Last week news hit that a house in southeast Brooklyn had traded hands for $10 million, making it the second-priciest home sale in Brooklyn history. As it turns out, the moneybags behind the purchase is not exactly an unknown personage: Public records show that mega-landlord Baruch Singer ponied up the dough for the 7,526-square-foot house. Singer, who has long (and perhaps unfairly) been considered one of the city’s preeminent slumlords, made his fortune by owning and operating older rental buildings; a couple of years ago, he sold a portfolio of 104 properties for $450 million. Though most of his holdings have been concentrated in upper Manhattan, Singer’s been making some interesting waves in Brooklyn real estate lately: He’s been involved in a legal dispute about ownership rights for the fire-struck Greenpoint Terminal Market site; in May he paid $13.3 million for a Dumbo warehouse that he reportedly plans to convert into a residential building; he recently sold a few Kensington buildings for $12.6 million; and he may or may not be fixing to build a new Park Slope building on 4th Avenue and 6th Street.
Baruch Singer Buys Himself Some Dumbo [Brownstoner]
Commercial Sales in Brooklyn [Brownstoner]
4th Avenue Condos: The Next Generation? [Brownstoner]