A former Jehovah’s Witnesses property in Dumbo has been sold for $85 million, according to a report by Crain’s. Hubb Properties, based in Midtown, purchased 181 Front Street, a 12-story apartment building with 105 units. The transaction represents an exit for the Carlyle Group, which acquired the site in 2014 for $21.4 million before the building was constructed.
The sale price equates to about $810,000 per unit.
Megalith Capital initially assembled the parcel in 2013 as part of a broader deal with the Jehovah’s Witnesses. The religious group had spent years selling off their large real estate holdings in Dumbo and Brooklyn Heights after relocating their headquarters upstate. While Megalith is listed as the developer of 181 Front Street, details regarding its current status or ongoing partnership with Carlyle remain unclear.
The rental building was designed by Aufgang Architects and construction began in 2015, finishing in 2018. This project contributed to Dumbo’s transformation from an industrial area into a luxury residential neighborhood. Current listings show one-bedroom apartments available at an asking rent of $4,381 per month on StreetEasy.
Both Carlyle and Hubb declined to comment on the transaction.
After the pandemic began, Carlyle built up a portfolio worth around half a billion dollars by acquiring over 130 small apartment buildings across several Brooklyn neighborhoods such as Bushwick, Bedford-Stuyvesant, Park Slope and Cobble Hill. This strategy marked a significant move by Wall Street into ownership of smaller residential properties typically held by individual landlords.
Hubb Properties was founded in 2011 and markets itself as an all-cash buyer with more than 80 properties under management. Recently, an affiliate of Hubb paid $20.3 million for another apartment building at 254 Water Street; that property was previously bought by City Urban Realty for $15 million in 2019.
