Charney, Tavros Score $785M To Build Gowanus' Largest Building
The developers that have led the transformation of Brooklyn's Gowanus neighborhood into a haven of high-rises now have the capital to start building their biggest project yet.
Charney Cos., Tavros Capital and Incoco Capital secured a $785M financing package for a 1.1M SF apartment and retail building at 175 Third St., the developers announced Thursday.
The financing is made up of $600M in debt from Apollo and Affinius Capital and $185M in equity from RXR. Including sponsor equity, the development’s total capitalization is now $1B.
“I don’t know how many $1B capitalizations are getting done in Brooklyn, let alone New York City,” Charney Cos. partner and Chief Operating Officer Justin Pelsinger told Bisnow by phone Thursday. “We’re just so thrilled to finally get the financing done.”
JLL’s Christopher Peck, Peter Rotchford and Nicco Lupo arranged the financing.
Charney and Tavros acquired the site from RFR Realty in May 2025 for $164M and now have plans to build 1,100 apartments across 27 stories.
The 175 Third St. project will become the fifth apartment tower in the developers’ Gowanus Wharf campus. The building will have a 28K SF public waterfront esplanade and has already signed fitness club Life Time to an 85K SF, three-story lease for its retail space.
"The New York City housing market remains undersupplied,” Apollo partner Ben Gray said in a statement. “We are pleased to provide a scaled financing solution to support a sponsorship team with deep local market expertise as they execute their broader vision for Gowanus Wharf.”
The other properties in the campus are a 224-unit development at 240 Third Ave., which opened in January 2025, two 650-unit towers at 310-320 Nevins St. and 340 Nevins St., and the 260-unit 251 Douglass St.
The developers plan to set aside a quarter of 175 Third's units as affordable housing to comply with the 421-a abatement that RFR previously secured for the site.
RFR had bought the site in 2018 for $115M, began environmental remediations and obtained excavation and foundation permits. But RFR agreed to sell it to the developers in 2024 after lenders Madison Realty Capital began foreclosure proceedings on an $80M mortgage tied to the site that was in default.
Charney and Tavros are the most active developers in Gowanus, but the neighborhood has become a hot spot for new construction since the city in 2021 rezoned 80 blocks along the Gowanus Canal to allow for denser projects.
