Martin Schmell signs $11.5M refi for new 32-unit elevator rental in East Flatbush

Martin Schmell through the entity Rogers Em LLC as borrower signed a refi loan with lender Webster Bank valued at $11.5 million for the midblock 32-unit residential elevator building at 933 Rogers Avenue in East Flatbush, Brooklyn.
The deal closed on March 30, 2022 and was recorded on April 21, 2022. The prior lender was Community Preservation Corporation which held debt that had an original loan amount of $15 million, which was for additional tax lots. The property has 27,193 square feet of built space according to PincusCo analysis of city data. The loan price per built square foot is $422 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 Martin Schmell was Martin Schmell. The signatory for Webster Bank was Sean C. Winchester. Bernard Schwimmer and Martin Schmell signed on a previous mortgage for the property.

Prior sales and revenue

The owner according to the Department of Housing Preservation and Development is Yehuda Miller, head officer. The business entity is Rogers Realty Holdings Llc.

The property

The 933 Rogers Avenue parcel has frontage of 53 feet and is 117 feet deep with a total lot size of 6,361 square feet. The zoning is R6 which allows for up to 2.43 times floor area ratio (FAR) for residential. The city-designated market value for the property in 2022 is $4.5 million.

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 one DOB violation and $175 in OATH penalties in the last year.

Development

For the tax lot building, it received its initial certificate of occupancy on July 21, 2021. There are no active new building construction projects or major alteration projects with initial costs more than $5 million on this tax lot.

The neighborhood

In East Flatbush, the bulk, or 42 percent of the 78.9 million square feet of commercial built space are 1-4 family buildings, with residential elevator buildings next occupying 20 percent of the space. In sales, East Flatbush has had very little sales volume relative to other neighborhoods with $177.2 million in sales volume in the last two years. For development, East Flatbush has 2.3 times the average amount of major developments relative to other neighborhoods and is the 10th highest in Brooklyn. It had 2.1 million square feet of commercial and multi-family construction under development in the last two years, which represents 3 percent of the neighborhood’s built space. There was one pre-foreclosure suit filed among other residential elevator buildings in the past 12 months.

The block

There are no active new building construction projects on this tax block.

The majority, or 52 percent of the 119,609 square feet of built space are 1-4 family buildings, with residential elevator buildings next occupying 45 percent of the space.

Surrounding

Within a 400-foot radius of 933 Rogers Avenue, PincusCo identified one commercial real estate item of interests occurred over the past 24 months.
It was a loan which Oren Neria borrowed $5.4 million from Signature Bank secured by the 3,000-square-foot, two-unit mixed-use building (S1) on 968 Rogers Avenue and four other properties on March 16, 2021.

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