Joel Biner pays $2M to Parag Mehta for dev site in Morris Heights

Joel Biner through the entity Ny&B Builders BR LLC paid $2 million to Parag Mehta through the entity PM Ang 1646, LLC for the development parcel (V0) at 1646 University Avenue in Morris Heights, Bronx.

On the lot, there is one active new building construction project for a 43-unit, 26,996 square-foot R-2 building. The project was submitted by Rupa Mehta with plans filed June 15, 2020 and it has not been permitted yet.

The deal closed on May 22, 2024 and was recorded on May 29, 2024. The property has zero square feet of built space and 19,484 square feet of additional air rights for a total buildable of 19,484 square feet according to a PincusCo analysis of city data. The sale price per buildable square foot is $102 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 seller bought the property on January 9, 2017, for $870,000. The signatory for Parag R. Mehta was Parag R. Mehta. The signatory for Joel Biner was Joel Biner. The contract date was February 28, 2024.

Prior sales and revenue

Prior to this transaction, PincusCo has records that the buyer Joel Biner purchased one property in one transactions for a total of $2.1 million and has no record it sold any properties over the past 24 months.
The seller Parag R. Mehta had not purchased any other properties and had not sold any properties over the same time period.

The property

The parcel has frontage of 56 feet and is 100 feet deep with a total lot size of 5,664 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 $417,000.

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 Morris Heights, The majority, or 70 percent of the 15.3 million square feet of commercial built space are elevator buildings, with walkup buildings next occupying 21 percent of the space. In sales, Morris Heights has the 42nd highest sale turnover among other neighborhoods in Bronx with $8.9 million in sales volume in the last two years. For development, Morris Heights has 1.2 times the average amount of major developments relative to other neighborhoods and is the 5th highest in Bronx. It had 1.4 million square feet of commercial and multi-family construction under development in the last two years, which represents 9 percent of the neighborhood’s built space.

The block

On this tax block, PincusCo has identified the owners of 24 of the 60 commercial properties representing 719,288 square feet of the 1,193,491 square feet. The largest owner is Sumir P. Sahgal, followed by Denali Management and then Allied Realty & Development.
On the tax block, there were three new building construction projects totaling 60,246 square feet. The largest is a 43-unit, 26,996 square-foot residential (R-2) building submitted by Rupa Mehta with plans filed June 15, 2020 and it has not been permitted yet. The second largest is a 38-unit, 20,097 square-foot residential (R-2) building submitted by Isaac Rosenberg with plans filed September 1, 2022 and permitted February 28, 2023.

The majority, or 57 percent of the 1.2 million square feet of built space are walkup buildings, with elevator buildings next occupying 36 percent of the space.

The buyer

The PincusCo database currently indicates that Joel Biner owned at least three commercial properties with six residential units in New York City with 6,628 square feet and a city-determined market value of $2.9 million. (Market value is typically about 50% of actual value.) Within the portfolio, the bulk, or 100 percent of the 6,628 square feet of built space are C0 properties, with development properties next occupying 0 percent of the space. The bulk, or 51 percent of the built space, is in Brooklyn, with Bronx next at 49 percent of the space.

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