Arben Mitaj, Erman Lumaj signs $28M construction loan for 111-unit project in Fordham Heights

Arben Mitaj and Erman Lumaj through the entity 2072 Anthony LLC as borrower signed a new construction loan with lender Northeast Community Bank through the entity Northeast Community Bank valued at $28 million for the midblock 111-unit development at 2066-2074 Anthony Avenue in Fordham Heights, Bronx.
The deal closed on April 29, 2022 and was recorded on May 11, 2022. The prior lender was Houlihan and O’Malley Commercial Services which held debt that had an original loan amount of $4 million.
The owner bought the property on September 3, 2020, for $1.1 million. The signatory for Arben Mitaj and Erman Lumaj was Arben Mitaj and Erman Lumaj.

The borrowers filed plans for a 111-unit, 75,672-square-foot R-2 building developed by Arben Mitaj with plans filed September 29, 2020 and permitted October 20, 2021.

The property

The 2066-2074 Anthony Avenue parcel has frontage of 21 feet and is 119 feet deep with a total lot size of 2,690 square feet. The lot is irregular. The zoning is R8 which allows for up to 6.02 times floor area ratio (FAR) for residential. The city-designated market value for the property in 2022 is $619,000.

Violations and lawsuits

There were no lawsuits or bankruptcies filed against the property since September of 2020. In addition, according to city public data, the property has received $25,000 in ECB penalties and $25,000 in OATH penalties in the last year.

The neighborhood

In Fordham Heights, the bulk, or 43 percent of the 17.5 million square feet of commercial built space are residential elevator buildings, with residential walkup buildings next occupying 33 percent of the space. In sales, Fordham Heights has had very little sales volume relative to other neighborhoods with $101 million in sales volume in the last two years. For development, Fordham Heights has 2.8 times the average amount of major developments relative to other neighborhoods and is the 4th highest in Bronx. It had 2.5 million square feet of commercial and multi-family construction under development in the last two years, which represents 14 percent of the neighborhood’s built space.

The block

On this tax block, PincusCo has identified the owners of 13 of the 34 commercial properties representing 709,743 square feet of the 1,077,297 square feet. The largest owner is Acmh, followed by Ved Parkash and then Angelo Gordon. There are 14 active new building construction projects totaling 660,790 square feet. The largest is a 111-unit, 75,672-square-foot R-2 building developed by Arben Mitaj with plans filed September 29, 2020 and permitted October 20, 2021. The second largest is a 102-unit, 67,673-square-foot R-2 building developed by Gzim Hasandjekic with plans filed March 5, 2020 and it has not been permitted yet.

the majority, or 64 percent of the 1.1 million square feet of built space are residential elevator buildings, with residential walkup buildings next occupying 20 percent of the space.

The borrower

The PincusCo database currently indicates that Arben Mitaj owned at least six commercial properties with 40,611 square feet and a city-determined market value of $4.4 million. (Market value is typically about 50% of actual value.) Within the portfolio, the bulk, or 78 percent of the 40,611 square feet of built space are residential elevator properties, with mixed-use properties next occupying 12 percent of the space. They are all located in Bronx.

Surrounding

Within a 400-foot radius of 2066-2074 Anthony Avenue, Pincusco identified 13 commercial real estate items of interests occurred over the past 24 months.
Of those 13 items, five were in new building development. There were three new building permit applications and two new building permits. The most recent of these five items was a filing on March 30, 2022 for a 39,274-square-foot R-2 building with 71 residential units at 2077 Ryer Avenue.
Of those 13 items, three were for major renovation including a certificate of occupancy change. They were two permits with a total initial cost of $1.4 million and one initial temporary certificate of occupancy issuance for a project that initially costed $288,750. The most recent of these three items was the temporary certificate of occupancy on November 24, 2020 for a 3,850-square-foot R-2 building with eight residential units at 2093 Ryer Avenue.
One of those 13 items was a sale which Ved Parkash bought the 74,580-square-foot, 78-unit rental (D1) on 2055 Anthony Avenue for $11.5 million from Morgan Group on October 21, 2020.
Of those 13 items, four were loans above $5 million totaling $47 million. The most recent of the four was ACMH which borrowed $10.3 million from NYC Department of Housing Preservation and Development secured by the 65,653-square-foot, 86-unit rental (D3) on 2051 Ryer Avenue on January 26, 2022.

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