In a transaction that will result in one of the largest urban-style, mixed-use development sites in Williamsburg, Brooklyn, the sale of the Bedford Portfolio comprised of several contiguous parcels spanning nearly the entire city block on Bedford Avenue, has just closed for a price in excess of $66 million.
The Bedford Avenue parcels are situated across the street from a new Whole Foods, 158-160 North 4th Street, 151-173 North 3rd Street and 237-241 Bedford Avenue, and consist of 50,000 square feet of retail space, 39 residential units, plus a 5,000 square foot vacant lot.
Eastern Consolidated Directors Gabe Saffioti and Benjamin Tapper introduced Waterbridge Capital to RedSky Capital, arranging a joint venture partnership between the two, for the purposes of financing the acquisition. RedSky will act as the manager of the joint venture.
“For this transaction to close by a date certain set by the seller The Backer Group, we quickly brought Waterbridge, together with RedSky to procure the appropriate equity partners to finance and close the deal,” said Mr. Saffioti. “The deal had many moving parts, we were pressured to come up with a minimum of $22 million of equity within a matter of days, and fortunately both parties agreed to terms because they understood the huge potential to maximize the underlying value of these assets in the future.”
Cooper-Horowitz’s Richard Horowitz and Mark Niman sourced the senior debt for the Bedford Avenue portfolio, eventually placing $51 million in debt on the parcels.
Waterbridge’s President Joel Schreiber acted nimbly and quickly maintaining an underlying belief in the neighborhood’s upside potential and a strong desire to tie up the parcels and seek partners with experience in the Williamsburg sub-market. Williamsburg is a unique market, one with extremely strong demand and very little availability.
“The property’s average in-place rent on Bedford is $54 per square foot, however market rents along Bedford are three to four times that amount, demonstrating the significant upside potential of this asset” said David Kessler, the Director of Acquisitions of Waterbridge Capital. “With 175 feet on Bedford, we have the ability to offer tenants anywhere from 1,000 square feet to 10,000 square feet. This parcel is the only one available along Bedford that offers both big box retailers and local businesses retail space of this scale,” he added.
Ultimately, the contiguous sites will become a key mixed-use landmark for Williamsburg, spanning nearly the entire block on Bedford Avenue between North 3rd and North 4th Streets, extending east to Driggs Avenue. The new owners are looking to lease retail space to a collection of fashion retailers, necessity retailers, and restaurant tenants.
David J. Felt, Esq. acted for the Buyer, Waterbridge Capital LLC with Dennis Sughrue, Esq. of Herrick Feinstein, while Mark Nussbaum of Altman Schocket LLP acted for the seller, The Backer Group and Jonathan Bernstein, Esq. represented RedSky Capital LLC and The Jordan Group. Kaye Scholer’s Trevor Owens Esq. represented Jefferies LoanCore who financed the senior debt on the Bedford Avenue portfolio.
