Manuel Scharf signs $10.2M refi loan with Apple Capital Funding for 123-unit rental in Bedford Park

Manuel Scharf through the entity Jerome Enterprises, LLC as borrower signed a refi loan with lender Apple Capital Funding Inc. valued at $10.2 million for the 123-unit residential elevator building (D1) at 2914 Jerome Avenue in Bedford Park, Bronx.
This is the first loan associated with Apple Capital Funding in city property records, according to a PincusCo review.
The deal closed on November 30, 2022 and was recorded on April 18, 2023. The prior lender was Kearny Bank which held debt that had an original loan amount of $11.3 million. The property has 124,492 square feet of built space and 58,318 square feet of additional air rights for a total buildable of 182,851 square feet according to a PincusCo analysis of city data. The loan price per built square foot is $81 and the price per buildable square foot is $55 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 September 30, 2013, for $13.2 million. The signatory for Manuel Scharf was Manuel Scharf. The signatory for Apple Capital Funding was attorney Isaac M. Neuberger. Apple Capital Funding is in care of a Rehoboth, Delawar law firm.

Prior sales and revenue

The owners according to the Department of Housing Preservation and Development includes Moshe Katzenstein, head officer and Jacob Eisenstein, agent. The business entities are Ek Realty, Llc and Jerome Enterprises Llc. The 124,492-square-foot property generated revenue of $1.6 million or $13 per square foot, according to the most recent income and expense figures.

The property

The residential elevator building with 123 residential units in Bedford Park has 124,492 square feet of built space and 58,318 square feet of additional air rights for a total buildable of 182,851 square feet according to a PincusCo analysis of city data. The parcel has frontage of 225 feet and is 135 feet deep with a total lot size of 30,374 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 $6.1 million.

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 $18,025 in ECB penalties, 15 housing violations, and $22,575 in OATH penalties 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 12 of the 23 commercial properties representing 443,165 square feet of the 1,030,014 square feet. The largest owner is Vilson Lumaj, followed by Project Renewal and then Patrick O’Connell.
On the tax block, there were four new building construction projects totaling 242,058 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 64-unit, 64,040 square-foot residential (R-2) building submitted by Mirza Rahman and filed by Mirza Rahman with plans filed December 2, 2021 and it has not been permitted yet.

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.

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