Bronstein Properties is adding to its large New York rental portfolio with its pending purchase of 456 Grand Street in Williamsburg for $43.3 million.
The site is currently owned jointly by AB Capstone and RJ Capital Holdings, and the sale to Bronstein is expected to close early in 2018, according to sources familiar with the deal. It is under contract for slightly less than its asking price of $45.5 million.
The six-story building at 456 Grand Street spans 57,500 square feet and contains 52 rent stabilized units and two retail tenants.
The building also contains a 17,500-square-foot parking garage, a roof deck and a fitness center. The site was previously a vacant lot that was part of the city’s PlaNYC Brownfield Cleanup Program. Prior to the cleanup, it was considered unusable for development due to environmental contamination.
The deal was brokered by Josh Lipton, David Chase and Andrew Levine of ONE Commercial Realty Services and by Michelle Abramov of Asset Commercial Realty Group. Abramov said it “speaks to the ongoing optimism investors have with regards to key sub-markets in Brooklyn.”
The units will remain rent-stabilized under Bronstein, according to Lipton.
Bronstein Properties, which did not respond to a request for comment about the sale, owns more than 100 properties throughout Manhattan, Brooklyn and Queens, and The Real Deal‘s analysis of property records in 2016 found that they were the 14th largest for-profit rental landlord in the city. The company is facing a lawsuit from more than 60 tenants in their buildings who claim they are being overcharged for rent.
Madison Marquette’s Edge retail condo in Williamsburg recently hit the market for $50 million, and NYCHA is planning a market-rate housing project near Cooper Park Houses in East Williamsburg as well.