Mendel Schwimmer pays $12.6M for dev site in East Williamsburg

Mendel Schwimmer paid a total of $12.6 million in two separate transactions to assemble a development site in East Williamsburg, Brooklyn.

In the larger transaction, Mendel Schwimmer through the entity The Williamsburg Grand LLC paid $10.1 million to Zhi Xiang Lin through the entity 877 Grand Street LLC for the three- building parcel at 875-879 Grand Street in East Williamsburg, Brooklyn. The expected use ground up development.

On the lot, there is one active major alteration construction project, B01194925, for a 23-unit, 22,497 square-foot R-2 building. The project was submitted by Bei Chen and filed by Bei Chen with plans filed March 21, 2025 and it has not been permitted yet.
The deal closed on March 5, 2026 and was recorded on March 23, 2026. The property has 10,045 square feet of built space and 12,431 square feet of additional air rights for a total buildable of 22,500 square feet according to a PincusCo analysis of city data. The sale price per built square foot is $1,007 and the price per buildable square foot is $450 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 seller bought the property on April 17, 2024, for $1.4 million. The signatory for Zhi Xiang Lin was Zhi Xiang . The signatory for Mendel Schwimmer was Mendel Schwimmer. The contract date was March 5, 2026.

In the smaller transaction, Mendel Schwimmer through The Williamsburg Grand LLC paid $2.5 million to Estate Of Arlene Sosa for the two-unit building (B2) at 873 Grand Street in East Williamsburg, Brooklyn.
The deal closed on March 5, 2026 and was recorded on March 23, 2026. The property has 1,710 square feet of built space and 5,793 square feet of additional air rights for a total buildable of 7,500 square feet according to a PincusCo analysis of city data. The sale price per built square foot is $1,464 and the price per buildable square foot is $334 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.)

Prior sales, articles and revenue

Prior to this transaction, PincusCo has no record that the buyer Mendel Schwimmer had purchased any other properties and has no record it sold any properties over the past 24 months.
The seller Zhi Xiang Lin purchased four properties in four transactions for a total of $8.5 million and had not sold any properties over the same time period.

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 $6,250 in ECB penalties and $6,250 in OATH penalties in the last year.

The neighborhood

In East Williamsburg, The majority, or 62 percent of the 17.1 million square feet of commercial built space are industrial buildings, with walkup buildings next occupying 11 percent of the space. In sales, East Williamsburg has near average sales volume among other neighborhoods with $348.9 million in sales volume in the last two years and is the 23rd highest in Brooklyn. For development, East Williamsburg has near average amount of major developments among other neighborhoods and is the 12th highest in Brooklyn. It had 1.7 million square feet of commercial and multi-family construction under development in the last two years, which represents 10 percent of the neighborhood’s built space.

The block

On this tax block, PincusCo has identified the owners of 11 of the 15 commercial properties representing 254,679 square feet of the 276,044 square feet. The largest owner is St. Nicks Alliance, followed by Joel Hirsch and then Lemle & Wolff.
On the tax block, there was one new building construction project filed totaling 171,906 square feet. It is a 187-unit, 171,906 square-foot residential (R-2) building submitted by St. Nicks Alliance and filed by Frank Lang with plans filed September 2, 2025 and it has not been permitted yet.

The majority, or 79 percent of the 276,044 square feet of built space are elevator buildings, with mixed-use buildings next occupying 8 percent of the space.

The seller

The PincusCo database currently indicates that Zhi Xiang Lin owned at least six commercial properties with 23 residential units in New York City with 19,324 square feet and a city-determined market value of $5.5 million. (Market value is typically about 50% of actual value.) Within the portfolio, the bulk, or 25 percent of the 19,324 square feet of built space are office properties, with C3 properties next occupying 24 percent of the space. They are all located in Brooklyn.

The buyer

The PincusCo database currently indicates that Mendel Schwimmer owned at least one commercial property with two residential units in New York City with 2,600 square feet and a city-determined market value of $1.6 million. (Market value is typically about 50% of actual value.) The portfolio has $6.6 million in debt, borrowed from Cantor Commercial Real Estate Lending. The portfolio consists of at least a single B1 property. It is located in Brooklyn.

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