By Linda Collins
Brooklyn Daily Eagle

DOWNTOWN BROOKLYN — The unfinished residential development at 189 Schermerhorn St. in Downtown Brooklyn has new investors and a spring completion is now anticipated. Jamestown Properties, an Atlanta-and Cologne, Germany-based real estate investment firm, has purchased the mortgage for “Be@Schermerhorn,� called that by its developers Louis Greco and Mario Procida of SDS Procida Development.

“It was a $100 million commitment,� Michael Phillips, creative and marketing director for Jamestown in its Manhattan office, said of the mortgage. “And everyone is pleased with the result.�

According to Phillips, the firm was initially attracted to the site because of its location adjacent to several great neighborhoods yet squarely in the downtown area.

“Downtown Brooklyn has an energy, a momentum and a real strength that attracted us. Thus, the underlying piece for us, when the economy changed, was to ask if this was an asset we believe in,� he said. “And we said yes.�

Phillips told the Eagle that Jamestown Properties is committed to keeping the Schermerhorn development as condominiums, and not change it to rentals, because the firm believes in home ownership.

“We’ve retained the existing contracts. Obviously we have lost some because of the months of inactivity,� he said, adding that construction and pre-sales ceased in June.

Marketing and sales efforts for the 246 condos will be re-opened at the end of February, when the construction is closer to 100 percent complete and we have our CofO (certificate of occupancy), according to Phillips.

As previously reported in the Eagle, the 26-story tower and five-story mid-rise building was designed by was designed by the Stephen B. Jacobs Group with interiors by Callas Shortridge. Units include studios, one- and two-bedroom apartments ranging in size from 444 to 1,037 square feet.

According to Phillips, company officials hope to announce “a great restaurant operator� in the next couple of months for the building’s street-level retail space.

In a published statement, Matt Bronfman, Jamestown’s COO, said, “We are committed to the Brooklyn market. We believe Schermerhorn is uniquely positioned in the neighborhood to deliver quality of life and value combined with immediate access to public transportation, the shops of Atlantic Avenue and Brooklyn Heights’ culture. We believe our ability as a highly liquid investment company, coupled with the seasoned market knowledge of SDS Procida, will deliver a successful project and a successful community.�

Greco said he and Mario are “extremely excited� to partner with Jamestown and to resume construction.

“Many of our buyers have remained committed and anxiously await the opportunity to make 189 Schermerhorn their new home address,� he said.

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