Former Jehovah’s Witnesses properties are the gifts that keep on giving for Brooklyn.
The religious group’s massive selloff of its buildings in the borough has gone on throughout 2017, and loans on two of those properties slotted in at the No. 2 and 3 spots on November’s list of the top 10 outer borough loans. The No. 1 spot belonged to a $137 million loan for the massive Greenpoint Landing project from Brookfield Property Partners.
Brooklyn once again dominated the list overall, taking seven spots, while Queens had two spots and the Bronx had one. The full list of November’s top 10 loans is as follows:
| Largest outer boro loans recorded in November 2017 | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rank | Address | Loan amount | Borrower | Lender | Neighborhood |
| 1 | Greenpoint Landing, 37 Commercial Street | $137 million | Brookfield Property Partners | Bank of Nova Scotia | Greenpoint |
| 2 | 21 Clark Street | $106.7 million | Kayne Anderson Real Estate Advisors | Wells Fargo | Brooklyn Heights |
| 3 | 74 Adams Street | $100 million | Hope Street Capital | Bank of the Ozarks | Dumbo |
| 4 | Brooklyn Hospital Center, 121 Dekalb Avenue, 240 Willoughby Street | $100 million | Brooklyn Hospital Center | MidCap Financial Services | |
| 5 | 7-11 Seagirt Avenue | $97.5million | Treetop Development | Signature Bank | Far Rockaway |
| 6 | 170 Buffalo Avenue | $79.8 million | Centers Health Care | M&T Bank | Crown Heights |
| 7 | 30 Flatbush Avenue | $75.1 million | Stark Enterprises | Great American Insurance Company | Downtown Brooklyn |
| 8 | Noonan Plaza at 105 West 168th Street | $69 million | Joel Gluck's Spencer Equity | Richman Group, City of New York, New York State Housing Finance Agency | South Bronx |
| 9 | 131-01 39th Avenue | $57.5 million | Yuk Ming Yip | China CITIC Bank International | Flushing |
| 10 | Hampton Inn Brooklyn Downtown Hotel at 125 Flatbush Avenue Extension, as well as 156 Tillary Street | $45 million | LodgeWorks Partners | Equity Bank | Downtown Brooklyn |
| Source: The Real Deal analysis of NYC Dept. of Finance loans recorded in November 2017. Refinance deals with the same lender, mortgage spreader agreements or extensions were not included. | |||||
37 Blue Slip (credit: CityRealty)
1. The Loan has Landed — $137 million
Topping last month’s list was a $137 million loan from the Bank of Nova Scotia for one of the apartment towers at Brookfield Property Partners’ massive Greenpoint Landing project. The money will go toward the 30-story, 373-unit residential tower at 37 Commercial Street, which spans almost 300,000 square feet and topped out in October. Overall, the complex from Brookfield and the Park Tower Group will span 11 buildings, 5,500 residential units and 22 acres. The 37 Commercial Street building is the first market-rate one in the complex, which will also contain three affordable buildings from L+M Development Partners.
21 Clark Street, (Credit: Google Maps)
2. Jehovah’s Millions — $106.7 million
The No. 2 spot on November’s list was a $106.7 million loan that Kayne Anderson Real Estate Advisors received from Wells Fargo for 21 Clark Street in Brooklyn Heights. Kayne purchased the building from Jehovah’s Witnesses in late October for $202.5 million, and the Florida-based private equity firm plans to build luxury residences for seniors on the site. The company intends to use the Wells Fargo loan for renovations on the property.
3. Never Give Up Hope Street Capital — $100 million
A loan on a former Jehovah’s Witnesses building was also in the No. 3 spot for November, with Bank of the Ozarks lending Jeffrey Gershon’s Hope Street Capital $100 million for 74 Adams Street in Dumbo. Gershon closed on his $60 million purchase of the site in November, which allows for the construction of roughly 200,000 square feet of residential and retail space. Gershon is planning to construct a 10-story, 145,322-square-foot residential building with 165 residential units and 584 square feet of commercial space on the site.
4. Call the MidCap — $100 million
Another $100 million loan comes next, courtesy of MidCap Financial, which loaned the money to Brooklyn Hospital Center. The health care facility is based at 121 Dekalb Avenue in Downtown Brooklyn.
5. From Seagirt to Shining Seagirt — $97.5 million
Queens makes its first appearance on the list at the No. 5 spot thanks to a $97.5 million loan from Signature Bank to Treetop Development for their complex at 711 Seagirt Avenue. Treetop purchased the four-building rental complex in Far Rockaway, known as the Sand Castle, for $135 million from E&M Associates. It contains 916 apartments and eight commercial units.
Rendering of 170 Buffalo Avenue (credit: John W. Baumgarten Architect)
6. Shuffle Off to Buffalo Avenue — $79.8 million
It’s back to Brooklyn for No. 6, with M&T Bank’s $79.8 million loan to Centers Health Care for 170 Buffalo Avenue in Crown Heights. The loan was consolidated with a previous mortgage of $15 million. Centers purchased the abandoned hospital site for $19.5 million in 2014 with plans to turn it into a nursing home, although the status of that project is unclear.
7. Cleveland Rocks! Cleveland Rocks! — $75.1 million
A $75.1 million loan to Cleveland-based Stark Enterprises from Great American Insurance Company nabbed the No. 7 spot. The loan was for Stark’s first New York purchase at 30 Flatbush Avenue in Downtown Brooklyn, which they bought for $92 million. The commercial office building spans 250,000 square feet and stands seven stories tall, and Stark will look into developing an affordable housing project at the space. The effort will be a joint venture with Sun Equity Partners.
8. Baby You’re a Richman — $69 million
The Bronx shows up for the first time on November’s list at No. 8 with a $69 million loan from Richman Group, the City of New York and the New York State Housing Finance Agency to Joel Gluck’s Spencer Equity. The money is for Noonan Plaza, an affordable housing building at 105 West 168th Street, and consists of a $53 million loan and two $7.8 million loans of city and state funding. The money will go toward refinancing $32 million of existing debt on the property, as well as renovations that would allow Gluck to raise rents.
9. Flush with Cash in Flushing — $57.5 million
China CITIC Bank International loaned real estate investor Yuk Ming Yip $57.5 million for 131-01 39th Avenue, one of the largest mixed-use development sites in Flushing. Yip purchased the land from developer Andy Zhu for $115 million. The site has almost 632,000 square feet of development rights, and Zhu acquired it in 2015 for $78 million. He had originally planned a mixed-use development for the site with a 200-key hotel, 360 residential condos, parking, medical office space and retail space, including a supermarket.
10. We at the Hotel, Motel, Hampton Inn — $45 million
A $45 million loan from Equity Bank to LodgeWorks Partners for their Hampton Inn at 125 Flatbush Avenue Extension rounds out November’s list. The hotel opened in 2014.