Bashkim Celaj signs $8.5M refi loan with Customers Bank for residential walkup in Kingsbridge Heights

Bashkim Celaj through the entity Besnik Realty Corp. as borrower signed a refi loan with lender Customers Bank valued at $8.5 million for the 87-unit residential walkup building at 2840 Bailey Avenue in Kingsbridge Heights, Bronx.
The deal closed on March 28, 2022 and was recorded on April 28, 2022. The prior lender was Capital One which held debt that had an original loan amount of $8.1 million.The property has 86,412 square feet of built space according to PincusCo analysis of city data. The loan price per built square foot is $98 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 Bashkim Celaj was Bashkim Celaj . The signatory for Customers Bank was Leo DiLoreto.

Prior sales and revenue

The owners according to the Department of Housing Preservation and Development includes Besnik Celaj, head officer and Charlie Celaj, officer. The business entities are Besnik Realty Corp and Besnik Realty Corp. The 86,412-square-foot property generated revenue of $1.2 million or $13 per square foot, according to the most recent income and expense figures.

The property

The 2840 Bailey Avenue parcel has frontage of 170 feet and is 122 feet deep with a total lot size of 20,400 square feet. The lot is irregular. The zoning is R6 which allows for up to 2.43 times floor area ratio (FAR) for residential. The city-designated market value for the property in 2022 is $3.5 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 one DOB violation, 68 housing violations, and $200 in OATH penalties 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 Kingsbridge Heights, the majority, or 59 percent of the 15.9 million square feet of commercial built space are residential elevator buildings, with residential walkup buildings next occupying 22 percent of the space. In sales, Kingsbridge Heights has the 30th highest sale turnover among other neighborhoods in Bronx with $25.2 million in sales volume in the last two years. For development, Kingsbridge Heights has had very little major development activity relative to other neighborhoods.It had 175,133 square feet of commercial and multi-family construction under development in the last two years, which represents 1 percent of the neighborhood’s built space.

The block

On this tax block, PincusCo has identified the owners of two of the four commercial properties representing 182,750 square feet of the 370,298 square feet. The two identified owners are Shapour “Paul” Sohayegh and Jacob Sutton. There are no active new building construction projects on this tax block.

The majority, or 71 percent of the 413,463 square feet of built space are residential walkup buildings, with residential elevator buildings next occupying 18 percent of the space.

The borrower

The PincusCo database, which is incomplete, currently indicates that Bashkim Celaj owned at least five commercial properties with 230,086 square feet and a city-determined market value of $13 million. (Market value is typically about 50% of actual value.) The portfolio has $27.3 million in debt, borrowed from Peapack-Gladstone Bank and New York Community Bank. Within the portfolio, the bulk, or 81 percent of the 230,086 square feet of built space are residential elevator properties, with residential walkup properties next occupying 18 percent of the space. They are all located in Bronx.

Surrounding

Within a 400-foot radius of 2840 Bailey Avenue, PincusCo identified two commercial real estate items of interests occurred over the past 24 months.
Of those two items, one was for major renovation including a certificate of occupancy change. It was a permit application filed on October 14, 2021 for the $338,100 renovation of 4,830-square-foot RES building with 10 residential units at 2851 Heath Avenue.
One of those two items was a loan which Shapour “Paul” Sohayegh borrowed $13 million from Morgan Stanley secured by the 107,920-square-foot, 101-unit rental (C7) on 2800 Bailey Avenue on September 24, 2021.

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