FREO Group signs $15.2M refi with Greystone & Co. in Williamsburg

FREO Group through the entity 68 Richardson Owner LLC as borrower signed a refi loan with lender Greystone & Co. through the entity Greystone Servicing Company LLC valued at $15.2 million for two properties with 24 residential units including the 24-unit residential elevator building (D2) at 68 Richardson Street in Williamsburg, Brooklyn and development parcel (V1) at 60A Lorimer Street in Williamsburg, Brooklyn.
The deal closed on January 18, 2024 and was recorded on February 1, 2024. The prior lender was Israel Discount Bank.

The two properties have 32,532 square feet of built space and 543 square feet of additional air rights according to a PincusCo analysis of city data. The loan price per built square foot is $467 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 FREO Group was Brian Borg. The signatory for Greystone & Co. was Barbara Masi. FREO group purchased the buildings from the Kalikow Group for $21.5 million.

Because multiple properties have been transacted, some of the following sections will follow the property with the largest assessed value, which in this case, is the property on 68 Richardson Street.

The property

The residential elevator building with 24 residential units in Williamsburg has 32,532 square feet of built space and 543 square feet of additional air rights according to a PincusCo analysis of city data. The parcel has frontage of 69 feet and is 100 feet deep with a total lot size of 6,899 square feet. The zoning is M1-2/R6A which allows for up to 2 times floor area ratio (FAR) for manufacturing and up to 3 times FAR for residential with inclusionary housing. The city-designated market value for the property in 2022 is $7 million.

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 received two housing violations in the last year.

Development

There are no active new building construction projects or major alteration projects with initial costs more than $1 million on this tax lot.

The block

On the tax block of 68 Richardson Street, PincusCo has identified the owners of five of the seven commercial properties representing 226,050 square feet of the 236,050 square feet. The largest owner is UDR, Inc., followed by Ronel Ben-Dov and then Jenny Dileone.
There are no active new building construction projects on this tax block.

The majority, or 93 percent of the 236,050 square feet of built space are elevator buildings, with industrial buildings next occupying 4 percent of the space.

The borrower

The PincusCo database currently indicates that FREO Group owned at least three commercial properties with 42 residential units in New York City with 65,232 square feet and a city-determined market value of $14.7 million. (Market value is typically about 50% of actual value.) Within the portfolio, the bulk, or 100 percent of the 65,232 square feet of built space are elevator properties, with development properties next occupying 0 percent of the space. The bulk, or 50 percent of the built space, is in Manhattan, with Brooklyn next at 50 percent of the space.

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