Camba signs $181.8M construction loan with state for affordable project in Prospect Lefferts Gardens

Camba through the entity CHV 329 Clarkson Avenue Hsg Dev. Fund Corp. as borrower signed a new construction loan with lender NYS Housing Finance Agency valued at $181.8 million for the affordable project at 329 Clarkson Avenue in Prospect Lefferts Gardens, Brooklyn.

On the lot, there is one active new building construction project for a 291-unit, 219,002 square-foot residential (R-2) building. The project was submitted by CAMBA Housing Ventures and filed by Michael Berne with plans filed March 4, 2022.
The loan closed on March 30, 2023 and was recorded on April 17, 2023.

The signatory for Camba was Joanne M. Oplustil. The signatory for NYS Housing Finance Agency was Julie M. Behrens. Camba plans to build 328 affordable units. Camba obtained an additional $10 million from the NYS Homeless Housing & Assistance Corp.

The property

The industrial building in Prospect Lefferts Gardens has 45,120 square feet of built space and 9,856 square feet of additional air rights for a total buildable of 54,756 square feet according to a PincusCo analysis of city data. The parcel has frontage of 352 feet and is 246 feet deep with a total lot size of 54,756 square feet. The lot is irregular. The zoning is M1-1 which allows for up to 1 times floor area ratio (FAR) for manufacturing The city-designated market value for the property in 2022 is $4.2 million.

Violations and lawsuits

There were no lawsuits or bankruptcies filed against the property for the past 24 months. In addition, according to city public data, the property has received five DOB violations and $2,000 in OATH penalties in the last year.

The neighborhood

In Prospect Lefferts Gardens, The majority, or 55 percent of the 11.1 million square feet of commercial built space are elevator buildings, with walkup buildings next occupying 24 percent of the space. In sales, Prospect Lefferts Gardens has the 43rd highest sale turnover among other neighborhoods in Brooklyn with $53.5 million in sales volume in the last two years. For development, Prospect Lefferts Gardens has had very little major development activity relative to other neighborhoods.It had 207,069 square feet of commercial and multi-family construction under development in the last two years, which represents 2 percent of the neighborhood’s built space.

The block

On this tax block, PincusCo has identified the owners of two of the 18 commercial properties representing 9,000 square feet of the 186,398 square feet. The two identified owners are Rod Tabriztchi and Joel Rosenwasser.
On the tax block, there was one new building construction project filed totaling 219,002 square feet. It is a 291-unit, 219,002 square-foot residential (R-2) building submitted by CAMBA Housing Ventures and filed by Michael Berne with plans filed March 4, 2022 and it has not been permitted yet.

The majority, or 35 percent of the 186,398 square feet of built space are specialty buildings, with industrial buildings next occupying 25 percent of the space.

The borrower

The PincusCo database currently indicates that Camba owned at least three commercial properties with 323 residential units in New York City with 274,637 square feet and a city-determined market value of None. (Market value is typically about 50% of actual value.) The portfolio has $187.3 million in debt, with top three lenders as New York State, Bank of America, and NYS Homeless Housing and Assistance respectively. Within the portfolio, the bulk, or 99 percent of the 274,637 square feet of built space are elevator properties, with development properties next occupying 1 percent of the space. They are all located in Bronx.

Direct link to Acris document. link