Maverick buys $26M note secured by ground leased fee in Gowanus
37 9th Street (Credit - Google)
Maverick Real Estate Partners through the entity Gowanus Industrial LLC bought a note with an original principal of $26 million from Webster Bank secured by Aaron Berger’s fee interest in the industrial building (E1) at 37 9th Street in Gowanus, Brooklyn. The building is ground leased to Industrie Capital Partners, which is not involved in this transaction.
The deal closed on July 14, 2025 and was recorded on July 24, 2025. The prior lender was Webster Bank which held debt that had an original loan amount of $26 million. The property has 118,367 square feet of built space and 133,631 square feet of additional air rights for a total buildable of 252,134 square feet according to a PincusCo analysis of city data.
The owner bought the property on December 30, 2010, for $6 million. The signatory for Aaron Berger was Aaron Berger.
Maverick Real Estate Partners bought the loan secured by the ground leased fee of the mixed office and industrial property. The fee is owned by Aaron Berger of Monsey, who bought the property for $6 million in 2010, and is now the property’s landlord.
In June 2019, he borrowed $26 million from Sterling National Bank, later acquired by Webster Bank. As landlord, Berger signed a 12-year ground lease with tenant Industrie Capital Partners in 2021. Industrie signed a $45 million loan with Signature Bank in 2022. That loan is not part of this transaction.
Latest Maverick Real Estate Partners Stories:
• Maverick files $27M pre-foreclosure at retail in Fordham Manor (July 18, 2025)
• Maverick buys $5M note secured by 15-unit West Village walkup in foreclosure (June 09, 2025)
• Elmo Realty signs $19M refi for Crown Heights building threatened by foreclosure (April 29, 2025)
Prior sales and revenue
The 118,367-square-foot property generated revenue of $2.9 million or $24 per square foot, according to the most recent income and expense figures.
The property
The industrial building in Gowanus has 118,367 square feet of built space and 133,631 square feet of additional air rights for a total buildable of 252,134 square feet according to a PincusCo analysis of city data. The parcel has frontage of 348 feet and is 362 feet deep with a total lot size of 126,067 square feet. The zoning is M2-1 which allows for up to 2 times floor area ratio (FAR) for manufacturing The city-designated market value for the property in 2022 is $14.4 million. The most recent loan totaled $45 million and was provided by Signature Bank on June 30, 2022.
Violations and lawsuits
There were no lawsuits or bankruptcies filed against the property for the past 24 months. In addition, according to city public data, the property has received $2,100 in OATH penalties 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 neighborhood
In Gowanus, The bulk, or 46 percent of the 9.2 million square feet of commercial built space are industrial buildings, with elevator buildings next occupying 19 percent of the space. In sales, Gowanus has 2.8 times the average sales volume among other neighborhoods with $749.5 million in sales volume in the last two years and is the 6th highest in Brooklyn. For development, Gowanus has 1.6 times the average amount of major developments relative to other neighborhoods and is the 5th highest in Brooklyn. It had 2.3 million square feet of commercial and multi-family construction under development in the last two years, which represents 24 percent of the neighborhood’s built space.
The block
On this tax block, PincusCo has identified the owners of two of the 13 commercial properties representing 488,367 square feet of the 656,494 square feet. The two identified owners are Elyahu Cohen and Aurora Capital Associates.
There are no active new building construction projects on this tax block.
The majority, or 100 percent of the 656,494 square feet of built space are industrial buildings, with specialty buildings next occupying 0 percent of the space.
The borrower
The PincusCo database currently indicates that Aaron Berger owned at least two commercial properties with 64 residential units in New York City with 55,316 square feet and a city-determined market value of $10 million. (Market value is typically about 50% of actual value.) The portfolio has $15.9 million in debt, borrowed from Peapack-Gladstone Bank. Within the portfolio, the bulk, or 55 percent of the 55,316 square feet of built space are walkup properties, with elevator properties next occupying 45 percent of the space. They are all located in Brooklyn.
Direct link to Acris document. link