Clipper Equity signs $115M refi for 240-unit rental in Crown Heights
Clipper Equity through the entity Dean Owner LLC as borrower signed a refi loan with lender Berkshire Residential Investments through the entity MF1 Capital LLC valued at $115 million for the 240-unit residential elevator building (D7) at 953 Dean Street in Crown Heights, Brooklyn.
The deal closed on May 2, 2025 and was recorded on May 6, 2025. The prior lender was Valley National Bank which held debt that had an original loan amount of $115 million.The property has 237,103 square feet of built space according to a PincusCo analysis of city data. The loan price per built square foot is $485 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 signatory for Clipper Equity was David Bistricer . The signatory for Berkshire Residential Investments was Jonathan Pfeil .
Prior sales and revenue
The 237,103-square-foot property generated revenue of $8.6 million or $36 per square foot, according to the most recent income and expense figures.
The property
The residential elevator building with 240 residential units in Crown Heights has 237,103 square feet of built space according to a PincusCo analysis of city data. The parcel has frontage of 222 feet and is 220 feet deep with a total lot size of 34,509 square feet. The lot is irregular. The zoning is M1-4/R7A which allows for up to 2 times floor area ratio (FAR) for manufacturing and up to 4 times FAR for residential with inclusionary housing. The city-designated market value for the property in 2022 is $5.4 million. The most recent loan totaled $115 million and was provided by Valley National Bank, Bank Mizrahi-Tefahot, Be Aviv on August 10, 2023.
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 one DOB violation and $5,160 in OATH penalties in the last year.
Development
On the lot, there are three active new building construction projects and major alteration projects with initial costs more than $5 million, totaling 358,836 square feet. The largest, B00684789, is a new building project for a 234-unit, 164,763 square-foot R-2 building submitted by Solomon Schwimmer|Clipper Equity and filed by Solomon Schwimmer with plans filed March 6, 2022 and permitted September 5, 2023. The second largest, B00684789, is a new building project for a 234-unit, 164,763 square-foot R-2 building submitted by Solomon Schwimmer and filed by Solomon Schwimmer with plans filed March 6, 2022 and permitted September 5, 2023.
The block
On this tax block, PincusCo has identified the owners of seven of the 26 commercial properties representing 31,732 square feet of the 113,322 square feet. The largest owner is Clipper Realty, followed by Clarissa Eubanks and then G-Way Management.
On the tax block, there were three new building construction projects totaling 358,836 square feet. The largest is a 234-unit, 164,763 square-foot residential (R-2) building submitted by Solomon Schwimmer|Clipper Equity and filed by Solomon Schwimmer with plans filed March 6, 2022 and permitted May 27, 2022. The second largest is a 234-unit, 164,763 square-foot residential (R-2) building submitted by Solomon Schwimmer and filed by Solomon Schwimmer with plans filed March 6, 2022 and permitted May 27, 2022.
The majority, or 32 percent of the 113,322 square feet of built space are office buildings, with mixed-use buildings next occupying 30 percent of the space.
The borrower
The PincusCo database currently indicates that Clipper Equity owned at least 30 commercial properties with 6,531 residential units in New York City with 5,245,283 square feet and a city-determined market value of $705.1 million. (Market value is typically about 50% of actual value.) The portfolio has $2 billion in debt, with top three lenders as JPMorgan Chase, Bank of China, and Valley National Bank respectively. Within the portfolio, the bulk, or 82 percent of the 5,245,283 square feet of built space are elevator properties, with D6 properties next occupying 11 percent of the space. The bulk, or 72 percent of the built space, is in Brooklyn, with Manhattan next at 28 percent of the space.
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