The Frederick, 564-570 St. Johns Place

NEW YORK CITY—Harbor Group International, a privately-owned real estate investment and management firm, and investor Image Capital, purchased the newly built multifamily apartment building called The Frederick, located at 564-570 St. Johns Place in Crown Heights, Brooklyn. The developers, Toby Moskovitz and Michael Lichtenstein of Heritage Equity Partners, sold the development for $117 million.

Crown Heights historically had not been a neighborhood known for luxury residential developments. Years ago, racial riots in August 1991 created national headlines. In those days, a tense atmosphere not only in Crown Heights but other nearby Brooklyn areas was not enticing developers to build or people to move into the neighborhood. But times have changed.

These days, constructed in 2017, the 193-unit apartment building that just sold has upscale amenities. This includes a rooftop deck with views of Downtown Brooklyn and Manhattan, a fitness facility, tenant lounge, part-time doorman and onsite parking. The apartments feature nine-foot ceilings and maple hardwood floors. The kitchens come with stainless steel appliances, granite counters and marble mosaic backsplashes. All units include washers and dryers and several apartments even offer balconies.

“The purchase of The Frederick in the growing Crown Heights neighborhood underscores Harbor Group International's commitment to investing in high-quality assets within well-located areas,” says Jordan Slone, Harbor's CEO. “With this property, we continue our key objective of acquiring multifamily properties in top-tier markets, especially in areas with strong development and growth potential.”

Crown Heights has experienced substantial development and an influx of new rental and condo developments, as well as a flourishing retail market in recent years, according to Harbor. The owners point out the property is near Prospect Park, the second largest public park in Brooklyn, public transportation and several restaurants, grocery stores, pharmacies and banks.

Steve Vegh of Westwood Realty Associates brokered the deal for both the buyer and sellers. Sheldon Chanales of Herrick, Feinstein LLP provided legal counsel to Harbor and Ilan Lerman of Jeffrey Zwick and Associates represented Heritage. New York Community Bank financed the deal through Meridian.