Fishel Schlesinger pays $7.6M for 16-unit dev site in Bed Stuy that was in foreclosure

Fishel Schlesinger through the entity 245 Franklin, LLC paid $7.6 million to the estate of Victor Battaglia through the entity The Franklin Mint, LLC for the 16-unit development site at 245 Franklin Avenue in Bedford Stuyvesant, Brooklyn. The building was involved in a pre-foreclosure action following the death of the prior developer. Victor Battaglia was a passenger who was killed in a high-speed car crash in Florida in 2021.

Toorak Capital Partners filed a pre-foreclosure action in March 2023 alleging a loan with an original principal of $5.29 million given in 2018 to Victor Battaglia and secured by a new construction 16-unit project at 245 Franklin Street, was in default.

Battaglia of Premier Drywall Group Inc submitted a new building construction project for a 16-unit, 11,441 square-foot residential (R-2) building at 245 Franklin Avenue with the New York City Department of Buildings on May 26, 2017 under job number 321584825 and it was permitted on January 28, 2019. It calls for the construction of a six-story building.

In August 2021, Battaglia was killed in an automobile crash as the passenger, riding in a Ferrari in which the driver was speeding as high as 100 miles per hour in Florida, according to news reports. The driver, allegedly under the influence of alcohol, lost control of the vehicle and it crashed. The driver survived.

The sale closed on July 11, 2023 and was recorded on August 7, 2023. The contract date was February 9, 2023. The property has 12,421 square feet of built space according to a PincusCo analysis of city data. The sale price per built square foot is $612 per the PincusCo analysis.

The purchase was financed with a $6.3 million loan from Bayport Funding.

Carmela Socci was the signatory for the seller. Fishel Schlesinger was the signatory for the buyer.

Direct link to Acris document. link