Jed Walentas’ Two Trees Management has acquired a 3-acre development site in Gowanus, Brooklyn, for $37 million, Commercial Observer has learned.
Two Trees, which already owns another 5 to 10 acres in the rezoned neighborhood, bought 69 Ninth Street from local real estate investor Aaron Berger, according to sources familiar with the deal. The sale closed Friday.
Most of Two Trees’ land in Gowanus falls under the rezoning — which was passed in 2021 and affected an area of more than 80 blocks surrounding the Gowanus Canal — but the parcel acquired as part of this deal has not been rezoned, sources said.
Newmark’s Daniel O’Brien and Ronald Solarz brokered the deal. Two Trees also assumed an existing loan on the property that was in the process of being refinanced as part of the deal.
Spokespeople for Two Trees and Newmark did not immediately respond to requests for comment, while Burger could not be reached for comment.
Two Trees’ newly acquired site along Ninth Street near the Gowanus Canal is currently occupied by seven buildings of various uses across 113,817 square feet, according to marketing materials from Newmark.
The stretch is 87 percent occupied with a “diverse tenancy” of industrial, office and retail companies, the materials said. One major tenant in the portfolio is Tesla, which has a dealership at 94-124 Ninth Street. Grocery delivery service Save A Lot and shipping service Fabric also take space along the stretch.
Newmark said in the materials that there is an opportunity to redevelop the site with up to 252,134 square feet of commercial floor area.
It’s unclear what Two Trees’ plans are for the site, but the deal represents one of the first investment deals for the company recently, following a stint of consistent leasing news for the landlord at its office properties in Dumbo, Brooklyn.
Isabelle Durso can be reached at idurso@commercialobserver.com.