Nonprofit Unique People Services plans 111-unit project in Mt. Hope

Aziza Anderson, chief of staff of the nonprofit Unique People Services submitted a new building construction project for a 111-unit, 60,598 square-foot residential (R-2) building at 1806 Anthony Avenue in Mt. Hope, the Bronx. The plan was filed with the New York City Department of Buildings on December 6, 2023 under job number X00953537. It calls for the construction of a nine-story building. The project is described in the filing as: it is proposed to erect a new nine-story residential building as shown on plans. The architect is Newman Design Architects.

Unique People Services develops housing and, “supportive services to persons with special and challenging needs.”

The property

The zoning is R7-1 which allows for up to 3.44 times floor area ratio (FAR) for residential. The most recent loan totaled $7.4 million and was provided by Corporation for Supportive Housing on April 27, 2023.

Prior sales and revenue

This property was sold for $2 million on April 27, 2023.

Violations and lawsuits

According to city public data, the property has received $50 in OATH penalties in the last year.

There were no lawsuits or bankruptcies filed against the property for the past 24 months.

The neighborhood

In Mt Hope, The majority, or 57 percent of the 11 million square feet of commercial built space are elevator buildings, with walkup buildings next occupying 28 percent of the space. In sales, Mt Hope has near average sales volume among other neighborhoods with $90 million in sales volume in the last two years and is the 18th highest in Bronx. For development, Mt Hope has near average amount of major developments among other neighborhoods and is the 20th highest in Bronx. It had 525,679 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 13 of the 29 commercial properties representing 74,815 square feet of the 319,422 square feet. The largest owner is Bill Wolf Petroleum Corp., followed by Community Access and then Luis M. Baez. On the tax block, there were five new building construction projects totaling 276,495 square feet. The largest is a 154-unit, 109,563 square-foot residential (R-2) building submitted by Community Access, Inc. and filed by Christopher Lacovara with plans filed October 5, 2020 and permitted April 27, 2022. The second largest is a 111-unit, 60,598 square-foot residential (R-2) building submitted by Unique People Services and filed by Aziza Anderson with plans filed December 6, 2023 and it has not been permitted yet.

The owner

The PincusCo database currently indicates that Unique People Services owned at least four commercial properties with 104 residential units in New York City with 92,635 square feet and a city-determined market value of $6.7 million. (Market value is typically about 50% of actual value.) The portfolio has $69.9 million in debt, borrowed from NYS Housing Finance Agency and Corporation for Supportive Housing. Within the portfolio, the bulk, or 93 percent of the 92,635 square feet of built space are elevator properties, with C0 properties next occupying 5 percent of the space. They are all located in Bronx.

The owner according to the Department of Housing Preservation and Development is Hillaire Lewis, individual owner.

The surrounding

Within a 400-foot radius of 1806 Anthony Avenue, PincusCo identified one commercial real estate item of interests occurred over the past 24 months. It was a loan which Spaxel borrowed $28.9 million from Metropolitan Commercial Bank secured by the 3,100-square-foot development site (V0) on 1824 Anthony Avenue and two other properties on October 31, 2023.

Direct link to the property’s ACRIS page and link to DOB NOW portal.