Kraus Organization signs $48.6M refi for rentals in Williamsburg
Kraus Organization through the entity Hewes Mews Development L.P. as borrower signed a refi loan with lender JPMorgan Chase valued at $48.6 million for seven residential elevator properties with 192 residential units including the 35-unit residential elevator building (D9) at 409 Hewes Street in Williamsburg, Brooklyn, 29-unit residential elevator building (D9) at 399 Hewes Street in Williamsburg, Brooklyn, and 30-unit residential elevator building (D9) at 408 South 2nd Street in Williamsburg, Brooklyn.
The deal closed on June 24, 2024 and was recorded on June 28, 2024. The prior lender was Flagstar Bank which held debt that had an original loan amount of $48 million.
The seven properties have 153,110 square feet of built space according to a PincusCo analysis of city data. The loan price per built square foot is $317 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 Kraus Organization was Stephen R. Kraus. The signatory for JPMorgan Chase was Ursula Flores.
Prior sales and revenue
The owners according to the Department of Housing Preservation and Development includes Stephen Kraus, head officer and Ramiro Velez, agent. The business entities are Ashton Management Corp and Hewes Mews Development Lp.
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 one DOB violation, $6,875 in ECB penalties, 23 housing violations, $9,475 in OATH penalties, and two housing litigations 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 409 Hewes Street, PincusCo has identified the owners of 14 of the 19 commercial properties representing 233,124 square feet of the 294,522 square feet. The largest owner is Stefan Simko, followed by Sholem Kestenbaum and then Shloma Stuhl.
There are no active new building construction projects on this tax block.
The majority, or 71 percent of the 294,522 square feet of built space are elevator buildings, with walkup buildings next occupying 27 percent of the space.
The borrower
The PincusCo database currently indicates that Kraus Organization owned at least 59 commercial properties with 2,825 residential units in New York City with 2,685,712 square feet and a city-determined market value of $223.5 million. (Market value is typically about 50% of actual value.) The portfolio has $81.6 million in debt, with top three lenders as Walker & Dunlop, Flagstar Bank, and Capital One respectively. Within the portfolio, the bulk, or 97 percent of the 2,685,712 square feet of built space are elevator properties, with walkup properties next occupying 3 percent of the space. The bulk, or 51 percent of the built space, is in Brooklyn, with Bronx next at 43 percent of the space.
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