Stagg Group signs $136.8M construction loan for 243-unit project in Longwood
Stagg Group through the entity Stagg Group LLC as borrower signed a new construction loan with lender NYC Housing Development Corporation valued at $136.8 million for the development (V1) at 1001 Whitlock Avenue in Longwood, Bronx.
On the lot, there is one active new building construction project for a 243-unit, 213,037 square-foot R-2 building. The project was submitted by Eli Davidowitz with plans filed September 6, 2017 and permitted July 5, 2023.
The deal closed on June 29, 2023 and was recorded on July 21, 2023. The property has zero square feet of built space and 239,349 square feet of additional air rights for a total buildable of 239,349 square feet according to a PincusCo analysis of city data. The loan price per buildable square foot is $571 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 April 5, 2017, for $5 million. The signatory for Stagg Group was Mark Stagg.
The property
The parcel has frontage of 506 feet and is 117 feet deep with a total lot size of 39,759 square feet. The lot is irregular. The zoning is R8A which allows for up to 6.02 times floor area ratio (FAR) for residential with inclusionary housing. The city-designated market value for the property in 2022 is $2.2 million. The most recent loan totaled $13.7 million and was provided by New York City Acquisition Fund LLC on August 31, 2020.
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 $12,500 in ECB penalties and $12,500 in OATH penalties in the last year.
The neighborhood
In Longwood, The bulk, or 44 percent of the 22.3 million square feet of commercial built space are elevator buildings, with walkup buildings next occupying 27 percent of the space. In sales, Longwood has had very little sales volume relative to other neighborhoods with $226.4 million in sales volume in the last two years. For development, Longwood has had very little major development activity relative to other neighborhoods. It had 814,155 square feet of commercial and multi-family construction under development in the last two years, which represents 4 percent of the neighborhood’s built space.
The block
On this tax block, PincusCo has identified the owners of seven of the seven commercial properties representing 213,678 square feet of the 213,678 square feet. The largest owner is Stagg Group, followed by Shaya Seidenfeld and then New York City Housing Authority.
The majority, or 60 percent of the 213,678 square feet of built space are elevator buildings, with walkup buildings next occupying 27 percent of the space.
The borrower
The PincusCo database currently indicates that Stagg Group owned at least 168 commercial properties with 2,920 residential units in New York City with 2,461,318 square feet and a city-determined market value of $343.3 million. (Market value is typically about 50% of actual value.) The portfolio has $614 million in debt, with top three lenders as Berkadia Commercial Mortgage, Valley National Bank, and Sterling National Bank respectively. Within the portfolio, the bulk, or 78 percent of the 2,461,318 square feet of built space are elevator properties, with walkup properties next occupying 12 percent of the space. They are all located in Bronx.
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