Atlanta-based Diamond National signs $63M construction loan for 218-unit project in Morrisania

Diamond National Investments through the entity 1010 Claremont Village LLC as borrower signed a new construction loan with lender Popular Bank through the entity Popular Bank valued at $63 million for the 218 unit development at 1010 Washington Avenue in Morrisania, Bronx.
On these lots, there is one active new building construction project for a 218-unit residential (R-2) building. The project was submitted by Joel Landau and filed by Joel Landau with plans filed November 9, 2021.

The deal closed on May 15, 2024 and was recorded on June 5, 2024.
The signatory for Diamond National Investments was Menachem Mendel Chazanow. Zalman Bernstein signed a zoning document. Mendel Chazanow is CEO and co-founder of Diamond National.

Over the past 12 months, Popular Bank is the fifth most active new construction lender in New York City, for loan of $5 million and up with $587 million in 26 loans.

By loan count, Popular Bank is the most active.

Violations and lawsuits

There were no lawsuits or bankruptcies filed against the properties for the past 24 months. In addition, according to city public data, the properties have received two DOB violations, $17,500 in ECB penalties, and $22,800 in OATH penalties in the last year.

The neighborhood

In Morrisania, The majority, or 52 percent of the 25.4 million square feet of commercial built space are elevator buildings, with walkup buildings next occupying 20 percent of the space. In sales, Morrisania has near average sales volume among other neighborhoods with $247.5 million in sales volume in the last two years and is the 2nd highest in Bronx. For development, Morrisania has had very little major development activity relative to other neighborhoods.It had 399,477 square feet of commercial and multi-family construction under development in the last two years, which represents 2 percent of the neighborhood’s built space.

The block

On the tax block of 1004 Washington Avenue, PincusCo has identified the owners of eight of the 18 commercial properties representing 75,136 square feet of the 232,036 square feet. The largest owner is Zalman Bernstein, followed by Monadnock Development and then Menachem Chazanow.
On the tax block, there were three new building construction projects totaling 131,313 square feet. The largest is a 95-unit, 64,228 square-foot residential (R-2) building submitted by Phillip Morrow with plans filed August 24, 2015 and it has not been permitted yet. The second largest is a 79-unit, 53,961 square-foot residential (R-2) building submitted by Joel Landau and filed by Joel Landau with plans filed November 9, 2021 and permitted June 8, 2022.

The majority, or 75 percent of the 232,036 square feet of built space are elevator buildings, with hotel buildings next occupying 16 percent of the space.

Direct link to Acris document. link