RIPCO Real Estate Sells Defaulted $133 Million Loan Backed by Unfinished Brooklyn Commercial Building to Maguire Capital

RIPCO Real Estate's Debt & Structured Finance Division has sold a defaulted loan with a total accrued payoff of approximately $133 million, the firm announced Nov. 11. The note is backed by a partially completed 180,000-square-foot commercial building in Brooklyn, New York, and the buyer was Maguire Capital.

RIPCO credited Michael Winter, Adam Hakim and James Murad with the transaction. The firm described the deal as a defaulted note sale and said it reflects the range of opportunities and complexities in today's commercial real estate financing landscape.

Deal Details: Defaulted Note Sale in Brooklyn

The transaction involved the sale of a defaulted note rather than the sale of the underlying real estate. The $133 million figure represents the total accrued payoff on the loan, not necessarily the original principal balance or the price Maguire Capital paid for the note.

The collateral is a partially completed commercial building totaling 180,000 square feet in Brooklyn. Measured against the building's size, the accrued payoff works out to roughly $739 per square foot. That figure is an implied loan-payoff metric, not a sale price or valuation, and because the asset is unfinished and the loan is in default, it should not be read as a pricing benchmark for operating properties.

RIPCO's Debt & Structured Finance Team

Winter, Hakim and Murad handled the assignment on behalf of RIPCO Real Estate's Debt & Structured Finance Division. RIPCO lists debt and structured financing, investment sales, retail leasing and property management among its core service lines, placing the note sale within a platform that covers both operating-property transactions and capital markets assignments.

A defaulted-note sale transfers control of the distressed credit to the buyer, including potential workout, foreclosure, completion and stabilization strategies.

Brooklyn Market Context

RIPCO's 2025 annual market report describes 2026 as a "bifurcated recovery," in which multifamily, medical, grocery-anchored retail and high-quality office are positioned more favorably, while commodity or oversupplied properties remain under pressure. That split is relevant to a partially completed commercial building, whose financing prospects can differ based on eventual use, location, tenant demand and construction economics.

The same report says Brooklyn remained resilient in 2025, with increased buyer bid activity partly driven by limited Manhattan supply and a flight to quality in corridors including Williamsburg and Downtown Brooklyn. RIPCO also identifies sustained retailer demand in Brooklyn and Queens, concentrated in stronger neighborhoods and high-quality corridors rather than spread evenly across the borough.

RIPCO's Williamsburg analysis points to demand from national and international retailers, restaurants, beauty and fashion users, and direct-to-consumer brands, with activity centered on established locations such as Bedford Avenue and North 6th Street.

For a local reference point on development-oriented pricing, RIPCO's investment-sales materials list a Williamsburg transaction at 14-16 Powers Street for $5.01 million, or $486 per square foot and $446 per buildable square foot. That deal involved a mixed-use building and development site, and is not directly comparable to the defaulted loan on an unfinished 180,000-square-foot commercial building.

Implications for Distressed Debt in Brooklyn

The sale illustrates the pressure that arises when a partially completed development cannot be refinanced or completed under its original capital structure. Brooklyn demand exists, but RIPCO's market commentary emphasizes that asset quality, location and execution are critical to financing and exit value.

Sources

• RIPCO Real Estate: RIPCO Debt & Structured Finance Division secures $133 Million Loan