Elchonon Shilian signs $12.5M construction loan for 53-unit project in Morris Heights

Elchonon Shilian through the entity Hsk7s 1840 LLC as borrower signed a new construction loan with lender Popular Bank valued at $12.5 million for a 53-unit project at 1840 Harrison Avenue in Morris Heights, Bronx.
On the lot, there is one active new building construction project for a 53-unit residential (R-2) building. The project was developed by Yoel Kahan with plans filed February 17, 2022.
The deal closed on March 9, 2023 and was recorded on March 17, 2023. The prior lender was IceCap Group which held debt that had an original loan amount of $2 million.
The owner bought the property on December 29, 2021, for $2.5 million. The signatory for Elchonon Shilian was Elchonon Shilian. The signatory for Popular Bank was Dean Saltzman.

The property

The 1840 Harrison Avenue parcel has frontage of 79 feet and is 152 feet deep with a total lot size of 10,362 square feet. 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 $1.2 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 $5,000 in ECB penalties and $5,000 in OATH penalties in the last year.

The block

On this tax block, PincusCo has identified the owners of 11 of the 25 commercial properties representing 440,754 square feet of the 894,823 square feet. The largest owner is Shimon Greisman, followed by New York City Housing Authority and then Lemle & Wolff.
On the tax block, there were three new building construction projects totaling 71,057 square feet. The largest is a 96-unit, 54,496-square-foot R-2 building developed by Jesse Batus with plans filed November 4, 2022 and it has not been permitted yet. The second largest is a 53-unit R-2 building developed by Yoel Kahan with plans filed February 17, 2022 and permitted June 13, 2022.

The majority, or 87 percent of the 894,823 square feet of built space are elevator buildings, with walkup buildings next occupying 10 percent of the space.

The borrower

The PincusCo database currently indicates that Elchonon Shilian owned at least three commercial properties in New York City with 12,432 square feet and a city-determined market value of $2.3 million. (Market value is typically about 50% of actual value.) The portfolio has $26.4 million in debt, borrowed from Bank of Princeton and Quanta Finance. Within the portfolio, the bulk, or 45 percent of the 12,432 square feet of built space are elevator properties, with development properties next occupying 33 percent of the space. The bulk, or 67 percent of the built space, is in Brooklyn, with Bronx next at 33 percent of the space.

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