The controversial Brooklyn businessman behind the renovation of a historic Sears building in the borough recently secured a massive construction loan to move the project forward, Crain’s can exclusively report.
Clipper Equity — led by David Bistricer, whose firm has twice landed itself a spot on the city’s worst landlords list — has scored more than $300 million to construct what will ultimately become known as Bedford Square, spanning four buildings, more than 40,000 square feet of residential space and three city blocks in the heart of Flatbush, not far from the iconic Kings Theater.
The centerpiece of the redevelopment site is the currently vacant Sears Roebuck & Co. department store at the corner of Bedford Avenue and Beverly Road, which in 2020 housed a Covid-19 testing center in its parking lot. The Art-Deco building was designed by Chicago architects Nimmons, Carr and Wright. In 1932, when the retail store opened during the height of the Great Depression, Eleanor Roosevelt famously addressed the attending crowd.
The landmarked structure has 140,000 square feet of available commercial space above-grade and once refurbished may include a grocery store, a charter school or a medical office, according to the developer.
Bistricer purchased the site for more than $90 million in 2022, according to city records. And total construction will cost about $430 million, according to the Clipper Equity representative.
Amenities in the residential portion of the complex will include a coworking space, a gym, a yoga studio, a pet spa and about 20,000 square feet of outdoor green space with dog runs, basketball courts and tennis courts.
The first building in the complex, building A, at 2201 Beverly Road, is planned to include 296 apartments, according to a Clipper Equity representative. Building B, at 2366 Bedford Ave. will include 354 units; building C, at 2363 Bedford Ave., will include 132 units; and building D, at 158 Lott St., will include 95 apartments. Clipper will set aside 30% of the units at all four residential towers as affordable housing offered at 130% of the area median income, or $165,230 for a family of three.
Bistricer and his family have a checkered past in Brooklyn real estate, and especially at affordable housing complexes. More than a decade ago, tenants of Flatbush Gardens — which at one point had amassed nearly 3,000 housing code violations—took him to court over his failure to uphold a contract in which he said he’d improve the development’s community space in exchange for a letter of support for his attempt to take over Starrett City. The feds ultimately rejected his endeavor to purchase the massive housing complex in East New York, now known as Spring Creek Towers, but Bistricer was able to refinance the Flatbush Gardens property for nearly $330 million several years ago, multiple outlets reported at the time.
Clipper Equity, which purchased the Bedford Avenue and Beverly Road properties a few years back, declined to provide more information on its recent $300 million loan but said the financing came from various sources, and work is expected to wrap in 2026. S.Wieder Architect is the architect of record.
Julianne Cuba , 2024-04-02 19:30:58
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