CW Realty Group signs $31M refi for newly built 69-unit rental in Williamsburg

CW Realty Group through the entity Withers Tower LLC as borrower signed a refi loan with lender Bank of Princeton valued at $31 million for the newly constructed 69-unit rental at 280 Meeker Avenue in Williamsburg, Brooklyn.
On the lot, there was one active new building construction project for a 69-unit, 55,183 square-foot R-2 building. The project was submitted by CW Realty Group and filed by Cheskie Weiss with plans filed November 8, 2019 and permitted August 22, 2022. According to DOB records, the developer filed for an initial temporary certificate of occupancy in June and obtained the initial TCO September 22, 2023.
The deal closed on September 21, 2023 and was recorded on October 3, 2023.
The signatory for CW Realty Group was Neil Einhorn and Mark Friedman. The signatory for Bank of Princeton was Peggy Lane. The two CW Realty signatories are also involved in CareRite Centers.

The property

The parcel has frontage of 131 feet with a total lot size of 10,816 square feet. The lot is irregular. The zoning is M1-2/R6 which allows for up to 2 times floor area ratio (FAR) for manufacturing and up to 2.43 times FAR for residential. The city-designated market value for the property in 2022 is $367,773. The most recent loan totaled $17.1 million and was provided by Bank of Princeton on December 14, 2021.

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 $12,060 in OATH penalties in the last year.

The neighborhood

In Williamsburg, The bulk, or 39 percent of the 50.4 million square feet of commercial built space are elevator buildings, with walkup buildings next occupying 25 percent of the space. In sales, Williamsburg has the 5th highest sale turnover among other neighborhoods in the city with $2.7 billion in sales volume in the last two years. For development, Williamsburg is the 9th most active neighborhood among other neighborhoods. It had 4.2 million square feet of commercial and multi-family construction under development in the last two years, which represents 8 percent of the neighborhood’s built space.

The block

On this tax block, PincusCo has identified the owners of five of the seven commercial properties representing 18,667 square feet of the 39,042 square feet. The largest owner is The Training Center, followed by Synapse Development Group and then Michael Durso.
On the tax block, there was one new building construction project filed totaling 55,183 square feet. It is a 69-unit, 55,183 square-foot residential (R-2) building submitted by CW Realty Group and filed by Cheskie Weiss with plans filed November 8, 2019 and permitted August 22, 2022.

The majority, or 65 percent of the 39,042 square feet of built space are industrial buildings, with walkup buildings next occupying 23 percent of the space.

The borrower

The PincusCo database currently indicates that CW Realty Group owned at least 29 commercial properties with 279 residential units in New York City with 274,256 square feet and a city-determined market value of $60 million. (Market value is typically about 50% of actual value.) Within the portfolio, the bulk, or 48 percent of the 274,256 square feet of built space are elevator properties, with walkup properties next occupying 41 percent of the space. The bulk, or 88 percent of the built space, is in Brooklyn, with Queens next at 7 percent of the space.

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