Community Access plans 276-unit affordable rental in Concourse

Christopher Lacovara, CFO of Community Access submitted a new building construction project for a 276-unit, 217,656 square-foot residential (R-2) building at 1185 River Avenue in Concourse, Bronx.

Community Access is a nonprofit that develops supportive housing and services for individuals with mental health concerns. The organization is an active developer in New York City.

The plan was filed with the New York City Department of Buildings on May 15, 2023 under job number X00871979. It calls for the construction of a 19-story building. The project is described in the filing as: filing herewith 19-story mixed use building as per plans: affordable and supportive housing with commercial in cellar and first floor. The architect is ESKW/Architects.

The property

The parcel has frontage of 200 feet and is 135 feet deep with a total lot size of 27,000 square feet. The zoning is R9A which allows for up to 7.52 times floor area ratio (FAR) for residential with inclusionary housing. The city-designated market value for the property in 2022 is $404,000.

Prior sales and revenue

This property was sold for $800,000 on October 4, 2003.

Development

Christopher Lacovara, CFO of Community Access submitted a new building construction project for a 276-unit, 217,656 square-foot residential (R-2) building at 1185 River Avenue. The plan was filed on May 15, 2023. It calls for the construction of a 195-foot tall, 19-story building and was filed with the New York City Department of Buildings under job number X00871979. The architect is Eskw/A. The project is described in the filing as: accepted to hub as per consult with rami bitar on 4/13. filing herewith 19 story mixed use builing as per plans: affordable and supportive housing with commercial in cellar and 1st floor.

Violations and lawsuits

According to city public data, the property has not received any significant violations in the last year.

There were no lawsuits or bankruptcies filed against the property for the past 24 months.

The neighborhood

In Concourse, The bulk, or 46 percent of the 13.4 million square feet of commercial built space are elevator buildings, with industrial buildings next occupying 16 percent of the space. In sales, Concourse has near average sales volume among other neighborhoods with $193.7 million in sales volume in the last two years and is the 7th highest in Bronx. For development, Concourse has near average amount of major developments among other neighborhoods and is the 16th highest in Bronx. It had 622,376 square feet of commercial and multi-family construction under development in the last two years, which represents 5 percent of the neighborhood’s built space.

The block

On this tax block, PincusCo has identified the owners of six of the seven commercial properties representing 329,308 square feet of the 329,308 square feet. The largest owner is Chestnut Holdings Of New York, followed by Finkelstein Timberger East Real Estate and then Goldberg Family (5600a). On the tax block, there were two new building construction projects totaling 418,792 square feet. The largest is a 276-unit, 217,656 square-foot residential (R-2) building submitted by Community Access and filed by Christopher Lacovara with plans filed May 15, 2023 and it has not been permitted yet. The second largest is a 245-unit, 201,136 square-foot residential (R-2) building submitted by Community Access, Inc. and filed by Christopher Lacovara with plans filed February 19, 2019 and permitted August 12, 2020.

The surrounding

Within a 400-foot radius of 1185 River Avenue, PincusCo identified three commercial real estate items of interests occurred over the past 24 months. Of those three items, three were loans above $5 million totaling $119 million. The most recent of the three was Steven E. Breitman in which borrowed $7 million from Kearny Bank secured by the 69,969-square-foot, 72-unit rental (D1) on 1164 Cromwell Avenue on December 7, 2022.

Direct link to the property’s ACRIS page and link to DOB NOW portal.