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Successful Sale of 300 Livingston Street, Downtown Brooklyn, Overcoming Significant Obstacles
Bob Knakal and his team successfully brokered the sale of the development site at 300 Livingston Street, Downtown Brooklyn, for $70,000,000. The site, owned by Thor Equities Group, was a multi-story parking facility with ground-floor retail space, but several complex encumbrances made this a challenging sale. Despite these issues, the team was able to overcome the obstacles and secure a top-tier buyer, TF Cornerstone, for the 600,000-square-foot potential development site.
Sale Details
Despite the complex nature of the development site, the team successfully brokered the sale to TF Cornerstone for $70,000,000, or $140 per as-of-right buildable square foot. This price exceeded the original reconciled value that was delivered to Thor Equities, a significant achievement given the difficulties of the site.
Sale Price: $70,000,000
Seller: Thor Equities Group
Buyer: TF Cornerstone
Seller Type: Real Estate Developer
Property Type: Development Site
Sale Date: March 19,2013
Property Details
300 Livingston Street is located at the intersection of Bond and Livingston Streets in Downtown Brooklyn, a bustling and rapidly growing submarket. The development site, which had been owned by Thor Equities since 2007, consisted of a multi-story parking facility with retail on the ground floor. The property presented a unique opportunity, but significant encumbrances made it difficult for investors to fully realize its potential.
Full Address: 300 Livingston Street, Downtown Brooklyn, NY
Zoning: Development
Property Type: Development Site
Sale Price: $70,000,000
The Challenges: Encumbrances and Construction Limitations
While Downtown Brooklyn was experiencing substantial growth in 2013, there were several key issues that made the sale of 300 Livingston Street challenging:
- Long-term lease: The site was encumbered by a tenant with a 60-plus-year lease for the loading docks.
- Underground passageway: A basement and underground passageway beneath Livingston Street presented significant challenges for future development.
- Subway line proximity: The southern portion of the site was adjacent to a subway line and an MTA easement, which made construction difficult and potentially cost-prohibitive.
- Height restrictions and setback requirements: These factors further complicated the development potential of the site, reducing the buildable square footage and limiting its maximum value.
Strategic Solutions and Buyer Identification
Recognizing that Thor Equities needed an advisor who could tackle these complexities, Bob Knakal and his team were engaged to find a buyer who had the expertise to overcome the unique challenges presented by the site. The team implemented a strategic approach to maximize the value of the property despite the obstacles:
- Targeted efforts: The bulk of the marketing efforts focused on parties with experience in dealing with complex development sites.
- Consultation with professionals: The team consulted with attorneys, architects, and engineers to better understand the site’s encumbrances and potential solutions. Buyout discussions were initiated with the long-term tenant, and adjacent property owners were approached to explore opportunities for enlarging the site and shifting development away from problematic areas.
- Buyer identification: TF Cornerstone, a developer with experience handling similarly challenging sites, emerged as the ideal buyer. They had previously dealt with and overcome each of the issues faced by 300 Livingston Street.
Neighborhood Overview
Downtown Brooklyn was experiencing a period of rapid growth and revitalization in 2013, making development sites highly sought after. The proximity of 300 Livingston Street to key transportation hubs and the area's commercial and residential expansion added to the site's desirability. Despite the construction challenges, the market's appetite for large-scale development opportunities enabled Bob Knakal and his team to secure a favorable sale price for the property.
Conclusion
The successful sale of 300 Livingston Street demonstrates Bob Knakal’s ability to overcome significant obstacles in complex development site transactions. By identifying the right buyer with the expertise to handle the site’s encumbrances, the team was able to achieve a sale price that exceeded expectations, proving once again their deep understanding of the New York City real estate market.
Testimonial
Here is what the seller had to say:
“This property had several challenging twists and turns given various easements and rights of way. We felt that given Bob Knakal’s tremendous track record in the sale of a wide array of development sites, he would clearly be able to express the issues to potential buyers and articulate mechanisms to address and overcome the issues. Bob and his team did just that, and we were very pleased by the results. We are happy to recommend Bob and his team to other potential sellers.”
– Joseph Sitt, Thor Equities
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