Gjek Popaj signs $15M refi with Wells Fargo for new 51-unit rental in Fordham Heights
Gjek Popaj through the entity 113 East 184 LLC as borrower signed a refi loan with lender Wells Fargo valued at $15 million for the 51-unit residential elevator building (D7) at 113 East 184th Street in Fordham Heights, Bronx.
The deal closed on January 16, 2025 and was recorded on January 24, 2025. The prior lender was NorthEast Community Bank which held debt that had an original loan amount of $9.2 million. The property has 32,465 square feet of built space and 2,814 square feet of additional air rights for a total buildable of 35,295 square feet according to a PincusCo analysis of city data. The loan price per built square foot is $462 and the price per buildable square foot is $424 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 August 13, 2020, for $2.1 million. The signatory for Gjek Popaj was Gjek Popaj. The signatory for Wells Fargo was Anthony J. Boucino.
The property
The residential elevator building with 51 residential units in Fordham Heights has 32,465 square feet of built space and 2,814 square feet of additional air rights for a total buildable of 35,295 square feet according to a PincusCo analysis of city data. The parcel has frontage of 50 feet and is 117 feet deep with a total lot size of 5,863 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 $391,000. The most recent loan totaled $8.8 million and was provided by Northeast Community Bank on September 29, 2021.
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 received $25 in OATH penalties in the last year.
Development
For the tax lot building, it received its initial certificate of occupancy on July 22, 2024. There are no active new building construction projects or major alteration projects with initial costs more than $1 million on this tax lot.
The block
On this tax block, PincusCo has identified the owners of five of the 16 commercial properties representing 160,873 square feet of the 495,608 square feet. The largest owner is Anthony Gazivoda, followed by Dsa Property Group and then Pistilli Realty Group.
There are no active new building construction projects on this tax block.
The majority, or 51 percent of the 495,608 square feet of built space are walkup buildings, with elevator buildings next occupying 41 percent of the space.
The borrower
The PincusCo database currently indicates that Gjek Popaj owned at least three commercial properties with 73 residential units in New York City with 0.0 square feet and a city-determined market value of $651,000. (Market value is typically about 50% of actual value.) The portfolio has $14 million in debt, borrowed from Northeast Community Bank and Suma Federal Credit Union. Within the portfolio, the bulk, or 0 percent of the 0.0 square feet of built space are development properties, with industrial properties next occupying 0 percent of the space.
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