Solomon Schwimmer signs $55M construction loan for 101-unit project in Downtown Brooklyn

Solomon Schwimmer through the entity Lawrence Heights Holdings LLC as borrower signed a new construction loan with lender Ponce Bank valued at $55 million for the mixed-use building (K4) at 150 Lawrence Street in Downtown Brooklyn, Brooklyn.
On the lot, there is one active new building construction project for a 101-unit, 82,366 square-foot residential (R-2) building. The project was submitted by Solomon Schwimmer and filed by Solomon Schwimmer with plans filed May 25, 2023 and permitted December 8, 2023.
The loan closed on December 7, 2023 and was recorded on December 19, 2023. The prior lender was Valley National Bank which held debt that had an original loan amount of $18.9 million.

The owner bought the property on February 16, 2023, for $22.5 million. The signatory for Solomon Schwimmer was Solomon Schwimmer. The signatory for Ponce Bank was Steven A. Tsavaris.

Prior sales and revenue

The 19,437-square-foot property generated revenue of $688,579 or $35 per square foot, according to the most recent income and expense figures.

The property

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.

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 $3,680 in ECB penalties and $9,680 in OATH penalties in the last year.

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 3.7 times the 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 3 times the average amount of major developments relative to other neighborhoods and is the 3rd highest in Brooklyn. It had 2.9 million square feet of commercial and multi-family construction under development in the last two years, which represents 13 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 largest owner is Wharton Properties, followed by United American Land and then Solomon Schwimmer.
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 permitted December 8, 2023. The second largest is a 8,348 square-foot mercantile (M) building submitted by Albert Laboz with plans filed January 7, 2020 and permitted April 21, 2021.

The majority, or 89 percent of the 136,044 square feet of built space are mixed-use buildings, with retail buildings next occupying 11 percent of the space.

The borrower

The PincusCo database currently indicates that Solomon Schwimmer owned at least 34 commercial properties with 456 residential units in New York City with 382,528 square feet and a city-determined market value of $70.5 million. (Market value is typically about 50% of actual value.) The portfolio has $227 million in debt, with top three lenders as Valley National Bank, BridgeCity Capital, and Sabal Capital Partners respectively. Within the portfolio, the bulk, or 45 percent of the 382,528 square feet of built space are walkup properties, with elevator properties next occupying 44 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.

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