Shlomo Karpen signs $20.4M refi with Newmark for 63-unit rental in Bushwick
Shlomo Karpen through the entity Willtrout Realty LLC as borrower signed a refi loan with lender Newmark through the entity Berkeley Point Capital LLC valued at $20.4 million for the 63-unit residential elevator building (D3) at 961 Willoughby Avenue in Bushwick, Brooklyn.
The deal closed on June 5, 2025 and was recorded on June 10, 2025. The prior lender was Citizens Bank which held debt that had an original loan amount of $22.6 million.The property has 43,058 square feet of built space and 7,231 square feet of additional air rights for a total buildable of 50,203 square feet according to a PincusCo analysis of city data. The loan price per built square foot is $472 and the price per buildable square foot is $405 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 July 18, 2011, for $5 million. The signatory for Shlomo Karpen was Shlomo Karpen. The signatory for Newmark was Lucy Barbaro .
Prior sales and revenue
The owners according to the Department of Housing Preservation and Development includes Shlomo Karpen, head officer and Abraham Karpen, site manager. The business entity is Willtrout Realty, Llc. The 43,058-square-foot property generated revenue of $2.1 million or $49 per square foot, according to the most recent income and expense figures.
The property
The residential elevator building with 63 residential units in Bushwick has 43,058 square feet of built space and 7,231 square feet of additional air rights for a total buildable of 50,203 square feet according to a PincusCo analysis of city data. The parcel has frontage of 107 feet and is 173 feet deep with a total lot size of 20,660 square feet. The lot is irregular. The zoning is R6 which allows for up to 2.43 times floor area ratio (FAR) for residential. The property has a 421A exemption that started in 2020 and expires in 2045. The city-designated market value for the property in 2022 is $11 million. The property has 63 rent regulated units according to city tax records from 2023.
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 $180 in OATH penalties in the last year.
Development
For the tax lot building, it received its initial certificate of occupancy on May 4, 2018. 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 this tax block, PincusCo has identified the owners of 14 of the 32 commercial properties representing 217,345 square feet of the 312,005 square feet. The largest owner is Shlomo Karpen, followed by Riseboro Community Partnership and then Isaac Broyn.
On the tax block, there were two new building construction projects totaling 35,861 square feet. The largest is a 46-unit, 29,095 square-foot residential (R-2) building submitted by Naftali Burger with plans filed May 5, 2020 and permitted June 3, 2022. The second largest is a 10-unit, 6,766 square-foot residential (R-2) building submitted by Asher Alon with plans filed April 26, 2016 and permitted May 31, 2018.
The majority, or 52 percent of the 312,005 square feet of built space are elevator buildings, with walkup buildings next occupying 31 percent of the space.
The borrower
The PincusCo database currently indicates that Shlomo Karpen owned at least 42 commercial properties with 574 residential units in New York City with 711,402 square feet and a city-determined market value of $110.3 million. (Market value is typically about 50% of actual value.) The portfolio has $290.5 million in debt, with top three lenders as Popular Bank, G4 Capital Partners, and Kearny Bank respectively. Within the portfolio, the bulk, or 37 percent of the 711,402 square feet of built space are elevator properties, with industrial properties next occupying 25 percent of the space. The bulk, or 87 percent of the built space, is in Brooklyn, with Queens next at 13 percent of the space.
Direct link to Acris document. link