A $45 million construction loan just landed on a piece of land Brooklyn hasn't built rental housing on in a while: church property. S3 Capital is financing a new apartment building in Williamsburg on a parcel tied to a religious institution's land holdings, according to Commercial Observer.

Here's why that detail matters more than the loan size. Churches, synagogues, and other religious nonprofits sitting on underused Brooklyn lots have quietly become one of the borough's few remaining sources of large, unencumbered development sites — no assemblage headaches, no fighting three different owners to close. When one of these deals surfaces, it's worth watching for the next one, because there's more of that land sitting idle than most GCs think about when they're scouting.

S3 Capital is a private lender that's been active across the outer boroughs on mid-size multifamily construction deals — this isn't a bank check, it's a debt fund betting a ground-up rental building pencils out in Williamsburg's rental market right now. A $45 million construction loan on a typical Brooklyn wood-frame or Type III mid-rise generally points to a building in the 100- to 150-unit range, though Commercial Observer's report doesn't break out unit count or square footage.

For a GC or trade contractor working the Northside or Southside right now, this is one more site moving from paper to a construction loan — which means permits, then a GC selection, likely within the next several months. Worth a call to S3 Capital's borrower or a scan of DOB NOW for the address once it surfaces.

Contact S3 Capital or watch DOB permit filings for the Williamsburg address as the project moves from financing to filed plans.