Chaim Drizin signs $55M construction loan for 94-unit project in Crown Heights

Chaim Drizin and Robert Fireworker through 600 Crown Holdings LLC as borrower signed a loan with lender Popular Bank valued at $55 million for the 94-unit project at 600 Crown Street in Crown Heights, Brooklyn.
The deal closed on July 31, 2023 and was recorded on August 17, 2023. The property has zero square feet of built space and 96,120 square feet of additional air rights for a total buildable of 96,120 square feet according to a PincusCo analysis of city data. The loan price per built square foot is $N/A and the price per buildable square foot is $572 per the PincusCo analysis. (The price per square foot analysis is the transaction price divided by square feet as reported in public records and assumes no air rights have been sold.)

The property

The parcel has frontage of 238 feet and is 178 feet deep with a total lot size of 27,942 square feet. The lot is irregular. The zoning is R7-1 which allows for up to 3.44 times floor area ratio (FAR) for residential. The city-designated market value for the property in 2022 is $4.5 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 $50 in OATH penalties in the last year.

Development

On the lot, there is one active new building construction project for a 94-unit, 96,556 square-foot R-2 building. The project was submitted by Chaim Drizin and filed by Chaim Drizin with plans filed October 21, 2021 and permitted January 4, 2023.

The neighborhood

In Crown Heights, The bulk, or 39 percent of the 46.5 million square feet of commercial built space are walkup buildings, with elevator buildings next occupying 36 percent of the space. In sales, Crown Heights has 1.6 times the average sales volume among other neighborhoods with $562.9 million in sales volume in the last two years and is the 12th highest in Brooklyn. For development, Crown Heights has 2.8 times the average amount of major developments relative to other neighborhoods and is the 6th highest in Brooklyn. It had 2.9 million square feet of commercial and multi-family construction under development in the last two years, which represents 6 percent of the neighborhood’s built space.

The block

On the tax block, there were two new building construction projects totaling 219,727 square feet. The largest is a 81-unit, 123,171 square-foot residential (R-2) building submitted by Chaim Drizin and filed by Chaim Drizin with plans filed October 21, 2021 and it has not been permitted yet. The second largest is a 94-unit, 96,556 square-foot residential (R-2) building submitted by Chaim Drizin and filed by Chaim Drizin with plans filed October 21, 2021 and permitted January 4, 2023.

The majority, or 100 percent of the 41,208 square feet of built space are specialty buildings, with development buildings next occupying 0 percent of the space.

Direct link to Acris document. link