Joel Schwartz signs $15.3M loan with BridgeCity in Williamsburg
Joel Schwartz through the entity 333 Bedford Ave LLC as borrower signed a loan with lender BridgeCity Capital through the entity BridgeCity Hilltop LLC valued at $15.3 million for two residential elevator properties with 16 residential units including the eight-unit residential elevator building (D7) at 333 Bedford Avenue and the eight-unit residential elevator building (D6) at 334 Bedford Avenue in Williamsburg, Brooklyn.
The deal closed on April 4, 2025 and was recorded on April 9, 2025. The prior lenders were JG Funding and Bayport Funding which held debt that had an original loan amount of approximately $12 million.
The two properties have 20,602 square feet of built space according to a PincusCo analysis of city data. The loan price per built square foot is $745 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 Joel Schwartz was Joel Schwartz. The signatory for BridgeCity Capital was Louis Lebovits .
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 333 Bedford Avenue.
Prior sales and revenue
The two properties with a total of 20,602 square feet of built space generated revenue of $734,498 per year or $36 per square foot.
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 $12,500 in ECB penalties and $16,400 in OATH penalties in the last year.
Development
On these lots, there are two active new building construction projects and major alteration projects with initial costs more than $5 million, totaling 17,283 square feet. The largest, B00850624, is a new building project for a eight-unit, 9,743 square-foot R-2 building submitted by Yisroel Greenfeld and filed by Yisroel Greenfeld with plans filed March 27, 2023 and permitted December 12, 2023. The second largest, B00736736, is a new building project for a eight-unit, 7,540 square-foot R-2 building submitted by Yisroel Greenfeld with plans filed May 13, 2022 and permitted January 11, 2024.
The block
On the tax block of 333 Bedford Avenue, PincusCo has identified the owners of four of the 11 commercial properties representing 66,498 square feet of the 170,369 square feet. The largest owner is Southside United H.D.F.C., followed by Chany Jacobowitz and then Joshua Wagschal.
On the tax block, there was one new building construction project filed totaling 9,743 square feet. It is a eight-unit, 9,743 square-foot residential (R-2) building submitted by Yisroel Greenfeld and filed by Yisroel Greenfeld with plans filed March 27, 2023 and permitted December 12, 2023.
The majority, or 42 percent of the 170,369 square feet of built space are elevator buildings, with walkup buildings next occupying 31 percent of the space.
The borrower
The PincusCo database currently indicates that Joel Schwartz owned at least 103 commercial properties with 1,685 residential units in New York City with 1,092,311 square feet and a city-determined market value of $186.3 million. (Market value is typically about 50% of actual value.) The portfolio has $1.4 billion in debt, with top three lenders as BridgeCity Capital, Citibank, and S3 Capital respectively. Within the portfolio, the bulk, or 56 percent of the 1,092,311 square feet of built space are elevator properties, with walkup properties next occupying 16 percent of the space. They are all located in Brooklyn.
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