Camber signs $71.1M construction loan with city for 128-unit project in Bushwick
Camber Property Group through the entity 1601 Dekalb Owner LLC as borrower signed a new construction loan with lender NYC Housing Development Corporation valued at $71.1 million for the 128-unit development at at 1601 Dekalb Avenue in Bushwick, Brooklyn.
On the lot, there is one active new building construction project for a 128-unit, 100,444 square-foot R-2 building. The project was submitted by Camber Property Group and filed by Rick Gropper with plans filed July 26, 2019 and permitted May 5, 2022.
The deal closed on December 21, 2023 and was recorded on January 3, 2024.
The signatory for Camber Property Group was Rick Gropper.
The property
The parcel has frontage of 150 feet and is 200 feet deep with a total lot size of 24,999 square feet. The zoning is R7A which allows for up to 4 times floor area ratio (FAR) for residential with inclusionary housing. The city-designated market value for the property in 2022 is $971,000.
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 $100 in OATH penalties in the last year.
The neighborhood
In Bushwick, The bulk, or 44 percent of the 33.6 million square feet of commercial built space are walkup buildings, with elevator buildings next occupying 18 percent of the space. In sales, Bushwick has 2.1 times the average sales volume among other neighborhoods with $654.7 million in sales volume in the last two years and is the 8th highest in Brooklyn. For development, Bushwick has 1.2 times the average amount of major developments relative to other neighborhoods and is the 14th highest in Brooklyn. It had 1.2 million square feet of commercial and multi-family construction under development in the last two years, which represents 4 percent of the neighborhood’s built space.
The block
On this tax block, PincusCo has identified the owners of 16 of the 26 commercial properties representing 112,997 square feet of the 175,862 square feet. The largest owner is William Chan, followed by Watermark Capital Group and then United States Postal Service.
On the tax block, there was one new building construction project filed totaling 100,444 square feet. It is a 128-unit, 100,444 square-foot residential (R-2) building submitted by Camber Property Group and filed by Rick Gropper with plans filed July 26, 2019 and permitted May 5, 2022.
The majority, or 63 percent of the 175,862 square feet of built space are walkup buildings, with elevator buildings next occupying 21 percent of the space.
The borrower
The PincusCo database currently indicates that Camber Property Group owned at least 72 commercial properties with 7,417 residential units in New York City with 7,181,744 square feet and a city-determined market value of $520 million. (Market value is typically about 50% of actual value.) The portfolio has $1.6 billion in debt, with top three lenders as NYC Housing Development Corporation, New York City Housing Authority, and Citibank respectively. Within the portfolio, the bulk, or 94 percent of the 7,181,744 square feet of built space are elevator properties, with walkup properties next occupying 2 percent of the space. The bulk, or 85 percent of the built space, is in Bronx, with Brooklyn next at 12 percent of the space.
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