Tavros, Charney, Canyon sign $119.9M construction loan with MassMutual for 261-unit project in Gowanus

Tavros Capital, Charney Companies, and Canyon Partners through the entity Gowanus Douglass Street LLC as borrower signed a new construction loan with lender MassMutual through the entity Massachusetts Mutual Life Insurance Company valued at $119.9 million for the 261-unit development at 251 Douglas Street in Gowanus, Brooklyn.
The deal closed on July 19, 2023 and was recorded on July 28, 2023. The prior lender was First-Citizens Bank & Trust Company which held debt that had an original loan amount of $25.4 million.
The signatory for Tavros Capital, Charney Companies, and Canyon Partners was Nicholas Silvers. The signatory for MassMutual was Jonathan C. Neff.
Canyon Partners through the entity Canyon OZF Douglass L.P. acquired an interest in Tavros Capital and Charney Companies’ 261-unit development project at at 251 Douglass Street in Gowanus, Brooklyn. This is an entity level, 55.15 percent sale valued at $30.55 million. Canyon is an investment group and lender. It provided a $193.6 million loan in Sunnyside last month.

On the tax lot, Tavros Capital and Charney Companies filed plans for a 261-unit, 223,886 square-foot residential (R-2) building submitted by Tavros Capital and filed by Dov Barnett with plans filed November 16, 2021 and permitted April 29, 2022.
Tavros Capital and Charney Companies bought the property on April 14, 2020, for $22.5 million.
Canyon, Tavros and Charney are also partners on 585 Union Street in Gowanus, a 224-unit project three block south.

The property

The industrial building in Gowanus has 2,500 square feet of built space and 9,996 square feet of additional air rights for a total buildable of 12,495 square feet according to a PincusCo analysis of city data. The parcel has frontage of 25 feet and is 100 feet deep with a total lot size of 2,499 square feet. The zoning is M1-4/R7X which allows for up to 2 times floor area ratio (FAR) for manufacturing and up to 5 times FAR for residential with inclusionary housing. The city-designated market value for the property in 2022 is $243,000. The most recent loan totaled $25.4 million and was provided by CIT Bank on December 21, 2021.

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 $7,490 in ECB penalties in the last year.

Development

On the lot, there is one active new building construction project for a 261-unit, 223,886 square-foot R-2 building. The project was submitted by Tavros Capital Partners and filed by Dov Barnett with plans filed November 16, 2021 and permitted April 29, 2022.

The neighborhood

In Gowanus, The bulk, or 46 percent of the 9.2 million square feet of commercial built space are industrial buildings, with elevator buildings next occupying 19 percent of the space. In sales, Gowanus has 1.8 times the average sales volume among other neighborhoods with $633.9 million in sales volume in the last two years and is the 8th highest in Brooklyn. For development, Gowanus is the 6th most active neighborhood among other neighborhoods. It had 4.6 million square feet of commercial and multi-family construction under development in the last two years, which represents 50 percent of the neighborhood’s built space. There were two pre-foreclosure suit filed among other industrial buildings in the past 12 months.

The block

On this tax block, PincusCo has identified the owners of one of the eight commercial properties representing 2,500 square feet of the 96,884 square feet. The identified owner is Canyon Partners.
On the tax block, there were two new building construction projects totaling 243,661 square feet. The largest is a 261-unit, 223,886 square-foot residential (R-2) building submitted by Tavros Capital Partners and filed by Dov Barnett with plans filed November 16, 2021 and permitted April 29, 2022. The second largest is a 19,775 square-foot storage (S-2) building submitted by Jack Elo with plans filed June 20, 2017 and it has not been permitted yet.

The majority, or 51 percent of the 96,884 square feet of built space are office buildings, with industrial buildings next occupying 49 percent of the space.

The borrower

The PincusCo database currently indicates that Charney Companies owned at least 14 commercial properties with 99 residential units in New York City with 140,924 square feet and a city-determined market value of $36.6 million. (Market value is typically about 50% of actual value.) The portfolio has $56.8 million in debt, borrowed from Arbor Realty Trust and Santander Bank. Within the portfolio, the bulk, or 46 percent of the 140,924 square feet of built space are elevator properties, with walkup properties next occupying 20 percent of the space. The bulk, or 58 percent of the built space, is in Queens, with Brooklyn next at 42 percent of the space.
The PincusCo database currently indicates that Tavros Capital owned at least seven commercial properties with four residential units in New York City with 64,538 square feet and a city-determined market value of $22.4 million. (Market value is typically about 50% of actual value.) The portfolio has $100.1 million in debt, with top three lenders as ACORE Capital, Centennial Bank, and Citibank respectively. Within the portfolio, the bulk, or 91 percent of the 64,538 square feet of built space are industrial properties, with C0 properties next occupying 7 percent of the space. They are all located in Brooklyn.
The PincusCo database currently indicates that Canyon Partners owned at least one commercial property in New York City with 2,500 square feet and a city-determined market value of $243,000. (Market value is typically about 50% of actual value.) The portfolio consists of at least a single industrial property. It is located in Brooklyn.

Direct link to Acris document. link