Latest Witnesses-owned property in Brooklyn Heights hits the market

http://therealdeal.com/blog/2012/07/24/next-jehovahs-witnesses-owned-property-hits-the-market/

 

July 24, 2012 06:00PM

 

Another Brooklyn Heights property in the Jehovah’s Witnesses’ vast portfolio, has hit the market, David Schechtman of Eastern Consolidated, who is marketing the building, told The Real Deal today.

 

The 10-unit, five-story residential building, has a $3.4 million ask, and it could easily be converted to a single-family home – an approach taken at some other multi-family buildings mainly on the Upper East Side, recently. The 5,088-square-foot building, located at 67 Remsen Street, features a private garden and will be delivered vacant, Schechtman said.

 

Previously, the building housed students and volunteers associated with the religious group’s Watchtower Society, a non-profit organization. As the Jehovah’s Witnesses go forward with their planned move upstate, to Warwick, N.Y. and Patterson, N.Y., the residences were no longer necessary, Schechtman said.

 

The group’s large portfolio of buildings — in the Brooklyn Heights, Dumbo and East Village areas — have been marketed variously by Massey Knakal, Cushman & Wakefield’s Nat Rockett, and now, Eastern. Engaging a third firm is a sign that the religious group has decided now is the time to divest from their properties, one source said. The group owned 25 Brooklyn buildings, before they began selling them off two years ago.

 

If left a multi-family dwelling, the net operating income at the building would be about $140,000 a year, documents obtained by The Real Deal show.

 

But in the Brooklyn Heights area, where second quarter sales data shows the average price for a co-ops and condos at $890,000, a well-maintained single-family home might be a bigger draw. A three-bedroom townhouse just down the street, at 12 College Place, just went into contract for $4.85 million, Streeteasy.com shows.

 

“Inside of a million [in construction costs], and you could easily have one of the nicest townhouses you will ever see,” Schechtman said.