Elizabeth McDonald signs $7.2M construction loan for development in Carroll Gardens

Elizabeth McDonald through the entity 420 Court Street LLC as borrower signed a construction loan with lender Preferred Bank valued at $7.2 million for the retail building (K7) at 420 Court Street in Carroll Gardens, Brooklyn.
On the lot, there is one active major alteration construction project for a three-unit, 8,838 square-foot R-2 building. The project was submitted by Elizabeth Mcdonald with plans filed January 31, 2022 and permitted May 20, 2024.
The deal closed on June 11, 2024 and was recorded on June 24, 2024. The prior lender was MidFirst Bank which held debt that had an original loan amount of $1.9 million.

The owner bought the property on September 2, 2021, for $3.3 million. The signatory for Elizabeth McDonald was Elizabeth McDonald. The signatory for Preferred Bank was Sylvia Tseng.

The property

The parcel has frontage of 100 feet and is 50 feet deep with a total lot size of 2,950 square feet. The lot is irregular. The zoning is R6A which allows for up to 3 times floor area ratio (FAR) for residential with inclusionary housing. The city-designated market value for the property in 2022 is $1.3 million.

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 $300 in OATH penalties in the last year.

The neighborhood

In Carroll Gardens, The bulk, or 44 percent of the 3.6 million square feet of commercial built space are walkup buildings, with mixed-use buildings next occupying 33 percent of the space. In sales, Carroll Gardens has 1.5 times the average sales volume among other neighborhoods with $406.5 million in sales volume in the last two years and is the 19th highest in Brooklyn. For development, Carroll Gardens has had very little major development activity relative to other neighborhoods.It had 151,484 square feet of commercial and multi-family construction under development in the last two years, which represents 4 percent of the neighborhood’s built space.

The block

On this tax block, PincusCo has identified the owners of six of the 16 commercial properties representing 30,728 square feet of the 85,495 square feet. The largest owner is Scott Elgart, followed by Sarah Di Stefano Trustee and then Jonathan Holman.
On the tax block, there was one new building construction project filed totaling 10,974 square feet. It is a six-unit, 10,974 square-foot residential (R-2) building submitted by Robin Damaghi and filed by Robin Damaghi with plans filed July 12, 2023 and permitted February 21, 2024.

The majority, or 84 percent of the 85,495 square feet of built space are walkup buildings, with mixed-use buildings next occupying 9 percent of the space.

The borrower

The PincusCo database currently indicates that Elizabeth Mcdonald owned at least three commercial properties with 17 residential units in New York City with 35,667 square feet and a city-determined market value of $5 million. (Market value is typically about 50% of actual value.) Within the portfolio, the bulk, or 76 percent of the 35,667 square feet of built space are elevator properties, with retail properties next occupying 16 percent of the space. They are all located in Brooklyn.

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