Rabsky Secures Another $485M for DoBro Project

Simon Dushinsky and Isaac Rabinowitz secured another loan to recapitalize their Downtown Brooklyn project, likely enough to get the development to the finish line.

Madison Realty Capital provided a $485 million loan to the Rabsky Group for its multifamily project at 625 Fulton Street, the Commercial Observer reported. The debt retires $450 million that was also provided by Madison Realty back in 2021.

Rabsky and Madison Realty did not respond to the Observer’s requests for comment. Galaxy Capital’s Henry Bodek arranged the transaction.

The project is one of the largest of its kind in Brooklyn. Rabsky’s 35-story, mixed-use tower at the site will include 1,098 apartments. There will be 342 studios, 492 one-bedroom and 264 two-bedroom units; 30 percent of the units will be affordable under the since-expired 421a affordability tax break, making it one of the last projects to take advantage of the old program. There will be additional affordable housing units through the city’s Inclusionary Housing Program.

The development will also include 26,000 square feet of retail space, 250 parking spaces and 150 storage units.

Rabsky’s development dates back to early 2016, when it acquired the necessary lots from Forest City Realty Trust for $158 million. Bank Leumi, Axos Bank and the State Bank of Texas provided acquisition financing.

The project is slated for completion this year, but hasn’t been built without tragedy. In the fall of 2022, a 27-year-old worker who was installing scaffolding slipped and fell 20 feet, becoming crushed by an I-beam and ultimately dying of blunt force trauma, according to the Occupational Safety & Health Administration. The subcontractor involved was fined $128,000 by the federal agency.

The recapitalization of 625 Fulton isn’t the only major loan Rabsky has reeled in recently. A couple of weeks ago, the Brooklyn-based developer scored a $286 million construction loan for a 604-unit multifamily project at 313 Bond Street in Gowanus. G4 Capital provided the financing in a deal that was also arranged by Bodek.

— Holden Walter-Warner