A&E Real Estate signs $165M loan modification for Kew Gardens Hills portfolio, halting foreclosure action

A&E Real Estate Holdings signed a $165 million loan modification with Santander Bank covering a Kew Gardens Hills, Queens, portfolio of approximately 1,268 residential units in walkup buildings situated on 12 tax lots, and with that loan deal ended a foreclosure action the bank brought against the landlord earlier this month.
A&E Real Estate Holdings, through the entity Kew Gardens Hills, LLC as borrower signed the loan agreement on October 23, 2025, according to a spokesperson for the landlord. The transaction has not yet been recorded. The properties include the three-story walkups 147-08 72nd Road, 150-16 72nd Road, 72-60 150th Street, 150-18 72nd Drive, 150-18 75th Avenue, and others.

A&E Real Estate Holdings , led by Douglas Eisenberg, is one of the city’s largest private landlords, with approximately 15,576 residential units.
The borrower originally signed a $165 million loan in January 2021 with Signature Bank. Following the closure of Signature Bank in March 2023, Santander Bank acquired a portfolio of Signature loans secured by rent-regulated properties including this group of buildings.
Then on October 8, 2025, Santander through the entity SIG RCRS A/B MF 2023 Venture LLC filed a pre-foreclosure action, alleging the loan was in default.

Case 730242/2025 LINK

That case was discontinued on October 24, 2025, a day after the loan was signed.

A spokesperson for A&E Real Estate Holdings said in a statement to PincusCo, “We recently finalized a modification of the loan on our Kew Gardens portfolio. As had been our stated intention, this modification gives us the ability and confidence to invest additional equity into these buildings to ensure our hard-working residents benefit from the safe, comfortable and well-maintained homes they deserve. With this modification, our lender, a joint venture of Santander and the FDIC, has discontinued its legal action. We fully expect to achieve a similarly positive outcome with this same joint venture on our loan at 400 East 58th Street in the very near future.”

Direct link to Acris document. link