Steven Westreich files plans to increase unit count from 41 to 99 in Mt Hope walkup
1975 Creston Avenue (Credit - Cyclomedia)
Steven Westreich, president of Westbridge Realty Group, submitted a major alteration application for an increase in the residential unit count at a walkup building at 1975 Creston Avenue in Mt Hope, Bronx, from 41 units to 99 units. The plan was filed with the New York City Department of Buildings on August 27, 2024 under job number X01101725. It calls for the increase in size of the building from a five-story building with 41 dwelling units to a five-story building with 99 dwelling units. The project is described in the filing as: existing 5-story and cellar, 41-family, to be converted to a 99-family dwelling.
The entity that has owned the property since is New Hope Creston Holding Corp. with Fritz G. Jean, general partner.
The property
The walkup building with 41 residential units in Mt Hope has 37,960 square feet of built space and 23,780 square feet of additional air rights for a total buildable of 61,705 square feet according to a PincusCo analysis of city data. The parcel has frontage of 102 feet and is 100 feet deep with a total lot size of 10,250 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 $2.3 million.
1975 Creston Avenue
| wdt_ID | floor | comment | description | persons_permitted | occupancy_label | zoning_use | dwelling_units |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Cellar | ACCESSORY MANAGEMENT OFFICE, TENANT MEETING ROOMS, STORAGE, BOILER ROOOM, TRASH STORAGE ROOM | Apartment House | 83 | Residential | 2B | 0 |
| 2 | Basement | BOILER ROOMS, UTILITY ROOMS, BIKE ROOM | Apartment | 8 | Residential | II | |
| 3 | Basement | ONE (1) CLASS A APARTMENT | Apartment | N/A | Residential | II | 1 |
| 4 | Open Space | RECREATION SPACE 2149 SF | Apartment | 15 | Residential | II | |
| 5 | 1 | EIGHTEEN (18) CLASS A APARTMENTS | Apartment | N/A | Residential | II | 18 |
| 6 | 1 | ||||||
| 7 | 2 | TWENTY (20) CLASS A APARTMENTS | Apartment | N/A | Residential | II | 20 |
| 8 | 2 | ||||||
| 9 | 3 | TWENTY (20) CLASS A APARTMENTS | Apartment | N/A | Residential | II | 20 |
| 10 | 3 | ||||||
| 11 | 4 | TWENTY (20) CLASS A APARTMENTS | Apartment | N/A | Residential | II | 20 |
| 12 | 4 | ||||||
| 13 | 5 | TWENTY (20) CLASS A APARTMENTS | Apartment | N/A | Residential | II | 20 |
| 14 | 5 | ||||||
| 15 | Roof | STAIR BULKHEAD | Apartment | N/A | Residential | II |
Prior sales and revenue
The 37,960-square-foot property generated revenue of $566,204 or $15 per square foot, according to the most recent income and expense figures.
Violations and lawsuits
According to city public data, the property has received one DOB violation and $7,330 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 $62.2 million in sales volume in the last two years and is the 19th highest in Bronx. For development, Mt Hope has near average amount of major developments among other neighborhoods and is the 17th highest in Bronx. It had 635,175 square feet of commercial and multi-family construction under development in the last two years, which represents 6 percent of the neighborhood’s built space.
The block
On this tax block, PincusCo has identified the owners of eight of the 16 commercial properties representing 228,360 square feet of the 362,160 square feet. The largest owner is Aron Ginsberg, followed by Atlantis Development and then BLDG Management. On the tax block, there were three new building construction projects totaling 71,044 square feet. The largest is a 49-unit, 33,716 square-foot residential (R-2) building submitted by Atlantis Development and filed by Robert Lumaj with plans filed January 4, 2021 and it has not been permitted yet. The second largest is a 49-unit, 29,843 square-foot residential (R-2) building submitted by Atlantis Development and filed by Robert Lumaj with plans filed October 15, 2021 and permitted February 3, 2023.
The owner
The owners according to the Department of Housing Preservation and Development includes Fritz Jean, head officer and Steven Goldenberg, officer. The business entities are Family Support Systems Unlimited Hdfc and New Hope Creston Holding Corp.
The surrounding
Within a 400-foot radius of 1975 Creston Avenue, PincusCo identified four commercial real estate items of interests occurred over the past 24 months. Of those four items, one was in new building development. It was a new building permit issued on February 3, 2023 for a 29,843-square-foot residential (R-2) building with 49 residential units at 2001 Creston Avenue. Of those four items, two were for major renovation including a certificate of occupancy change. They were two permits with a total initial cost of $835,615. The most recent of these two items was the permit on May 29, 2024 for a 3,558-square-foot residential (R-2) building with five residential units at 1979 Morris Avenue. One of those four items was a loan which Atlantis Development borrowed $18 million from UBS secured by the 0-square-foot, 50-unit rental (D7) on 2001 Creston Avenue on July 23, 2024.
Direct link to the property’s ACRIS page and link to DOB NOW portal.