Metropolitan Commercial Bank Lends $19M for Brooklyn Homeless Shelter Conversion
By Andrew Coen April 25, 2025 1:09 pm
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Elmo Realty has secured a $19 million loan to refinance a recently completed conversion of a historic Brooklyn school into a shelter for homeless families, Commercial Observer has learned.
Metropolitan Commercial Bank provided the 10-year loan on the developer’s gut rehabilitation of the former Public School 83 building in Crown Heights, according to Elmo. The property housed what is considered to be one of the first schools in the U.S. to fully integrate students of multiple races.
Elmo transformed the former school — located at 1630-1650 Dean Street and last utilized as a church in the early 2000s — into a 91-unit shelter with a mix of studio and one-bedroom layouts. The facility, which opened in December, also includes a reception desk, social services, 24/7 security, laundry and a day care.
“It is a privilege to contribute to the community through the development of thoughtful and meaningful housing,” said Saba Vahdat, vice president at Elmo. “I look forward to the opportunity to continue building and growing alongside this neighborhood and am grateful to Metropolitan Commercial Bank for their support and fueling our growth.”
The building at 1630-1650 Dean Street opened in 1908 as an addition to P.S. 83, which operated in the neighboring 1523 Bergen Street. The school was eventually renamed the Isaac Newton School and closed in 1968, according to Brownstoner.
The loan to Elmo is its third from Metropolitan Commercial Bank, which also supplied $27.5 million of construction financing for a multifamily development at a former church site at 1763-1771 Amsterdam Avenue in West Harlem operated by a homeless shelter, CO previously reported. The bank also provided $26 million of construction financing for a mixed-use development at 2535 Frederick Douglass Boulevard in Harlem two years ago.
Officials at Metropolitan Commercial Bank did not immediately return a request for comment.
Andrew Coen can be reached at acoen@commercialobserver.com.
