as well with the $58 million sale of the 12-story, 97-unit building at 97 Columbia Heights. The religious organization sold this property to Los Angeles-based real estate developer Hawkins Way Capital, which also purchased their site at 119 Columbia Heights for $18 million.
4. The Saint Marks, $51 million
Buyer: Wildenstein & Co
Seller: Cayuga Capital Management
Wildenstein & Co purchased this 99-unit, seven-story apartment building in September for $51 million. The residential building was just constructed this year and is located in Bushwick at 626 Bushwick Avenue.
5. 459 Smith Street, approximately $48 million
Buyer: Property Management Group, All Year Management Inc and the Hakim Organization
Seller: Henry Abadi
Brokerage: Pinnacle Realty
PMG, All Year Management and Hakim joined together to purchase this 166,000-square-foot lot from garment mogul Henry Abadi in July. The site contains more than 330,000 buildable square feet, and the developers are considering using it for a mixed-use project with hotel, office and retail space, although these plans are contingent on the city rezoning the site’s Gowanus neighborhood.
6. 561 Pacific Street, approximately $36 million
Buyer: Adam America
Seller: Jackson Group
Adam America closed on its purchase of 561 Pacific Street in July. The development site is the former home of a 150-year-old church that was demolished after church leaders said it had become structurally unsafe. The Brooklyn-based developer plans to build a 12-story condo on the site with 72 units and 6,657 square feet of ground floor commercial space.
7. 96 Steuben Street, $35.3 million
Buyer: Madison Realty Capital
Seller: Bo Jin Zhu
Brokerage: Besen & Associates
Josh Zegen and Brian Shatz’s Madison Realty Capital purchased this Clinton Hill site in July. The eight-story residential property was constructed in 2014 and consists of 62 units across two buildings.
8. 508-510 Driggs Avenue, approximately $27.8 million
Buyer: Hampshire Properties
Seller: Alliance Private Capital Group
Hampshire Properties purchased this 17,500-square-foot Williamsburg development site in August for about $27.8 million from Alliance Private Capital Group. Hampshire is also planning a residential building on the Upper West Side with 33 units.
9. 115 Stanwix Street, $23.4 million
Buyer: JCS Realty
Seller: Rabsky Group
Brokerage: Meridian Investment Sales
The Rabsky Group sold off a piece of its Rheingold Brewery site in August for $23.4 million. JCS Realty purchased the site, and they are planning to build a 136-unit rental project on it.
10. The Atlantic Stamp Building, $19 million
Buyer: Twining Properties
Seller: Zurich Alternative AM
Brokerage: HFF
Twining Properties purchased this eight-story Boerum Hill apartment building at 307 Atlantic Avenue from Zurich Alternative AM in September. The building was constructed in 2012 and contains 26 units, along with 3,544 square feet of street level retail space.