TF Cornerstone Lands Permanent Loan for Dean Street Rentals

Amid all the drama at Pacific Park, the megadevelopment formerly known as Atlantic Yards, TF Cornerstone has quietly put together a successful project at the southeastern end of it — capping it off with a $448 million permanent loan, newly released property records show.

The seven-year, fixed-rate loan from PNC Bank replaces the construction financing for the developer’s 798-unit project at 595 Dean Street, which is fully leased. (TF Cornerstone’s website shows just seven apartments available.) The previous loan came from a consortium of lenders.

The new financing is secured by the project’s three components, which technically comprise a condominium: rental apartments, a parking garage and commercial space. The residential units account for 78 percent of the condo, documents show.

The privately held TF Cornerstone, led by Tom and Fred Elghanayan, who have worked together since the 1970s, is tied to one of New York real estate’s most storied families. Its plans at Pacific Park have planned out, unlike those of some other developers at the site.

After Forest City Ratner announced the Atlantic Yards megaproject in 2003, opponents formed Develop Don’t Destroy Brooklyn and plagued the proposal with lawsuits and protests. Its leader, Daniel Goldstein, ultimately lost his fight, accepted a settlement and disappeared from public view.

His prediction did not come to fruition: The project did not destroy Brooklyn, although it did take a toll on Forest City Ratner and the Chinese firm it sold the project to, Greenland USA.

The undeveloped portion was put into bankruptcy and taken over this year by the Related Companies, Fortress Investment Group, and the U.S. Immigration Fund, which held the bad debt.

Several of the original Atlantic Yards development sites were previously sold off to other firms, including the one TF Cornerstone bought on Dean Street between Carlton and Vanderbilt avenues, just south of the rail yard. The company built two residential towers, which opened in the spring of 2023, and commercial space below. Thirty percent of the units are income-restricted, qualifying the project for the 421a property tax break.

Fujian restaurant Nin Hao signed a lease in September for 1,890 of the 3,400 square feet of retail space. The east tower’s lobby connects to a Chelsea Piers Fitness gym. Simo Pizza is also a tenant.

The development also includes 60,000 square feet of public green space — a field between the towers — and 29,000 square feet of outdoor space exclusively for tenants.

The site was formerly home to an industrial baking plant known as the Ward Baking Company Building. Project designer Handel Architects retained tiles, balustrades and railings from the baking factory to use in the public green space.