EMP Capital Group signs $39.8M refi with JLL for 69-unit rental in Crown Heights

EMP Capital Group through the entity EMP Grand Pacific LLC as borrower signed a refi loan with lender JLL through the entity JLL Real Estate Capital, LLC valued at $39.8 million for three commercial condominium units that make up the newly built 69-unit, mixed-use property at 979 Pacific Street in Crown Heights, Brooklyn.
The deal closed on May 30, 2025 and was recorded on June 6, 2025. The prior lender was OakNorth Bank which held debt that had an original loan amount of $35 million. The three properties, a 69-unit rental condominium unit and two commercial condos, have 61,388 square feet of built space according to a PincusCo analysis of city data. The loan price per built square foot is approximately $650 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 signatory for EMP Capital Group was Elichai Pariente . The signatory for JLL was Rhonda D. Peare .

Violations and lawsuits

There were no lawsuits or bankruptcies filed against the properties for the past 24 months. In addition, according to city public data, the properties have not received any significant violations in the last year.

The block

On the tax block of 979 Pacific Street, PincusCo has identified the owners of 13 of the 24 commercial properties representing 132,719 square feet of the 179,373 square feet. The largest owner is Cubesmart, followed by Emp Capital Group and then Watermark Capital Group.
On the tax block, there was one new building construction project filed totaling 172,789 square feet. It is a 193-unit, 172,789 square-foot residential (R-2) building submitted by EMP Capital Group and filed by Elie Pariente with plans filed April 14, 2022 and permitted March 13, 2024.

The majority, or 61 percent of the 179,373 square feet of built space are industrial buildings, with mixed-use buildings next occupying 22 percent of the space.

The borrower

The PincusCo database currently indicates that EMP Capital Group owned at least eight commercial properties with 502 residential units in New York City with 72,490 square feet and a city-determined market value of $25.7 million. (Market value is typically about 50% of actual value.) Within the portfolio, the bulk, or 56 percent of the 72,490 square feet of built space are industrial properties, with elevator properties next occupying 25 percent of the space. The bulk, or 75 percent of the built space, is in Brooklyn, with Manhattan next at 25 percent of the space.

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