Leguci, Gjini obtain $23.4M construction loan for 99-unit building in Bedford Park

Lulzim Leguci and Andrea Gjini through the entity 873 East 228 Street LLC as borrower signed a new construction loan with lender NorthEast Community Bank through the entity Northeast Community Bank valued at $23.4 million for the 99-unit project at 19 East 198th Street in Bedford Park, Bronx.

On the lot, there is one active new building construction project, X00546413, for a 99-unit, 52,819 square-foot residential (R-2) building. The project was submitted by Mirza Rahman and filed by Mirza Rahman with plans filed December 2, 2021 and permitted December 9, 2024.
The deal closed on May 16, 2025 and was recorded on June 6, 2025.  The loan price per project square foot is $443 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 Lulzim Leguci and Andrea Gjini was Andrea Gjini.

The block

On this tax block, PincusCo has identified the owners of 13 of the 23 commercial properties representing 567,657 square feet of the 1,030,014 square feet. The largest owner is Shaban Mehaj, followed by Vilson Lumaj and then Miller Management.
On the tax block, there were four new building construction projects totaling 261,429 square feet. The largest is a 116-unit, 149,137 square-foot residential (R-2) building submitted by Project Renewal and filed by Eric Rosenbaum with plans filed June 28, 2019 and permitted December 29, 2022. The second largest is a 99-unit residential (R-2) building submitted by Mirza Rahman and filed by Mirza Rahman with plans filed December 2, 2021 and permitted December 9, 2024.

The majority, or 64 percent of the 1 million square feet of built space are elevator buildings, with walkup buildings next occupying 35 percent of the space.

The borrower

The PincusCo database currently indicates that Lulzim Leguci owned at least two commercial properties with 25 residential units in New York City with 21,901 square feet and a city-determined market value of $2.9 million. (Market value is typically about 50% of actual value.) The portfolio has $12.1 million in debt, borrowed from Popular Bank and Northeast Community Bank. Within the portfolio, the bulk, or 100 percent of the 21,901 square feet of built space are elevator properties, with V0 properties next occupying 0 percent of the space. They are all located in Bronx.

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