Spaxel signs $28.9M construction loan for 128-unit project in Mt Hope
Spaxel through the entity 1824 Anthony Avenue LLC as borrower signed a new construction loan with lender Metropolitan Commercial Bank valued at $28.9 million for the 128-unit development at 1824 Anthony Avenue in Mt Hope, the Bronx.
The deal closed on October 23, 2023 and was recorded on October 31, 2023. The prior lender was Metropolitan Commercial Bank which held debt that had an original loan amount of $2.4 million.
On these lots, there is one active new building construction project for a 128-unit, 45,000 square-foot R-2 building. The project was submitted by Spaxel and filed by Bimi Selimaj with plans filed December 8, 2021.
The three properties have 5,830 square feet of built space and 50,166 square feet of additional air rights for a total buildable of 55,992 square feet according to a PincusCo analysis of city data. The loan price per buildable square foot is $516 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 Spaxel was Granit Gjonbalaj. The signatories for Metropolitan Commercial Bank were Jay Shah and Ross Dahmen.
The property
The zoning is R7-1 which allows for up to 3.44 times floor area ratio (FAR) for residential.
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 $13,000 in ECB penalties in the last year.
Development
The block
On the tax block of 1828 Anthony Avenue, 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 Luis M. Baez, followed by Community Access and then Bill Wolf Petroleum Corp.
On the tax block, there were three new building construction projects totaling 155,299 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 128-unit, 45,000 square-foot residential (R-2) building submitted by Spaxel and filed by Bimi Selimaj with plans filed December 8, 2021.
The majority, or 30 percent of the 319,422 square feet of built space are elevator buildings, with industrial buildings next occupying 28 percent of the space.
The borrower
The PincusCo database currently indicates that Spaxel owned at least 13 commercial properties with 60 residential units in New York City with 50,289 square feet and a city-determined market value of $9.2 million. (Market value is typically about 50% of actual value.) The portfolio has $17.2 million in debt, borrowed from Metropolitan Commercial Bank and Sterling National Bank. Within the portfolio, the bulk, or 55 percent of the 50,289 square feet of built space are elevator properties, with C0 properties next occupying 11 percent of the space. They are all located in Bronx.
Direct link to Acris document. link