Stalled Hotel and Residential Project Site in Williamsburg Sells for $30M
By Amanda Schiavo January 28, 2026 2:55 pm
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An embattled development site once envisioned as a hotel and residential project in Williamsburg, Brooklyn, has been sold for $30 million, property records made public Wednesday show.
Former lender Madison Realty Capital sold the vacant lot at 159 Broadway — where a 26-story, 235-key hotel and condominium building had been planned — to property management company Joyland Management, according to records.
David Speiser, senior managing director and general counsel at Madison Realty, signed the deal for the seller, while Joel Wertzberger, founder of Joyland, signed for the buyer.
Spokespeople for Madison Realty and Joyland did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
Originally the lead lender on the project, Madison Realty bought the troubled development site in 2022 from previous owner Cornell Realty following a bankruptcy sale. Madison Realty, which had provided about $28 million in loans on the property, filed to foreclose on the property’s senior debt in July 2020. Property records show that Madison Realty took full ownership of 159 Broadway in November 2022 for $32 million, after bidding for the property started at $28 million.
The bankruptcy sale was marketed by Greg Corbin, who was president of bankruptcy and restructuring at Rosewood Realty Group at the time. Rosewood declined to comment, as the firm was not involved with the latest transaction.
The 133,000-buildable-square-foot lot along the Williamsburg Bridge largely faced trouble after it lost a tax incentive known as the Industrial and Commercial Abatement Program, which was valued at about $3 million per year, greatly reducing value and interest in the Williamsburg property, The Real Deal reported.
It’s unclear what Joyland plans to do with its new property, but plans were recently filed with the New York City Department of Buildings for a new 12-story, 99-unit mixed-use building on the site.
Joyland has also been busy lately with other deals throughout the city. Earlier this month, Joyland bought two adjacent former medical buildings at 313-319 East 17th Street in Manhattan’s Gramercy neighborhood for $33.5 million, with potential plans to convert the buildings into housing.
Amanda Schiavo can be reached at aschiavo@commercialobserver.com.
