S3 Capital Lends $45M to Build Williamsburg Apartments on Church Land
David Grunfeld is developing a 99-unit multifamily building at the church-controlled property
By Andrew Coen September 10, 2026 1:09 pm
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A Brooklyn developer got a higher calling for its latest multifamily project.
David Grunfeld, through the entity GW Infinity, has landed $45 million of construction financing to build a 99-unit apartment building with an affordable housing component at a church-affiliated site in Williamsburg, Brooklyn, Commercial Observer can first report,
S3 Capital provided the leasehold construction loan for the development of the 17-story complex at 277 North Eighth Street, which will have 20 percent of the units designated as affordable under New York City’s 485-x tax incentive program. Grunfeld filed plans in December 2025 to demolish a vacant two-story building at the property that sits on land controlled through a long-term ground lease with the Roman Catholic Church of Our Lady of Mount Carmel, CO first reported at the time.
Shawn Safdie, head of origination at S3 Capital, noted that the unconventional transaction involved structuring the loan around the leasehold interest and the terms of the ground lease to enable the borrower to proceed with construction without the capital commitment typically required for acquiring the underlying land outright.
“This loan is a great example of S3 Capital’s ability to structure creative financing solutions for complex real estate transactions,” Safdie said in a statement. “This is our fifth loan with this sponsorship team in this neighborhood, so we deeply understand the market and the nuances of developing here.”
Robert Schwartz, a co-founder and managing principal at S3 Capital, said the deal underscores S3’s “development background” to allow it to be “creative in structuring tailored solutions” for the “specific needs of a project.”
The property is three blocks from the Bedford Avenue L train station with mass transit access into Manhattan. Williamsburg as a Brooklyn submarket has experienced tight multifamily fundamentals, according to S3, with vacancy rates near around 2 percent and rents up roughly 6 percent year-over-year amid a limited pipeline of new supply.
Grunfeld did not immediately return a request for comment.
Andrew Coen can be reached at acoen@commercialobserver.com.
