RFR Selling 175 Third Avenue in Gowanus

Aby Rosen, facing foreclosure on his big Gowanus development site, has struck a deal to sell the property for a tidy profit.

Rosen’s RFR Holding is in contract to sell the 827-unit site at 175 Third Street to Tavros Capital and Charney Companies for north of $160 million, sources told The Real Deal.

That’s an increase of more than a third over the $115 million that RFR paid for the plot back in 2018, more than three years before the city rezoned Gowanus for more multifamily development.

The deal solves the problem of the property’s $80 million debt that RFR defaulted on. A group of investors led by Madison Realty Capital purchased the non-performing debt earlier this year and moved to foreclose on the site. The sale now provides RFR the funds to repay the debt.

A spokesperson for RFR said in a statement that the company added value by investing in the property in conjunction with the rezoning.

“RFR acquired the site in anticipation of a rezoning of the Gowanus neighborhood,” the statement read. “This, combined with the robust design scheme we established for the site and qualification for the 421a tax abatement, has created a prime opportunity for the next phase of development under new ownership.”

A spokesperson for Tavros and Charney declined to comment. The sale was brokered by Andrew Sasson of Ackman-Ziff, who declined to comment.

The deal is just the latest twist in the Aby Rosen saga that has played out over recent months, as the charismatic developer has struggled to hang on to his portfolio of trophy properties.

Last month, RFR’s control of the Chrysler Building fell into jeopardy after Cooper Union, which owns the land under the iconic skyscraper, claimed the owner defaulted on its ground lease. RFR fought back against the eviction, claiming — in part — that Cooper Union’s handling of campus protests over Palestine and Israel last year drove away tenants.

RFR has also fought to pause its eviction at the Gramercy Hotel by the Goldman family’s Solil Management. The company sued last month, claiming that amid the Goldman family feud, it’s not clear that Jane Goldman had the authority to terminate RFR’s lease.

Rosen has, however, found his way out from under some of these weights.

Earlier this year, RFR sold its office building at 980 Madison Avenue on the Upper East Side to Bloomberg Philanthropies for $560 million. RFR’s loan on the property had been watchlisted after the owner’s ability to cover its debt service payments looked murky.

RFR is looking to sell another building, 218 Park Avenue South, after its main tenant, the Fotografiska museum, vacated.

The company reportedly said it plans to clear up its debt problems without selling its trophy properties.

In Gowanus, meanwhile, Tavros and Charney are adding to their growing development portfolio.

Nicholas Silvers and Sam Charney’s companies broke ground earlier this year on a 654-unit project at 320 and 340 Nevins Street, about five blocks away from the site they’re buying from RFR.

They’re also building a 260-unit project in the neighborhood at 251 Douglass Street and plan to start leasing soon on a 216-unit building at 585 Union Street. The four rental properties are being branded as a campus called Gowanus Wharf.