Joel Wieder signs $34.8M construction loan for 102-unit project in Fordham Heights

Joel Wieder through the entity Gw Ryer LLC as borrower signed a new construction loan with lender NorthEast Community Bank valued at $34.8 million for the 102-unit project at 2047 Ryer Avenue in Fordham Heights, Bronx.
On the lot, there is a new building project for a 102-unit, 67,673 square-foot residential (R-2) building submitted by Spaxel and filed by Gzim Hasandjekic with plans filed March 5, 2020 and permitted March 14, 2024.

The deal closed on March 26, 2024 and was recorded on April 9, 2024. The property has zero square feet of built space and 70,710 square feet of additional air rights for a total buildable of 70,710 square feet according to a PincusCo analysis of city data. The loan price per buildable square foot is $492 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 July 24, 2023, for $5.7 million. The signatory for Joel Wieder was Joel Wieder.

The property

The parcel has frontage of 50 feet and is 267 feet deep with a total lot size of 11,746 square feet. The lot is irregular. 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 $879,000.

Violations and lawsuits

The property was involved in one lawsuit and zero bankruptcies over the past two years. The suit was a $5.7 million money judgment concerning a contract filed on June 26, 2023, by Israel Frankel against Spaxel and Granit Gjonbalaj. In addition, according to city public data, the property has received $5,000 in ECB penalties and $5,600 in OATH penalties in the last year.

Development

On the lot, there is a new building project for a 102-unit, 67,673 square-foot residential (R-2) building submitted by Spaxel and filed by Gzim Hasandjekic with plans filed March 5, 2020 and permitted March 14, 2024.

The neighborhood

In Fordham Heights, The bulk, or 46 percent of the 16.3 million square feet of commercial built space are elevator buildings, with walkup buildings next occupying 35 percent of the space. In sales, Fordham Heights has had very little sales volume relative to other neighborhoods with $103.1 million in sales volume in the last two years. For development, Fordham Heights has had very little major development activity relative to other neighborhoods.It had 772,611 square feet of commercial and multi-family construction under development in the last two years, which represents 5 percent of the neighborhood’s built space.

The block

On this tax block, PincusCo has identified the owners of 21 of the 37 commercial properties representing 827,749 square feet of the 1,027,395 square feet. The largest owner is William Schur, followed by Erman Lumaj and then Aleksander Gilkarov.
On the tax block, there were 11 new building construction projects totaling 453,869 square feet. The largest is a 111-unit, 75,672 square-foot residential (R-2) building submitted by Arben Mitaj and filed by Arben Mitaj with plans filed September 29, 2020 and permitted October 20, 2021. The second largest is a 102-unit, 67,673 square-foot residential (R-2) building submitted by Spaxel and filed by Gzim Hasandjekic with plans filed March 5, 2020 and permitted June 3, 2022.

The majority, or 73 percent of the 1 million square feet of built space are elevator buildings, with walkup buildings next occupying 22 percent of the space.

The borrower

The PincusCo database currently indicates that Joel Wieder owned at least six commercial properties with 86 residential units in New York City with 44,613 square feet and a city-determined market value of $12.1 million. (Market value is typically about 50% of actual value.) The portfolio has $36.2 million in debt, with top three lenders as Berkadia Commercial Mortgage, S3 Capital, and Arbor Realty Trust respectively. Within the portfolio, the bulk, or 45 percent of the 44,613 square feet of built space are elevator properties, with walkup properties next occupying 41 percent of the space. The bulk, or 95 percent of the built space, is in Brooklyn, with Bronx next at 5 percent of the space.

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