Maddigan and Lively of Cushman & Wakefield act for seller in $24 million sale; Simon Baron buys 12 Franklin, HKS Capital arranges loan

Brendan Maddigan, Cushman & Wakefield

12 Franklin Street - Brooklyn, NY

Mark Lively, Cushman & Wakefield

Brooklyn, NY Simon Baron Development has acquired 12 Franklin St., located at the corner of North 15^th St.for $24 million. The 30,500 s/f commercial building represents one of Simon Baron’s first acquisitions along the Williamsburg and Greenpoint waterfront.

Brendan Maddigan and Mark Lively of Cushman & Wakefield (CW) represented the seller – 12 Franklin St. Realty Corp. and 8 Meserole LLC – in the transaction.  Simon Baron was represented in-house and HKS Capital arranged the debt financing for the developer.

“We are excited for this to be our first property in the rapidly developing and vibrant Williamsburg/Greenpoint neighborhood,” said Matthew Baron, president of Simon Baron. “We feel that the site presents an ideal opportunity to be among this pocket of retailers, creative offices, restaurants, galleries, hotels and new/old industrial uses, and that it’s following a similar trend to what was seen in Manhattan’s Meatpacking District neighborhood nearly 20 years ago.” 

12 Franklin St. is located in the 20-block area in between the residential development of Greenpoint to the North and the commercial area of North Williamsburg to the south. The property is a small-scale of what the area offers, with a mixture of old and new commercial uses and is currently home to a handful of retail, office and restaurant tenants including Northern Territory, a restaurant offering Australian fare, beers & inventive cocktails; Dirck the Norseman, a German-style brewpub; Scilabs Music, offering scientific-themed rehearsal spaces; Eastern Metal Supply, distributors of custom and standard aluminum extrusions and sheet products and Overall Murals and Bacik, an NYC Outdoor Advertising Co., to name a few.

“This retail-driven and highly encumbered development site at 12 Franklin Street received a tremendous response from the market,” said Maddigan. “This manufacturing zoned area is currently experiencing an influx of commercial development, and we knew our efforts had to target retail investors and developers in order to achieve a successful sale.”

Located across the street from the East River and Bushwick Inlet Park, the property has access to public transportation, including the G subway line on Nassau Ave. and the Bx32 bus stop is located directly across the street from the building. The Williamsburg/Greenpoint area is a working-class neighborhood that is occupied with young artists and professionals while retaining much of its original and diverse population.