Mixed-Use Development For East Williamsburg
The property at 213 Maujer St., shown, was part of a $14.2 million sale. Peter J. Smith for The Wall Street Journal
East Williamsburg will see more retail and residential redevelopment with the $14.2 million sale of two properties close to the Grand Street stop on the L subway line.
Formerly the Liberty Department Stores, the adjoining buildings are at 774-784 Grand St. and 213 Maujer St. in the Brooklyn neighborhood.
A joint venture between Jeff Kurtz of Kamson Corp. and Dean Marchi of Grand Street Development bought the structures from an individual, said Dave Behin, president of the investment sales and advisory division of MNS, a brokerage firm specializing in residential properties in New York City.
Mr. Behin represented the buyers; MNS also represented the seller, who had owned the buildings for many years, Mr. Behin said.
Kamson owns and manages 83 investment properties in New York, New Jersey, Connecticut and Pennsylvania; Grand Street Development specializes in building developments that recreate New York City’s history of warehouse and cast-iron architecture.
The East Williamsburg properties total 12,500 square feet and are part of a 60,000-square-foot buildable site between Humboldt and Bushwick avenues.
Messrs. Kurtz and Marchi plan to combine the structures into a single tax lot for a mixed-use residential development that will have 12,000 square feet of ground-floor retail space and 69 rental apartments totaling 63,000 square feet.
“This is just an area that’s seen an enormous amount of growth and obviously the L train has been a huge part of that, but better retail and restaurants and cafes is also drawing people,” Mr. Behin said.
—Carmel Melouney
Rising Rents in Brooklyn
New renters moving to Crown Heights and Bedford-Stuyvesant in Brooklyn are raising rents and building prices.
Asking rents rose 8.8% in the last three months of 2013, according to real-estate research firm CoStar Inc. Building prices rose 10.6% in the same period, compared with an increase of 7.9% in building prices for all of Brooklyn.
Young renters are attracted by the cheaper prices and growing restaurant scene in the neighborhoods. A typical three-bedroom apartment rents for about $3,000 a month, less than nearby Park Slope and Bushwick, said Shlomo Antebi, senior director of brokerage GFI Realty Services Inc.
Most buildings in Crown Heights and Bedford-Stuyvesant are three stories or so and include up to eight apartment units, Mr. Antebi said. In September, the City Council approved a rezoning that will limit the height of new developments on most residential streets in Crown Heights.
Investors previously focused on Manhattan have expanded their focus to buy in Crown Heights and Bedford-Stuyvesant, with some adding new appliances and amenities to increase rents.
“Investors are seeing a tremendous change in these tenants,” said Mr. Antebi. “As the apartments become vacant, they double in price.”
In recent Bedford-Stuyvesant deals, GFI sold a 23-unit building at 680 Monroe St. for $3.2 million and 129 Putnam Ave., a seven-unit apartment building, for $1.2 million, or 12 times rent roll. In Crown Heights, GFI sold six-unit building 625 Sterling Place for $1.7 million, or 13 times the rent roll, Mr. Antebi said.
—Roland Li
Corrections & Amplifications
Shlomo Antebi is a senior director at brokerage GFI Realty Services Inc. An earlier version of this article misspelled his name as Schlomo Antebi.
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