Ekstein Development signs $48.8M construction loan with Santander for development in Bushwick

Ekstein Development Group through the entity 1333 Broadway LLC as borrower signed a new construction loan with lender Santander Bank valued at $48.8 million for the development at 1333 Broadway in Bushwick, Brooklyn.
The deal closed on April 1, 2022 and was recorded on April 12, 2022. The prior lender was S3 Capital which held debt that had an original loan amount of $11.3 million. The property has zero square feet of built space and 78,829 square feet of additional air rights for a total buildable of 78,829 square feet according to PincusCo analysis of city data. The loan price per buildable square foot is $619 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 6, 2019, for $16.7 million. The signatory for Ekstein Development Group was Eric Ekstein. The signatory for Santander Bank was Michael Corbett.

The property

The 1333 Broadway parcel has frontage of 76 feet and is 250 feet deep with a total lot size of 32,440 square feet. The zoning is R6 which allows for up to 2.43 times floor area ratio (FAR) for residential. The city-designated market value for the property in 2022 is $299,000. The most recent loan totaled $11.3 million and was provided by Spruce Capital on December 6, 2019.

Violations and lawsuits

The property was not involved in any lawsuits or bankruptcies in the past years. In addition, according to city public data, the property has received $1,998 in ECB penalties in the last year.

Development

On these lots, there is one active new building construction project for a 106-unit, 102,165-square-foot R-2 building. The project was developed by Erik Ekstein with plans filed April 30, 2018.

The neighborhood

In Bushwick, the bulk, or 32 percent of the 51.4 million square feet of commercial built space are 1-4 family buildings, with residential walkup buildings next occupying 29 percent of the space. In sales, Bushwick has 3.3 times the average sales volume among other neighborhoods with $910.2 million in sales volume in the last two years and is the 3rd highest in Brooklyn. For development, Bushwick has 1.2 times the average amount of major developments relative to other neighborhoods and is the 18th highest in Brooklyn. It had 1.1 million square feet of commercial and multi-family construction under development in the last two years, which represents 2 percent of the neighborhood’s built space.

The block

On this tax block, PincusCo has identified the owners of three of the 10 commercial properties representing 26,029 square feet of the 83,390 square feet. The largest owner is Meir D. Tabak, followed by Anand Chetram and then E+T Development Group. There are three active new building construction projects totaling 123,184 square feet. The largest is a 106-unit, 102,165-square-foot R-2 building developed by Erik Ekstein with plans filed April 30, 2018. The second largest is a 20-unit, 16,406-square-foot R-2 building developed by Anya Levitov with plans filed August 2, 2016 and permitted April 30, 2018.

The majority, or 46 percent of the 154,404 square feet of built space are 1-4 family buildings, with residential walkup buildings next occupying 21 percent of the space.

The borrower

The PincusCo database currently indicates that Ekstein Development Group owned at least two commercial properties with 88,269 square feet and a city-determined market value of $29.5 million. (Market value is typically about 50% of actual value.) The portfolio has $133.5 million in debt, borrowed from Citibank and Man Real Estate Debt Investments. Within the portfolio, all identified are residential elevator properties. They are all located in Manhattan.

Surrounding

Within a 400-foot radius of 1333 Broadway, PincusCo identified one commercial real estate item of interests occurred over the past 24 months.
It was a permit issued on October 23, 2020 for the $560,540 renovation of 3,495-square-foot R-2 building with five residential units at 1106 Gates Avenue.

Direct link to Acris document. link