Joel Schwartz pays $11M to Bernard Gans for dev site with 48-unit plans in Williamsburg

Joel Schwartz, through the entity North 1st Apartments LLC paid $11 million to Bernard Gans, through the entity 90 North First Street Corporation for the midblock office building at 88 North 1st Street in Williamsburg, Brooklyn. Hershy Silberstein’s Bluesky Builders filed plans last month for a 48-unit, 50,026-square-foot residential (R-2) building.

The deal closed on April 7, 2022 and was recorded on April 18, 2022.

The purchase was financed with a $8.5 million loan from S3 Capital. Joel Schwartz was the signatory on the deed and loan. Bernard Gans was the signatory on the deed.

The property has 10,500 square feet of built space and 17,065 square feet of additional air rights for a total buildable of 27,525 square feet according to PincusCo analysis of city data.

The sale price per built square foot is $1,047 and the price per buildable square foot is $399 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.)

Bernard Gans had owned the property since at least 1969.

Prior sales and revenue

The 10,500-square-foot property generated revenue of $219,240 or $21 per square foot, according to the most recent income and expense figures.

The property

The 88 North 1st Street parcel has frontage of 75 feet and is 131 feet deep with a total lot size of 9,175 square feet. The lot is irregular. 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 $945,000.

Violations and lawsuits

There were no lawsuits or bankruptcies filed against the property since September of 2020. In addition, according to city public data, the property has not received any significant violations in the last year.

Development

On these lots, there is one active new building construction project for a 48-unit, 50,026-square-foot R-2 building. The project was developed by Hershy Silberstein with plans filed March 14, 2022 and it has not been permitted yet.

The neighborhood

In Williamsburg, the bulk, or 35 percent of the 65.1 million square feet of commercial built space are residential elevator buildings, with residential walkup buildings next occupying 19 percent of the space. In sales, Williamsburg has the 9th highest sale turnover among other neighborhoods in the city with $1.4 billion in sales volume in the last two years. For development, Williamsburg is the 6th most active neighborhood among other neighborhoods. It had 5.1 million square feet of commercial and multi-family construction under development in the last two years, which represents 8 percent of the neighborhood’s built space.

The block

On this tax block, PincusCo has identified the owners of nine of the 24 commercial properties representing 32,481 square feet of the 100,129 square feet. The largest owner is EDRE Development, followed by Jeremy Armstrong and then Joel Schwartz. There are five active new building construction projects totaling 216,471 square feet. The largest is a 38-unit, 48,615-square-foot R-2 building developed by Joseph Mcmillan with plans filed November 2, 2018 and it has not been permitted yet. The second largest is a 40-unit, 34,975-square-foot R-2 building developed by Yitzchok Hager with plans filed August 29, 2018 and it has not been permitted yet.

The majority, or 32 percent of the 127,395 square feet of built space are mixed-use buildings, with industrial buildings next occupying 31 percent of the space.

Surrounding

Within a 400-foot radius of 88 North 1st Street, PincusCo identified nine commercial real estate items of interests occurred over the past 24 months.
Of those nine items, two were in new building development. There were one new building permit application and one new building permit. The most recent of these two items was a permit on February 16, 2022 for a 51,398-square-foot R-2 building with 45 residential units at 74 North 1st.
Of those nine items, three were for major renovation including a certificate of occupancy change. They were one permit applications with a total initial cost of $921,500 and two permits with a total initial cost of $3.6 million. The most recent of these three items was the permit on June 17, 2021 for a 13,098-square-foot B building with zero residential units at 107 North 1st Street.
Of those nine items, two were sales above $5 million totaling $26.8 million. The most recent of the two was Joel Schwartz which bought the 2,621-square-foot, one-unit industrial (E1) on 228 Berry Street and two other properties for $13.8 million from Isaac Dahan on December 7, 2021.
Of those nine items, two were loans above $5 million totaling $48.8 million. The most recent of the two was Bruman Realty which borrowed $40.8 million from Madison Realty Capital secured by the 0-square-foot development site (V1) on 296 Wythe on January 20, 2022.

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