90 Sands Street sale closes for $170M, former hotel to house homeless

[Guest Nicole]

RFR Realty has closed its sale of 90 Sands Street in Dumbo to a low-income housing developer for $170 million, according to city records.

After purchasing the building from the Jehovah’s Witnesses last year for $135 million with the intent of renovated the 600-key hotel, RFR dealt the property to Breaking Ground, a not-for-profit organization focused on creating and maintaining affordable housing.

The sale was widely reported on earlier this summer. Christian Bautista of The Real Deal was the first to report on the sales closing, which was recorded on August 31, according to the city’s Department of Finance.

Standing 30 stories tall and made of brick, 90 Sands stands between the entrance ramps to both the Brooklyn and Manhattan Bridges. It also shares a skybridge with a retail and office complex that includes Etsy, software companies and WeWork Dumbo Heights.

Breaking Ground used a $157 million mortgage from the city’s Department of Housing Preservation and Development’s Supportive Housing Loan Program as well as a $10 million sponsor loan from its own housing development fund.

Founded in 1990, Breaking Ground opened its first supportive housing center at the 652-unit Times Square Hotel in 1992 and now operates 3,500 units throughout the city, with roughly 1,000 more in the work, according to its website.

Led by president and CEO Brenda Rosen, the organization is funded by donations, many of which are from corporate and institutional investors in the fields of real estate and finance.

With properties in New York City, Stamford, Connecticut and Seattle, RFR Realty invests in office, residential, retail and hospitality assets.

Neither company returned calls seeking comment on Tuesday afternoon.

http://rew-online.com/rfr-realty-sells-90-sands-breaking-ground-homeless-housing-dumbo/

[Jack Ryan]

This was the building the brothers built back in the 90's and were SO PROUD of. (the taller one)

Anyone remember how many stories tall it was?

[Jack Ryan]

I remember watching July 4th fireworks in the east river from the top of that building:

[Isabella]

90 Sands Street, the former Jehovah’s Witness Dormitory, towers over its neighbors in Dumbo, Brooklyn alongside the Manhattan Bridge. The Jehovah’s Witness properties, which extended between Brooklyn Heights and Dumbo, have been parceled out over the last few years. The largest tract was transformed into the mixed-use campus Panorama which opened earlier this year. 90 Sands Street is unique however, as it is being redeveloped by the supportive housing provider, Breaking Ground. Closed since 2017, 90 Sands is very much frozen in time with ’90s era wallpaper and decor throughout. We were recently taken on a truly fascinating tour inside the 30-story building, from the basement levels all the way up to the observation deck which offers nearly 360 degree views of Manhattan and Brooklyn.

The view from the observatory at 90 Sands Street

The commercial kitchen in the cellar that once fed 1,000 people multiple times a day. On the right are commercial sized coffee urns.

One of the former dining rooms in 90 Sands

On our visit to 90 Sands, we were also able to see the original lobby, designed in a very ’90s-esque vibe with tiled and carpeted floors and a pale pink and mauve palette. There are six elevator banks with brass style buttons.

Read more: https://untappedcities.com/2020/09/18/inside-90-sands-street-former-jehovah-witness-dormitory/

[The Librarian]

I remember when they were building that...... sad to see it empty and sold off.

[Isabella]

Were you able to volunteer?

 

[Patiently waiting for Truth]

Such a contrast to Jesus, who never had a place to lay His head, and the disciples / Apostles too.

So much materialism now, so much money, but no truth.