Canadian Firm Scoops Up Gowanus Dev Site

A Canadian firm is betting on Gowanus with the purchase of a property along the canal.

Lantower Residential, a subsidiary of H&R REIT, had been eyed as likely to develop the property at 459 Smith Street. Now its parent company has sealed the deal by purchasing the land from an entity backed by All Year Management’s Yoel Goldman.

The Toronto-based real estate investment trust paid $76.5 million for the property, according to public records. The seller is Goldman’s Smith Street Owner LLC, which retained a 25 percent stake.

Fairfax Associates took over the loan from Vichar Incorporated on the day of the sale, according to public records.

Goldman acquired the property in 2017 for $48 million. In 2020, Yoel Schwimmer of Apt Developers filed plans to construct a 422,000-square-foot mixed-use development before Goldman’s company went bankrupt.

The site, also known as 477 Smith Street, is in the area rezoned by the city in November 2021 to allow for higher density, mixed-use development in the mostly industrial neighborhood. It is one of 18 projects in Gowanus on Gov. Kathy Hochul’s list to receive an alternative to the property tax break 421a.

It is possible that the sale would not have happened if not for Hochul’s pilot program, which was designed for developers at risk of missing the June 2026 project completion deadline to qualify for 421a.

Lantower is based in Dallas and owns and manages several multifamily developments in Texas, Florida and North Carolina, according to its website.

H & R did not immediately respond to a request for comment.