Cayuga Capital Secures $22M for Brooklyn Retail Conversion

1 Nassau Ave. Rendering courtesy of Cayuga Capital Management

Cayuga Capital Management has received $22 million in short-term financing to redevelop a vacant industrial building in Brooklyn. Knighthead Funding provided the 24-month financing, which will be used to convert the existing structure into a 46,000-square-foot retail facility.

Built in 1910 at 1 Nassau Ave., the single-story, 31,000-square-foot asset previously served as a Nash Metalware Co. warehouse. Following the conversion, the building will welcome its sole tenant, California-based Vital Climbing Gym. The fitness operator signed a long-term lease to occupy the entire building, marking its first East Coast location, set to open in April 2020. The company currently has three gyms in Southern California and one in Bellingham, Wash.

The property is located in the borough’s Williamsburg neighborhood, which has been experiencing an influx of Millennials in the past years. McCarren Park, tennis courts as well as two hotels are within close distance.

“The sponsors have strong experience redeveloping, managing and repositioning similar assets, including three in Williamsburg and Bushwick,” Knighthead Funding Principal Jonathan Daniel said in a prepared statement. “The target customer for Vital Climbing Gym fits well with the demographic make-up of Williamsburg.”

Last year, Cornell Realty Group embarked on a similar adaptive reuse project in the neighborhood. Plans called for upgraded building mechanicals, modernized lobby and elevators and a new facade.