Brooklyn Property Manager Plans Jersey City Condominium

Dave Denis is “not your typical landlord,” his website says. He’s not your typical developer, either.

The little-known Brooklyn property manager is diving into development with a 46-unit condominium project in Jersey City. He just landed a $15 million construction loan for a three-parcel site he assembled at 120 Monticello Avenue.

WelcomeLend arranged the financing — an $11.9 million construction facility and $3.1 million in preferred equity — which retires a $2.4 million loan attached to the land.

The lender, a private credit group, was not disclosed. WelcomeLend’s Zak Blechman and David Schwartz advised on the deal.

Denis’ website, SpeaktoDave.com, says he manages more than 1,000 units in Bedford-Stuyvesant, Bushwick, Clinton Hill and Williamsburg, and operates in New York City and Jersey City. But Monticello Avenue appears to be his first ground-up project.

Denis traces his real estate career back to his days in the clothing industry, a path some of the biggest names in the industry have taken. He made clothing after learning the process while working out of a Long Beach surf shop and created a streetwear brand, Inhumane Shop, that had a storefront in New York City. While customizing the shop, he discovered a passion for real estate.

Initially, development was “kind of like a pipe dream,” Denis told The Real Deal. He started gaining hands-on experience in the Jersey City market by purchasing a mixed-use property in 2015 for $1.25 million.

The condo project, at 118 to 124 Monticello Avenue, is more complicated by several orders of magnitude. It straddles a historic district in the Jackson Hill neighborhood, which Denis said is thin on condos. The design was recommended for approval by Jersey City’s Historic Preservation Commission in January 2023 and okayed by the planning board later that year, according to JerseyDigs.

It calls for mostly studios and one-bedroom apartments, plus a smattering of two-bedroom units. Denis said the unit count was modeled off a successful property he operates on Fulton Street in Brooklyn. The ground floor would be two retail spaces and amenity space. A gym and multiple roof decks are planned.

While Denis has experience buying and selling rental properties, the Monticello Avenue project is his largest as 100 percent owner.

GRO Architects is designing the project and One70Group is the general contractor. A start date for construction hasn’t been released, but completion is expected in the second quarter of 2026.

Rental projects are proliferating in Jersey City, but condominium developers have been part of the area’s boom. Toll Brothers and Sculptor Capital Management recently completed and launched sales at 151 Bay Street, a 259-unit luxury condo project in the city’s downtown district, according to Connect CRE.

A penthouse at China Construction America’s 75 Park Lane sold in 2022 for a Jersey City record $5.7 million. China Overseas America’s 99 Hudson, which previously held the condo unit sales record, is the tallest building in New Jersey at 900 feet.