Domain, Vorea sign $127.6M loan for 254-unit project in Gowanus

Domain Companies and Vorea Group through the entity 545 Sackett LLC as borrower signed a loan with lender U.S. Bank valued at $127.6 million for the development building (V1) at 540 Degraw Street in Gowanus, Brooklyn.
The deal closed on August 27, 2025 and was recorded on September 9, 2025. The property has zero square feet of built space and 242,500 square feet of additional air rights for a total buildable of 242,500 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 $526 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 owner bought the property on December 15, 2017, for $26.5 million. The signatory for Domain Companies and Vorea Group was Matthew Schwartz .

The property

The parcel has frontage of 285 feet and is 200 feet deep with a total lot size of 48,500 square feet. The lot is irregular. The zoning is M1-4/R7X which allows for up to 2 times floor area ratio (FAR) for manufacturing and up to 5 times FAR for residential with inclusionary housing. The city-designated market value for the property in 2022 is $1.9 million. U.S. Bank on August 25, 2022 bought a loan with an original principal of from signed by Matthew Schwartz, secured by 540 Degraw Street, when owned by Domain Companies|Vorea Group.

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 two DOB violations, $17,500 in ECB penalties, and $17,500 in OATH penalties in the last year.

Development

On the lot, there is one active new building construction project, B00600959, for a 254-unit, 244,882 square-foot R-2 building. The project was submitted by VOREA Group and filed by Peter Papamichael with plans filed October 28, 2021 and permitted March 8, 2023.

The neighborhood

In Gowanus, The bulk, or 46 percent of the 9.2 million square feet of commercial built space are industrial buildings, with elevator buildings next occupying 19 percent of the space. In sales, Gowanus has 2.6 times the average sales volume among other neighborhoods with $735.5 million in sales volume in the last two years and is the 7th highest in Brooklyn. For development, Gowanus has 1.5 times the average amount of major developments relative to other neighborhoods and is the 6th highest in Brooklyn. It had 2.1 million square feet of commercial and multi-family construction under development in the last two years, which represents 23 percent of the neighborhood’s built space.

The block

On this tax block, PincusCo has identified the owners of four of the six commercial properties representing 60,300 square feet of the 71,964 square feet. The two identified owners are Vorea Group and Hershy Silberstein.
On the tax block, there were five new building construction projects totaling 1,067,828 square feet. The largest is a 291-unit, 258,599 square-foot residential (R-2) building submitted by Marino Mazzei|Bonafide Realty and filed by Marino Mazzei with plans filed February 4, 2022 and permitted May 31, 2022. The second largest is a 291-unit, 258,599 square-foot residential (R-2) building submitted by Marino Mazzei and filed by Marino Mazzei with plans filed February 4, 2022 and permitted May 31, 2022.

The majority, or 84 percent of the 71,964 square feet of built space are industrial buildings, with retail buildings next occupying 16 percent of the space.

The borrower

The PincusCo database currently indicates that Domain Companies owned at least 21 commercial properties with 904 residential units in New York City with 1,800,471 square feet and a city-determined market value of $31.3 million. (Market value is typically about 50% of actual value.) The portfolio has $637.3 million in debt, with top three lenders as JLL, Equitable Financial Life Insurance Company, and PNC Bank respectively. Within the portfolio, the bulk, or 95 percent of the 1,800,471 square feet of built space are elevator properties, with industrial properties next occupying 5 percent of the space. The bulk, or 95 percent of the built space, is in Bronx, with Brooklyn next at 3 percent of the space.
The PincusCo database currently indicates that Vorea Group owned at least nine commercial properties with 543 residential units in New York City with 315,913 square feet and a city-determined market value of $31.9 million. (Market value is typically about 50% of actual value.) The portfolio has $286.6 million in debt, with top three lenders as Wells Fargo, ACRES Capital, and RRA Capital respectively. Within the portfolio, the bulk, or 33 percent of the 315,913 square feet of built space are industrial properties, with development properties next occupying 30 percent of the space. The bulk, or 85 percent of the built space, is in Queens, with Brooklyn next at 15 percent of the space.

Direct link to Acris document. link