Savanna acquires 141 Willoughby Street in downtown Brooklyn

Savanna, a New York-based real estate private equity and asset management firm, has acquired 141 Willoughby Street, a dynamic development site in Downtown Brooklyn centrally located at the intersection of Willoughby Street and Flatbush Avenue, just blocks away from the Barclays Center. The lot is 18,000 s/f and is zoned for retail, residential and commercial use. Savanna is purchasing the asset off-market from the Institute of Design and Construction. "141 Willoughby Street is a prime location in Downtown Brooklyn and we see tremendous future value in this strategic and well located property," said Christopher Schlank, a managing partner at Savanna. "We are thrilled to be a part of the ongoing transformation of the immediate area, including the Willoughby Square Park and City Point redevelopments." Over the past three years, Downtown Brooklyn has seen significant growth, as the development of over 5,000 new apartments and a continued influx of national retailers have transformed the area. In this vibrant, 24-7 neighborhood, 141 Willoughby Street is ideally positioned, diagonally across from the planned 1-acre Willoughby Square Park, which has been called "Brooklyn's Bryant Park," and directly north of the new 2 million s/f retail and residential development of City Point. The Institute of Design and Construction ("IDC") currently operates its not-for-profit college at the building on site. "The sale of 141 Willoughby Street will enable IDC to continue to maintain its mission of providing the highest quality technical education in architecture and building construction at a reasonable cost to the student," stated, Vincent C. Battista, R.A., president of IDC. Woody Heller, executive managing director and Group head of the capital transactions group at Studley, represented IDC in the transaction. "Investors are duly optimistic about the future of Downtown Brooklyn," said Heller. "This site is of particular appeal because it is rare to find an island site of this size and level of visual prominence." Initial financing will be provided by Pembrook Capital Management, LLC, a firm founded and led by Stuart Boesky. Chris Barnet and Jonathan Estreich of Estreich & Company represented Savanna on placement of financing.