Joel Biner, Armin Miller sign $6.9M construction loan with NorthEast Community for 28-unit project in Melrose

Joel Biner and Armin Miller through the entity 368 E 152 Development LLC as borrower signed a new construction loan with lender NorthEast Community Bank valued at $6.9 million for the development building (V0) at 368 East 152nd Street in Melrose, Bronx.

On the lot, there is one active new building construction project for a 28-unit, 25,026 square-foot R-2 building. The project was developed by Michele Gambetta with plans filed March 2, 2017 and permitted May 11, 2022.

The deal closed on November 21, 2022 and was recorded on November 25, 2022. The property has zero square feet of built space and 21,823 square feet of additional air rights for a total buildable of 21,823 square feet according to PincusCo analysis of city data. The loan price per buildable square foot is $315 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 May 10, 2022, for $1.8 million. The signatory for Joel Biner and Armin Miller was Joel Biner.

The property

The 368 East 152nd Street parcel has frontage of 55 feet and is 115 feet deep with a total lot size of 6,344 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 $407,000.

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 one DOB violation and $1,800 in OATH penalties in the last year.

The neighborhood

In Melrose, the majority, or 58 percent of the 7.9 million square feet of commercial built space are elevator buildings, with walkup buildings next occupying 17 percent of the space. In sales, Melrose has the 25th highest sale turnover among other neighborhoods in Bronx with $53 million in sales volume in the last two years. For development, Melrose has had very little major development activity relative to other neighborhoods.It had 229,204 square feet of commercial and multi-family construction under development in the last two years, which represents 3 percent of the neighborhood’s built space.

The block

On this tax block, PincusCo has identified the owners of four of the 15 commercial properties representing 155,506 square feet of the 306,708 square feet. The largest owner is New York City Housing Authority, followed by Stellar Management and then Lemle & Wolff.
On the tax block, there was one new building construction project filed totaling 25,026 square feet. It is a 28-unit, 25,026-square-foot R-2 building developed by Michele Gambetta with plans filed March 2, 2017 and permitted April 8, 2022.

The majority, or 54 percent of the 306,708 square feet of built space are walkup buildings, with elevator buildings next occupying 43 percent of the space.

The borrower

The PincusCo database currently indicates that Joel Biner owned at least two commercial properties in New York City with 6,628 square feet and a city-determined market value of $2.4 million. (Market value is typically about 50% of actual value.) Within the portfolio, all identified are C0 properties. The bulk, or 51 percent of the built space, is in Brooklyn, with Bronx next at 49 percent of the space.

Direct link to Acris document. link