Joel Schwartz signs $6.9M refi loan with BridgeCity Capital for residential elevator in Williamsburg
Joel Schwartz through the entity Graham Assets LLC as borrower signed a refi loan with lender BridgeCity Capital through the entity BCC Berry LLC valued at $6.9 million for the 10-unit residential elevator building (D1) at 322 Graham Avenue in Williamsburg, Brooklyn.
The deal closed on December 8, 2022 and was recorded on December 15, 2022. The prior lender was Conventus which held debt that had an original loan amount of $3.7 million. The property has 11,410 square feet of built space according to PincusCo analysis of city data. The loan price per built square foot is $604 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 owner bought the property on September 17, 2018, for $2.8 million. The signatory for Joel Schwartz was Joel Schwartz. The signatory for BridgeCity Capital was Louis Lebovits.
The property
The 322 Graham Avenue parcel has frontage of 25 feet and is 100 feet deep with a total lot size of 2,500 square feet. The zoning is R6A which allows for up to 3 times floor area ratio (FAR) for residential with inclusionary housing. The city-designated market value for the property in 2022 is $672,000.
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 received $3,750 in ECB penalties and $3,750 in OATH penalties in the last year.
Development
On the lot, there is one active new building construction project for a 10-unit, 13,014 square-foot R-2 building. The project was developed by Joel Schwartz with plans filed February 19, 2019 and permitted July 17, 2020.
The block
On this tax block, PincusCo has identified the owners of two of the 11 commercial properties representing 30,132 square feet of the 65,764 square feet. The two identified owners are CW Realty Group and Vinny Dimartino.
On the tax block, there was one new building construction project filed totaling 13,014 square feet. It is a 10-unit, 13,014-square-foot R-2 building developed by Joel Schwartz with plans filed February 19, 2019 and permitted July 17, 2020.
The majority, or 56 percent of the 65,764 square feet of built space are elevator buildings, with walkup buildings next occupying 28 percent of the space.
The borrower
The PincusCo database currently indicates that Joel Schwartz owned at least 75 commercial properties in New York City with 852,364 square feet and a city-determined market value of $130.4 million. (Market value is typically about 50% of actual value.) The portfolio has $751.8 million in debt, with top three lenders as BridgeCity Capital, Citibank, and Starwood Capital Group respectively. Within the portfolio, the bulk, or 50 percent of the 852,364 square feet of built space are elevator properties, with walkup properties next occupying 21 percent of the space. They are all located in Brooklyn.
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