Bashkim Celaj pays $12.1M for 68-unit rental owned for nearly 40 years in Pelham Bay

Bashkim Celaj through the entity Shaban Realty LLC paid $12.1 million to Sacchetti Realty through the entity 2155 Realty Corp. for the 68-unit residential elevator building at 3120 Wilkinson Avenue in Pelham Bay, Bronx.
The deal closed on April 25, 2022 and was recorded on May 9, 2022. The property has 79,400 square feet of built space according to PincusCo analysis of city data. The sale price per built square foot is $152 per the PincusCo analysis. (The price per square foot analysis is the transaction price divided by square feet as reported in public records and assumes no air rights have been sold.)
The signatory for Sacchetti Realty was Michael Sacchetti. The signatory for Bashkim Celaj was Bashkim Celaj. The Sacchetti family has owned the parcel since 1983.

Prior sales and revenue

Prior to this transaction, Pincusco has records that the buyer Bashkim Celaj purchased one properties in one transactions for a total of $5.2 million and has no record it sold any properties over the past 24 months.
The seller Sacchetti Realty had not purchased any other properties and had not sold any properties over the same time period. The former owners according to the Department of Housing Preservation and Development includes Vito Sacchetti, head officer and Pasqualina Sacchetti, officer. The business entity is 2155 Realty Corp.

The property

The 3120 Wilkinson Avenue parcel has frontage of 181 feet and is 104 feet deep with a total lot size of 16,420 square feet. The lot is irregular. The zoning is R7-1 which allows for up to 3.44 times floor area ratio (FAR) for residential. The city-designated market value for the property in 2022 is $2.2 million.

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 15 housing violations in the last year.

Development

There are no active new building construction projects or major alteration projects with initial costs more than $5 million on this tax lot.

The neighborhood

In Pelham Bay, the bulk, or 27 percent of the 11.3 million square feet of commercial built space are 1-4 family buildings, with residential elevator buildings next occupying 22 percent of the space. In sales, Pelham Bay has the 32nd highest sale turnover among other neighborhoods in Bronx with $21.3 million in sales volume in the last two years. For development, Pelham Bay has had very little major development activity relative to other neighborhoods.It had 243,263 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 this tax block, PincusCo has identified the owners of one of the 12 commercial properties representing zero square feet of the 184,200 square feet. The identified owner is City of New York. There are no active new building construction projects on this tax block.

The majority, or 33 percent of the 247,366 square feet of built space are residential walkup buildings, with residential elevator buildings next occupying 32 percent of the space.

The buyer

The PincusCo database currently indicates that Bashkim Celaj owned at least six commercial properties with 316,498 square feet and a city-determined market value of $17 million. (Market value is typically about 50% of actual value.) The portfolio has $35.8 million in debt, with top three lenders as Peapack-Gladstone Bank, New York Community Bank, and Customers Bank respectively. Within the portfolio, the bulk, or 59 percent of the 316,498 square feet of built space are residential elevator properties, with residential walkup properties next occupying 41 percent of the space. They are all located in Bronx.

Surrounding

Within a 400-foot radius of 3120 Wilkinson Avenue, PincusCo identified two commercial real estate items of interests occurred over the past 24 months.
There were two new building permit applications. The most recent of these two items was a filing on April 25, 2022 for a 52,467-square-foot B building at 3251 Westchester Avenue.

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