Harry Einhorn signs $85M construction loan with Bank Hapoalim for development in Crown Heights
Harry Einhorn through the entity Carroll Development Plaza LLC as borrower signed a new construction loan with lender Bank Hapoalim through the entity Bank Hapoalim B.M. valued at $85 million for two properties including the retail building (K1) at 884 Franklin Avenue in Crown Heights, Brooklyn.
On these lots, there is one active new building construction project for a 69-unit, 54,252 square-foot R-2 building. The project was submitted by Cornell Realty Management and filed by Shifra Hager with plans filed March 13, 2015 and permitted June 9, 2015. It is unclear if Einhorn is using these plans or others.
The loan closed on November 21, 2023 and was recorded on December 7, 2023. The prior lender was Axos Bank which held debt that had an original loan amount of $10.6 million.
The signatory for Harry Einhorn was Harry Einhorn. The signatory for Bank Hapoalim was Mimi Vu and Yaro Portuhay. Axos Bank assigned a $10.6 million loan to Bank Hapoalim. Harry Einhorn has pledged to build 54 affordable units as part of the overall development, according to property records.
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 884 Franklin Avenue.
The property
The retail building in Crown Heights has 2,400 square feet of built space and 58,902 square feet of additional air rights for a total buildable of 61,301 square feet according to a PincusCo analysis of city data. The parcel has frontage of 25 feet and is 100 feet deep with a total lot size of 2,499 square feet. The zoning is R8X which allows for up to 6.02 times floor area ratio (FAR) for residential with inclusionary housing. The city-designated market value for the property in 2022 is $647,000.
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 $15,000 in ECB penalties and $16,400 in OATH penalties in the last year.
Development
The neighborhood
In Crown Heights, The bulk, or 39 percent of the 46.5 million square feet of commercial built space are walkup buildings, with elevator buildings next occupying 36 percent of the space. In sales, Crown Heights has 1.6 times the average sales volume among other neighborhoods with $556.7 million in sales volume in the last two years and is the 13th highest in Brooklyn. For development, Crown Heights has 2.6 times the average amount of major developments relative to other neighborhoods and is the 6th highest in Brooklyn. It had 2.6 million square feet of commercial and multi-family construction under development in the last two years, which represents 6 percent of the neighborhood’s built space.
The block
On the tax block of 884 Franklin Avenue, PincusCo has identified the owners of five of the nine commercial properties representing 503,387 square feet of the 511,603 square feet. The largest owner is Talpion Fund Management, followed by Nyc Department Of Education and then Mordechai G. Piller.
On the tax block, there was one new building construction project filed totaling 54,252 square feet. It is a 69-unit, 54,252 square-foot residential (R-2) building submitted by Cornell Realty Management and filed by Shifra Hager with plans filed March 13, 2015 and permitted June 9, 2015.
The majority, or 72 percent of the 511,603 square feet of built space are specialty buildings, with elevator buildings next occupying 13 percent of the space.
The borrower
The PincusCo database currently indicates that Harry Einhorn owned at least 20 commercial properties with 152 residential units in New York City with 241,459 square feet and a city-determined market value of $47.6 million. (Market value is typically about 50% of actual value.) The portfolio has $217.8 million in debt, with top three lenders as Popular Bank, Citibank, and Axos Bank respectively. Within the portfolio, the bulk, or 52 percent of the 241,459 square feet of built space are elevator properties, with specialty properties next occupying 19 percent of the space. They are all located in Brooklyn.
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