Ignacio Castillo signs $11M refi with TruStage for walkups in University Heights

Ignacio Castillo through the entity Hampden Realty LLC as borrower signed a refi loan with lender TruStage Financial Group through the entity CMFG Life Insurance Company valued at $11 million for two residential walkup properties with 113 residential units including the 62-unit residential walkup building (C7) at 2254 Cedar Avenue in University Heights, Bronx and 51-unit residential walkup building (C7) at 2269 Hampden Place in University Heights, Bronx.
The deal closed on June 25, 2025 and was recorded on July 23, 2025. The prior lender was Flagstar Bank which held debt that had an original loan amount of $12 million.The two properties have 112,052 square feet of built space according to a 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 Ignacio Castillo was Ignacio Castillo. The signatory for TruStage Financial Group was Peter Payleitner .

Because multiple properties have been transacted, some of the following sections will follow the property with the largest assessed value, which in this case, is the property on 2254 Cedar Avenue.

Prior sales and revenue

The owner according to the Department of Housing Preservation and Development is Ignacio Castillo, head officer. The business entity is Hampden Realty, LLC. The two properties with a total of 112,052 square feet of built space generated revenue of $2.2 million per year or $19 per square foot.

The property

The residential walkup building with 62 residential units in University Heights has 112,052 square feet of built space according to a PincusCo analysis of city data. The parcel has frontage of 116 feet and is 165 feet deep with a total lot size of 13,258 square feet. The lot is irregular. The zoning is R5 which allows for up to 1.25 times floor area ratio (FAR) for residential. The property has a J-51 exemption that started in 2018 and expires in 2032. The city-designated market value for the property in 2022 is $4.6 million. The most recent loan totaled $12 million and was provided by New York Community Bank on May 22, 2020. The property has 61 rent regulated units according to city tax records from 2023.

Violations and lawsuits

There were no lawsuits or bankruptcies filed against the properties for the past 24 months. In addition, according to city public data, the properties have received $6,250 in ECB penalties, three housing violations, and $6,750 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 $1 million on this tax lot.

The block

On the tax block of 2254 Cedar Avenue, PincusCo has identified the owners of five of the 16 commercial properties representing 174,064 square feet of the 383,187 square feet. The largest owner is Ignacio Castillo, followed by David Blau and then Bram Auto Group.
There are no active new building construction projects on this tax block.

The majority, or 50 percent of the 383,187 square feet of built space are elevator buildings, with walkup buildings next occupying 47 percent of the space.

The borrower

The PincusCo database currently indicates that Ignacio Castillo owned at least four commercial properties with 291 residential units in New York City with 259,597 square feet and a city-determined market value of $17.4 million. (Market value is typically about 50% of actual value.) The portfolio has $25 million in debt, borrowed from JPMorgan Chase and New York Community Bank. Within the portfolio, all identified are walkup properties. They are all located in Bronx.

Direct link to Acris document. link