Joy Const., SUS, pay $15M for 213-unit Mt Eden dev site

Joy Construction in partnership with Services for the Underserved through the entity 1545 Jerome Housing Development Fund Corporation paid $15 million to John P. McKenna and Shannon M. Walsh through the entity McKenna Development LLC for the industrial building (G1) at 1540 Inwood Avenue in Mt Eden, Bronx and the industrial building (G1) at 1545 Jerome Avenue in Mt Eden, Bronx. The expected use is ground up development. Once construction is complete, the majority of the ownership will be held by Services for the Underserved.
On these lots, there is one active new building construction project, X01059040, for a 213-unit, 102,319 square-foot residential (R-2) building. The project was submitted by Joy Construction and filed by Amnon Shalhov with plans filed January 7, 2025 and it has not been permitted yet.
The deal closed on January 23, 2025 and was recorded on March 7, 2025. The two properties have 35,700 square feet of built space and 69,640 square feet of additional air rights for a total buildable of 105,400 square feet according to a PincusCo analysis of city data. The sale price per built square foot is $420 and the price per buildable square foot is $142 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 John P. McKenna and Shannon M. Walsh was John P. McKenna and Shannon M. Walsh. The signatory for Joy Construction and Services for the Underserved was Douglas Walerstein and Eliezer Weiss, also known as Eli Weiss . The contract date was January 7, 2025. Eli Weiss signed a secondary agreement establishing Joy Construction as the beneficial owner of the property and Services for the Underserved as the titular owner, but that changes once the property is built.

Prior sales and revenue

Prior to this transaction, PincusCo has records that the buyer Joy Construction purchased one property in one transaction for a total of $4.8 million and has no record it sold any properties over the past 24 months.
The seller John P. McKenna had not purchased any other properties and had not sold any properties over the same time period. The two properties with a total of 35,700 square feet of built space generated revenue of $557,276 per year or $16 per square foot. The sale price per square foot was $420.

The property

The industrial building in Mt Eden has 35,700 square feet of built space and 69,640 square feet of additional air rights for a total buildable of 105,400 square feet according to a PincusCo analysis of city data. The parcel has frontage of 95 feet and is 130 feet deep with a total lot size of 12,350 square feet. The zoning is R7A which allows for up to 4 times floor area ratio (FAR) for residential with inclusionary housing. The city-designated market value for the property in 2022 is $1.2 million.

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 $5,000 in ECB penalties and $5,380 in OATH penalties in the last year.

The neighborhood

In Mt Eden, The majority, or 51 percent of the 10.3 million square feet of commercial built space are elevator buildings, with walkup buildings next occupying 27 percent of the space. In sales, Mt Eden has had very little sales volume relative to other neighborhoods with $75.6 million in sales volume in the last two years. For development, Mt Eden has had very little major development activity relative to other neighborhoods.It had 673,949 square feet of commercial and multi-family construction under development in the last two years, which represents 7 percent of the neighborhood’s built space. There was one pre-foreclosure suit filed among other industrial buildings in the past 12 months.

The block

On the tax block of 1540 Inwood Avenue, PincusCo has identified the owners of two of the 20 commercial properties representing 202,403 square feet of the 341,559 square feet. The two identified owners are City Of New York and Ved Parkash.
On the tax block, there was one new building construction project filed totaling 102,319 square feet. It is a 213-unit, 102,319 square-foot residential (R-2) building submitted by Joy Construction and filed by Amnon Shalhov with plans filed January 7, 2025 and it has not been permitted yet.

The majority, or 41 percent of the 341,559 square feet of built space are specialty buildings, with elevator buildings next occupying 30 percent of the space.

The buyer

The PincusCo database currently indicates that Joy Construction owned at least eight commercial properties with 1,644 residential units in New York City with 523,605 square feet and a city-determined market value of $171.2 million. (Market value is typically about 50% of actual value.) The portfolio has $127 million in debt, borrowed from Natixis and Bank Leumi. Within the portfolio, the bulk, or 53 percent of the 523,605 square feet of built space are elevator properties, with development properties next occupying 24 percent of the space. The bulk, or 76 percent of the built space, is in Manhattan, with Brooklyn next at 22 percent of the space.
The PincusCo database currently indicates that Services For The Underserved owned at least eight commercial properties with 209 residential units in New York City with 219,019 square feet and a city-determined market value of $18.9 million. (Market value is typically about 50% of actual value.) Within the portfolio, the bulk, or 39 percent of the 219,019 square feet of built space are walkup properties, with development properties next occupying 37 percent of the space. The bulk, or 42 percent of the built space, is in Bronx, with Brooklyn next at 35 percent of the space.

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