Small Brooklyn bankruptcy discloses a Prologis intent to occupy large Williamsburg dev site

A small bankruptcy filing submitted yesterday in Brooklyn reveals an interest last year from logistics behemoth Prologis to acquire control of at least a portion of a six-parcel assemblage a block from the East River in Williamsburg, Brooklyn, that holds at least 185,000 square feet of development rights or as much as 348,168 square feet.

The entity that filed the bankruptcy is not related to Prologis, and it is unclear if Prologis is buying the site or even if it remains interested in the site. What is clear is Prologis in July 2022 created a company called 67 Kent Ave Brooklyn LLC, a move that often precedes a purchase, lease or some other economic transaction.

Prologis did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

The site has had four brokerage firms in the last five years market the property. Eastern Consolidated in 2018, JLL in 2019, B6 Real Estate Advisors in 2021 and Marcus & Millichap currently.

The PincusCo database currently indicates that Prologis owned at least 18 commercial properties. The bulk, or 50 percent of the built space, is in Brooklyn, with Queens next at 37 percent of the space.

The site, long-owned by the Barouh family’s local typewriter ribbon manufacturing company founded in 1955 called Ko-Rec-Type, is the background for the bankruptcy filing made by a real estate investor who does not own the property. The bankruptcy filing cites assets under $50,000 and debts under $1 million, so does not represent an ownership stake in this property, worth somewhere in the range of $100 million, according to estimates. Several years ago it was reported to be worth more than $80 million, The Real Deal reported in 2018.
It’s not explained why Zalmen Landau, the investor through the entity Kent Wythe Holdco LLC, made the bankruptcy filing, but the petition lists the Prologis entity, among others, as a creditor, meaning Landau owes them money.
Another creditor is Kent Assemblage LLC, formed June 29, 2022, which is an entity with anonymous ownership that has an address at the law firm Kriss & Feuerstein.
The property has been on the market for several years, through at least three brokerage firms since 2018. An Eastern Consolidated team marketed the site in early 2018. Then in 2019, a JLL team took over. Following that, in 2021, B6 Real Estate Advisors had the listing, a portion of which is visible below. The listing is no longer available on the B6 website.

Bankruptcy filing here, and link.

Direct link to the property’s ACRIS page and link to DOB NOW portal.