Rudy Gabsi’s LENY Group couldn’t hold on to its mixed-use Williamsburg property long enough to right the ship.
CIM Group and Osiris Ventures snapped up 190 Berry Street from LENY for $55.7 million out of bankruptcy, according to property records. LENY put the entity that owned the mixed-use property into Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection last year, hoping to stave off a foreclosure auction and refinance the debt.
An auction had been scheduled for the 40-unit apartment building and adjoining retail buildings after LENY Group defaulted on the mortgage, which had a balance of almost $70 million.
LENY said in the bankruptcy filing that the proceeding was “to renew negotiations for a restructuring of the mortgage debt pending further stabilization of the property.” The property’s J-51 tax abatement, which requires at least half the apartments to be affordable, runs out this year, creating an opportunity to regain rental income, the developer said in the filing.
But LENY apparently wasn’t able to work things out with the lender. The developer filed a second bankruptcy a few months later to facilitate a quick sale of the property, PincusCo reported at the time. A purchase agreement was signed in December with a closing deadline of July 31, according to property records.
Eastdil Secured’s Gary Philips, Will Silverman and Jeff Organisciak represented the seller. Truist Bank provided a $41 million loan to finance the purchase.
A spokesperson for CIM Group declined to comment on whether it plans to raise the rents on the affordable units when the abatement expires.
LENY acquired the property in 2015 when it bought a majority stake in a Brooklyn portfolio owned by Joel Schreiber’s Waterbridge.
The property was converted in 2009 from separate commercial warehouses to connected residential and brick & beam loft retail properties. The lofts boast 10-foot ceilings, according to marketing materials from Eastdill Secured.
The buildings sit on a prime corner of North Third and Berry streets.
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