TF Cornerstone signs contract with hospital to lease dev sites in Fort Greene, Downtown Brooklyn

TF Cornerstone through the entity Ashland Umbrella LLC as tenant signed a contract to ground lease land owned by the Brooklyn Hospital Center including portions of the hospital complex at 117 DeKalb Avenue in Fort Greene, the industrial building (G1) at 147 Ashland Place in Fort Greene, and across Ashland Place, the parking lot (G6) at 161 Ashland Place in Downtown Brooklyn. The expected use is ground up development. The value of the ground lease was not disclosed, nor was a fixed closing date.

It was not clear where development would occur on the 117 DeKalb Avenue parcel, which is occupied by the hospital and related buildings. Development is likely to occur on vacant or underutilized portions of the tax lot, since the development parcels on that tax lot were designated sites D, E, F.
The memorandum of master development agreement was signed on August 1, 2025 and was recorded on August 19, 2025. The three properties have 419,350 square feet of built space.
The signatory for Brooklyn Hospital Center was Gary G. Terrinoni. The signatory for TF Cornerstone was Jeremy Shell. This is a memorandum of a Master Development Agreement, notifying the public about a planned ground lease covering three tax lots owned by Brooklyn Hospital Center.

Ashland Place Houses Inc. provides housing related to Brooklyn Hospital Center, to “support the Brooklyn Hospital Center through ownership of buildings and land that provide clinical and administrative office space supporting hospital services and housing for trainees and staff.”

Prior sales and revenue

Prior to this transaction, PincusCo has records that the buyer TF Cornerstone purchased three properties in three transactions for a total of $333.1 million and has no record it sold any properties over the past 24 months.
The seller Brooklyn Hospital Center had not purchased any other properties and had not sold any properties over the same time period. Out of the three properties, one with a total of 419,350 square feet of built space generated revenue of $4.3 million per year.

The property

The specialty building in Fort Greene has 419,350 square feet of built space and 186,996 square feet of additional air rights for a total buildable of 606,960 square feet according to a PincusCo analysis of city data. The parcel has frontage of 351 feet and is 454 feet deep with a total lot size of 172,074 square feet. The lot is irregular. The zoning is R6 which allows for up to 2.43 times floor area ratio (FAR) for residential. The city-designated market value for the property in 2022 is $121.6 million. The most recent loan totaled $30 million and was provided by NYS Dormitory Authority on January 25, 2022.

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 nine DOB violations, $18,750 in ECB penalties, and $24,035 in OATH penalties in the last year.

Development

For the tax lot buildings, two out of the three buildings received a initial certificate of occupancy in the last ten years. There are no active new building construction projects or major alteration projects with initial costs more than $1 million on this tax lot.

The neighborhood

In Fort Greene, The bulk, or 34 percent of the 12.5 million square feet of commercial built space are elevator buildings, with specialty buildings next occupying 23 percent of the space. In sales, Fort Greene has 2.9 times the average sales volume among other neighborhoods with $808.6 million in sales volume in the last two years and is the 4th highest in Brooklyn. For development, Fort Greene has had very little major development activity relative to other neighborhoods.It had 671,873 square feet of commercial and multi-family construction under development in the last two years, which represents 5 percent of the neighborhood’s built space.

The block

On the tax block of 117 DeKalb Avenue, PincusCo has identified the owners of three of the three commercial properties representing 581,195 square feet of the 581,195 square feet. The two identified owners are Brooklyn Hospital Center and Fetner Properties.
There are no active new building construction projects on this tax block.

The majority, or 85 percent of the 581,195 square feet of built space are specialty buildings, with industrial buildings next occupying 15 percent of the space.

The seller

The PincusCo database currently indicates that Brooklyn Hospital Center owned at least three commercial properties in New York City with 419,350 square feet and a city-determined market value of $133.8 million. (Market value is typically about 50% of actual value.) The portfolio has $165 million in debt, borrowed from MidCap Financial and NYS Dormitory Authority. Within the portfolio, the bulk, or 80 percent of the 419,350 square feet of built space are specialty properties, with industrial properties next occupying 20 percent of the space. They are all located in Brooklyn.

The buyer

The PincusCo database currently indicates that Tf Cornerstone owned at least 31 commercial properties with 11,143 residential units in New York City with 11,137,432 square feet and a city-determined market value of $2.9 billion. (Market value is typically about 50% of actual value.) Within the portfolio, the bulk, or 93 percent of the 11,137,432 square feet of built space are elevator properties, with retail properties next occupying 4 percent of the space. The bulk, or 53 percent of the built space, is in Manhattan, with Queens next at 36 percent of the space.

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