Brownsville’s historic Pitkin Theater sells for an unprecedented $53M

For more than 40 years, the building that was once home to the historic Loew's Pitkin Theater in Brownsville sat shuttered and deteriorating. It wasn’t until 2012 when the 164,000-square-foot movie palace, that dates back to 1929, was given a new lease on life. Developers POKO Partners converted the space into a mixed-use facility with both retail space and a charter school. Now, the building has been acquired by investor Shulem Herman for a whopping $53 million, making it the most expensive single-building deal ever seen in Brooklyn’s Brownsville neighborhood, reports The Real Deal.

“1501 Pitkin Avenue is a true comeback story,” said Matt Cosentino, Vice President of Investment Sales at real estate firm TerraCRG in a press release. “After many years of vacancy and neglect, the seller, POKO Partners, brought life back to this majestic property by building an incredible education facility that serves almost 1,000 public school students.”

POKO paid a mere $8 million for the property back in 2008 but went on to invest $43 million into rehabilitating the building. Per The Real Deal, the $53 million sale to Herman breaks down to roughly $323 per square foot. In 2014, L+M Development Partners purchased a housing development for almost $100 million, however, that was a multi-building sale that included 625 affordable apartments.

• This former movie palace might be Brownsville’s priciest-ever building sale [TRD]
• Decrepit Brooklyn movie theater reborn as charter school [Curbed]