Solomon Schwimmer plans 101-unit project in Downtown Brooklyn

Solomon Schwimmer submitted a new building construction project for a 101-unit, 82,366 square-foot residential (R-2) building at 150 Lawrence Street in Downtown Brooklyn, Brooklyn. The plan was filed with the New York City Department of Buildings on May 25, 2023 under job number B00805143. It calls for the construction of a 25-story building. The architect is JFA Architects & Engineers.

Solomon Schwimmer is one of the most active developers in New York City, with more than two dozen new buildings projects filed since 2014, according to an analysis by PincusCo.

The property

The existing mixed-use building in Downtown Brooklyn has 19,437 square feet of built space and 40,419 square feet of additional air rights for a total buildable of 59,880 square feet according to a PincusCo analysis of city data. The parcel has frontage of 64 feet and is 100 feet deep with a total lot size of 5,988 square feet. The lot is irregular. The zoning is C6-4.5 which allows for up to 12 times floor area ratio (FAR) for commercial The city-designated market value for the property in 2022 is $3.2 million. The most recent loan totaled $18.9 million and was provided by Valley National Bank on February 16, 2023.

Prior sales and revenue

This property was sold by Chuen Po Kao and Jacqueline Kao for $22.5 million to Solomon Schwimmer on February 16, 2023.

The 19,437-square-foot property generated revenue of $590,490 or $30 per square foot, according to the most recent income and expense figures.

Violations and lawsuits

According to city public data, the property has not received any significant violations in the last year.

There were no lawsuits or bankruptcies filed against the property for the past 24 months.

The neighborhood

In Downtown Brooklyn, The bulk, or 40 percent of the 22.4 million square feet of commercial built space are office buildings, with elevator buildings next occupying 24 percent of the space. In sales, Downtown Brooklyn has near average sales volume among other neighborhoods with $1.3 billion in sales volume in the last two years and is the 2nd highest in Brooklyn. For development, Downtown Brooklyn has near average amount of major developments among other neighborhoods and is the 4th highest in Brooklyn. It had 3.7 million square feet of commercial and multi-family construction under development in the last two years, which represents 17 percent of the neighborhood’s built space.

The block

On this tax block, PincusCo has identified the owners of 13 of the 22 commercial properties representing 99,103 square feet of the 136,044 square feet. The two identified owners are Solomon Schwimmer and United American Land. On the tax block, there were two new building construction projects totaling 90,714 square feet. The largest is a 101-unit, 82,366 square-foot residential (R-2) building submitted by Solomon Schwimmer and filed by Solomon Schwimmer with plans filed May 25, 2023 and it has not been permitted yet. The second largest is a 8,348 square-foot mercantile (M) building submitted by Albert Laboz of United American Land with plans filed January 7, 2020 and permitted April 21, 2021.

The owner

The PincusCo database currently indicates that Solomon Schwimmer owned at least 32 commercial properties with 418 residential units in New York City with 370,028 square feet and a city-determined market value of $67.7 million. (Market value is typically about 50% of actual value.) The portfolio has $172.5 million in debt, with top three lenders as Valley National Bank, Sabal Capital Partners, and Parke Bank respectively. Within the portfolio, the bulk, or 47 percent of the 370,028 square feet of built space are walkup properties, with elevator properties next occupying 46 percent of the space. The bulk, or 95 percent of the built space, is in Brooklyn, with Bronx next at 5 percent of the space.

The surrounding

Within a 400-foot radius of 154 Lawrence Street, PincusCo identified 13 commercial real estate items of interests occurred over the past 24 months. Of those 13 items, one was in new building development. It was a new building permit application filed on December 30, 2021 for a 227,976-square-foot residential (R-2) building with 290 residential units at 55 Willoughby Street. Of those 13 items, two were for major renovation including a certificate of occupancy change. They were one permit applications with a total initial cost of $271,250 and one permit with a total initial cost of $300,000. The most recent of these two items was the filing on December 15, 2021 for a 3,875-square-foot mercantile (M) building with zero residential units at 453 Fulton Street. Of those 13 items, three were sales above $5 million totaling $140.2 million. The most recent of the three was United American Land which bought the 5,320-square-foot, three-unit mixed-use building (K4) on 56 Willoughby Street for $6.3 million from Judith Golowa on May 8, 2023. Of those 13 items, seven were loans above $5 million totaling $234.9 million. The most recent of the seven was Brooklyn Tabernacle in which borrowed $40 million from Cass Commercial secured by the 130,000-square-foot, one-unit industrial (M9) on 17 Smith Street and one other property on January 12, 2023.

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