Durgaj Properties signs $13.6M construction loan for 59-unit project in Claremont Village

Durgaj Properties through the entity 304 East 173 Street LLC as borrower signed a new construction loan with lender NorthEast Community Bank valued at $13.6 million for the 59-unit project at 304 East 173rd Street in Claremont Village, Bronx.

On the lot, there is one active new building construction project, X01112903, for a 59-unit, 30,869 square-foot residential (R-2) building. The project was submitted by Paul Durgaj on September 27, 2024 and it was permitted April 2, 2025.
The loan closed on August 15, 2025 and was recorded on September 11, 2025. The prior lender was NorthEast Community Bank which held debt that had an original loan amount of $1.4 million.The property has 40,033 square feet of additional air rights for a total buildable of 40,033 square feet according to a PincusCo analysis of city data. The loan price per built square foot is $N/A and the price per buildable square foot is $338 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 owner bought the property on March 21, 2024, for $2.9 million. The signatory for Durgaj Properties was Paulin Durgaj . The signatory for NorthEast Community Bank was Raymond L. Francis .

The property

The parcel has frontage of 70 feet and is 95 feet deep with a total lot size of 6,650 square feet. 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 $191,000.

Violations and lawsuits

There were no lawsuits or bankruptcies filed against the property for the past 24 months. In addition, according to city public data, the property has not received any significant violations in the last year.

The neighborhood

In Claremont Village, The bulk, or 42 percent of the 7.2 million square feet of commercial built space are elevator buildings, with walkup buildings next occupying 33 percent of the space. In sales, Claremont Village has the 39th highest sale turnover among other neighborhoods in Bronx with $15 million in sales volume in the last two years. For development, Claremont Village has had very little major development activity relative to other neighborhoods.It had 327,829 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 four of the eight commercial properties representing 39,930 square feet of the 164,183 square feet. The largest owner is Rachela Tauber, followed by Nicolas Benhammou and then Jose Molina.
On the tax block, there were two new building construction projects totaling 37,421 square feet. The largest is a 59-unit, 30,869 square-foot residential (R-2) building submitted by Paul Durgaj and filed by Paul Durgaj with plans filed September 27, 2024 and permitted April 2, 2025. The second largest is a 12-unit, 6,552 square-foot residential (R-2) building submitted by Nikolin Vorfi and filed by Nikolin Vorfi with plans filed June 25, 2024 and it has not been permitted yet.

The majority, or 62 percent of the 164,183 square feet of built space are walkup buildings, with elevator buildings next occupying 38 percent of the space.

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