Sterling Town Equities signs $30M construction loan with Valley for 2 conversions in Prospect Heights

Sterling Town Equities through the entity Underhill Heights LLC as borrower signed a new construction loan with lender Valley National Bank through the entity Valley National Bank valued at $30 million for two industrial properties including the industrial building (G1) at 105 Underhill Avenue in Prospect Heights, Brooklyn and industrial building (G1) at 326 St Marks Avenue in Prospect Heights, Brooklyn.

On these lots, there are two active major alteration construction projects totaling 67,250 square feet. The largest, B01117069, is a major alteration project for a 21-unit, 36,568 square-foot residential (R-2) building submitted by Sterling Town Equities and filed by Paul Amit with plans filed March 24, 2025 and permitted March 23, 2026. The second largest, B01117089, is a major alteration project for a three-unit, 7,757 square-foot R-2 building submitted by Paul Amit of Sterling Town Equities with plans filed March 24, 2025 and permitted March 16, 2026.

The deal closed on March 30, 2026 and was recorded on April 22, 2026. The two properties have 25,438 square feet of built space and 11,251 square feet of additional air rights for a total buildable of 36,636 square feet according to a PincusCo analysis of city data. The loan price per built square foot is $1,179 and the price per buildable square foot is $818 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 signatory for Sterling Town Equities was Ido Paul Amit .

Because multiple properties have been transacted, some of the following sections will follow the property with the largest assessed value, which in this case, is the property on 105 Underhill Avenue.

Prior sales, articles and revenue

The two properties with a total of 25,438 square feet of built space generated revenue of $590,099 per year or $23 per square foot.

The property

The industrial building in Prospect Heights has 25,438 square feet of built space and 11,251 square feet of additional air rights for a total buildable of 36,636 square feet according to a PincusCo analysis of city data. The parcel has frontage of 85 feet and is 131 feet deep with a total lot size of 13,450 square feet. The lot is irregular. The zoning is R6B which allows for up to 2 times floor area ratio (FAR) for residential with inclusionary housing. The city-designated market value for the property in 2022 is $3.7 million.

Transaction Participants

Marvin J. Fortgang at Warshaw Burstein, LLP participated in the transaction on behalf of the lender.

Violations and lawsuits

There were no lawsuits or bankruptcies filed against the properties for the past 24 months. In addition, according to city public data, the properties have received two DOB violations, $12,500 in ECB penalties, and $12,500 in OATH penalties in the last year.

The neighborhood

In Prospect Heights, The bulk, or 49 percent of the 7 million square feet of commercial built space are elevator buildings, with walkup buildings next occupying 28 percent of the space. In sales, Prospect Heights has had very little sales volume relative to other neighborhoods with $253.1 million in sales volume in the last two years. For development, Prospect Heights has had very little major development activity relative to other neighborhoods.It had 450,872 square feet of commercial and multi-family construction under development in the last two years, which represents 6 percent of the neighborhood’s built space.

The block

On the tax block of 105 Underhill Avenue, PincusCo has identified the owners of 11 of the 30 commercial properties representing 137,436 square feet of the 210,402 square feet. The largest owner is Eli Hamway, followed by Stanley Kupfer and then Sterling Town Equities.
On the tax block, there was one new building construction project filed totaling 10,218 square feet. It is a eight-unit, 10,218 square-foot residential (R-2) building submitted by Mortar Group and filed by Ari Harkov with plans filed December 17, 2021 and permitted January 23, 2023.

The majority, or 59 percent of the 210,402 square feet of built space are walkup buildings, with mixed-use buildings next occupying 18 percent of the space.

The borrower

The PincusCo database currently indicates that Sterling Town Equities owned at least 12 commercial properties with 169 residential units in New York City with 231,579 square feet and a city-determined market value of $126.1 million. (Market value is typically about 50% of actual value.) The portfolio has $73.7 million in debt, with top three lenders as Bank Hapoalim, Yanina Associates, and Morgan Stanley respectively. Within the portfolio, the bulk, or 77 percent of the 231,579 square feet of built space are elevator properties, with industrial properties next occupying 10 percent of the space.

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