Yossel and Chana Lichtman obtain $34.5M construction loan for 83-unit Flatbush project

UPDATED 9:50 a.m., May 10, 2024: Yossel Lichtman and Chana Lichtman through the entity 161 Lenox LLC as borrower obtained a new construction loan with lender Popular Bank through the entity Popular Bank valued at $34.5 million for the 83-unit development at 161 Lenox Road in Flatbush, Brooklyn.

On these lots, there is one active new building construction project for a 63-unit, 47,213 square-foot residential (R-2) building. The project was submitted by Tehila Spigel with plans filed December 10, 2021 and permitted February 21, 2024.
The deal closed on December 29, 2023 and was recorded on May 9, 2024. The prior lender was Valley National Bank which held debt that had an original loan amount of $6.9 million.
The three properties have a total buildable of 56,405 square feet according to a PincusCo analysis of city data. The loan price per buildable square foot is $611 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 Yossel and Chana Lichtman was Chana R. Lichtman. The signatory for Popular Bank was Gary Hoffman.

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 $2,500 in ECB penalties and $13,280 in OATH penalties in the last year.

The neighborhood

In Flatbush, The majority, or 54 percent of the 37.4 million square feet of commercial built space are elevator buildings, with walkup buildings next occupying 22 percent of the space. In sales, Flatbush has 1.3 times the average sales volume among other neighborhoods with $361.5 million in sales volume in the last two years and is the 22nd highest in Brooklyn. For development, Flatbush has 1.4 times the average amount of major developments relative to other neighborhoods and is the 12th highest in Brooklyn. It had 1.6 million square feet of commercial and multi-family construction under development in the last two years, which represents 4 percent of the neighborhood’s built space. There was one pre-foreclosure suit filed among other development buildings in the past 12 months.

The block

On the tax block of 161 Lenox Road, PincusCo has identified the owners of 22 of the 26 commercial properties representing 952,430 square feet of the 981,485 square feet. The largest owner is Yossel Lichtman, followed by Shmuel Wallerstein and then Capani Management.
On the tax block, there was one new building construction project filed totaling 47,213 square feet. It is a 62-unit, 47,213 square-foot residential (R-2) building submitted by Tehila Spigel with plans filed December 10, 2021 and permitted February 21, 2024.

The majority, or 78 percent of the 981,485 square feet of built space are elevator buildings, with walkup buildings next occupying 20 percent of the space.

The borrower

The PincusCo database currently indicates that Yossel Lichtman owned at least 34 commercial properties with 240 residential units in New York City with 215,116 square feet and a city-determined market value of $46.5 million. (Market value is typically about 50% of actual value.) The portfolio has $101.3 million in debt, with top three lenders as Valley National Bank, Bank of Princeton, and Customers Bank respectively. Within the portfolio, the bulk, or 73 percent of the 215,116 square feet of built space are walkup properties, with elevator properties next occupying 11 percent of the space. The bulk, or 95 percent of the built space, is in Brooklyn, with Queens next at 5 percent of the space.

Correction: The post was updated to reflect the correct number of units planned, 83. A prior version of the post reported 62, based on an earlier filing.

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