Joel Brach pays $4.4M for 99-unit dev site in Mt Hope

Joel Brach through the entity Mt Hope 23 LLC paid $2.5 million to Emanuel Gutzmer through the entity Mt Emanuel Hope Properties LLC for the three-unit building (C0) at 25 Mt Hope Place and paid $1.9 million to Felix Ceballos for the adjacent 23 Mt Hope Place, in Mt Hope, Bronx. The expected use is ground up development.

In May 2025 Joel Brach of Buildhouser filed plans for a 99-unit building, job number X01222893, on these two parcels. He also filed plans for a 99-unit building on 27-29 Mt Hope Place.
The deal closed on October 3, 2025 and was recorded on October 22, 2025.
The signatory for Emanuel Gutzmer was Emanuel Gutzmer. The signatory for Joel Brach was Joel Brach. The contract date was January 23, 2025. Joel Brach is a principal with Buildhouser

Prior sales and revenue

Prior to this transaction, PincusCo has records that the buyer Joel Brach purchased five properties in four transactions for a total of $9.6 million and has no record it sold any properties over the past 24 months.
The seller Emanuel Gutzmer had not purchased any other properties and had not sold any properties over the same time period.

The property

The 1-4 family building with 3 residential units in Mt Hope has 2,200 square feet of built space and 16,625 square feet of additional air rights for a total buildable of 18,812 square feet according to a PincusCo analysis of city data. The parcel has frontage of 25 feet and is 125 feet deep with a total lot size of 3,125 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 $605,000.

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 received one housing violation, $100 in OATH penalties, and two housing litigations 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 this tax block, PincusCo has identified the owners of five of the 10 commercial properties representing 87,027 square feet of the 131,650 square feet. The largest owner is Mbd Community Housing Corporation, followed by Mount Hope Housing Company and then Yellow Jacket Ventures.
On the tax block, there were two new building construction projects totaling 137,929 square feet. The largest is a 99-unit, 71,622 square-foot residential (R-2) building submitted by Buildhouser and filed by Joel Brach with plans filed May 16, 2025 and it has not been permitted yet. The second largest is a 99-unit, 66,307 square-foot residential (R-2) building submitted by Buildhouser and filed by Joel Brach with plans filed May 19, 2025 and it has not been permitted yet.

The majority, or 85 percent of the 131,650 square feet of built space are walkup buildings, with industrial buildings next occupying 11 percent of the space.

The seller

The PincusCo database currently indicates that Emanuel Gutzmer owned at least one commercial property with three residential units in New York City with 4,096 square feet and a city-determined market value of $534,000. (Market value is typically about 50% of actual value.) The portfolio consists of at least a single walkup property. It is located in Bronx.

The buyer

The PincusCo database currently indicates that Joel Brach owned at least five commercial properties in New York City with 0.0 square feet and a city-determined market value of $935,000. (Market value is typically about 50% of actual value.) The portfolio has $46.5 million in debt, borrowed from Popular Bank and Tidway Capital Group. Within the portfolio, all identified are industrial properties.

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