Clipper Equity signs $123M new construction loan for 234-unit project in Crown Heights

Clipper Equity through the entity Dean Owner LLC as borrower signed a new construction loan with lender Valley National Bank valued at $123 million for the 234-unit project at 953 Dean Street in Crown Heights, Brooklyn.

On the lot, there is one active new building construction project for a 234-unit, 164,763 square-foot residential (R-2) building submitted by Solomon Schwimmer and Clipper Equity and filed by Solomon Schwimmer with plans filed March 6, 2022 and permitted May 27, 2022. The Commercial Observer article reported the number of units would be 240.
The Commercial Observer reported the entire loan amount is $123 million given by Valley National Bank, Bank Mizrahi-Tefahot and Be Aviv, but of that $115 million was recorded.
The deal closed on August 10, 2023 and was recorded on August 18, 2023. The prior lender was Valley National Bank which held debt that had an original loan amount of $37 million.
The signatory for Clipper Equity was David Bistricer. The signatory for Valley National Bank was Jeffrey Puchin.

The property

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 $176,000. The most recent loan totaled $7 million and was provided by Valley National Bank on April 14, 2022.

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 $3,125 in ECB penalties and $3,125 in OATH penalties in the last year.

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 $558.9 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 2.8 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. There was one pre-foreclosure suit filed among other industrial buildings in the past 12 months.

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 G-Way Management, followed by Clipper Realty and then Clarissa Eubanks.
On the tax block, there were three new building construction projects. The largest is a 234-unit, 164,763 square-foot residential (R-2) building submitted by Solomon Schwimmer and Clipper Equity 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 26 commercial properties with 5,192 residential units in New York City with 4,683,869 square feet and a city-determined market value of $702.7 million. (Market value is typically about 50% of actual value.) The portfolio has $1.1 billion in debt, with top three lenders as Bank of China, New York Community Bank, and G4 Capital Partners respectively. Within the portfolio, the bulk, or 92 percent of the 4,683,869 square feet of built space are elevator properties, with office properties next occupying 4 percent of the space. The bulk, or 69 percent of the built space, is in Brooklyn, with Manhattan next at 31 percent of the space.

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