Edward J. Minskoff Equities lands $138M construction loan with AIG for Dumbo development

By Varvara Budetti

AIG Investments is funding the construction of Edward J. Minskoff Equities’ proposed 220,000-square-foot commercial building at 35 Jay Street in Dumbo with a $138 million loan, according to property records published today.

Minskoff acquired the property at 35 Jay Street in March of 2020 from the Forman Group for $61.5 million. It was then home to a  two-story brick warehouse. The purchase was funded by a $40 million acquisition loan from Bank of America.

Minskoff submitted proposals for the new construction, an 11-story retail and office building in September of 2020 with 185,555 square feet of zoning space and total construction square feet of 220,000 square feet. The following year, the developer broke ground on September 14, the NY Post reported.

Public records show the construction of the new building at the corner of Jay and Plymouth streets will be funded by a loan from AIG Investments. Edward J. Minskoff signed the loan documents which are dated October 12 and recorded October 29.

AIG declined a PincusCo request for comment.

Renderings revealed by Visualhouse and Marvel Architects show the planned construction which features even windows and diagonal cross bracing meant to evoke a “historic industrial feel”.

Forman Group principal Peter Forman told The Real Deal at the time that in part they sold the building to Minskoff because a “development of this magnitude” was not their forte.

The loan price per planned construction square foot is $613 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 has alternate addresses including 29 Jay Street and 167 Plymouth Street.

Within a 400-foot radius of 35 Jay Street, PincuscCo identified four commercial real estate items of interests occurred over the past 24 months. One of those four items was a sale which Zelouf International Corp. bought the 17,404-square-foot, two-unit office building (O5) on 53 Pearl Street for $8.5 million from Pearl 53 LLC on June 22, 2021.

Of those four items, three were loans above $5 million totaling $35.7 million. The most recent of the three was Zelouf International Corp. which borrowed $9.2 million from Connectone Bank secured by the 17,404-square-foot, two-unit office building (O5) on 53 Pearl Street on June 22, 2021.

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