The Bridge signs $27.7M construction loan for 66-unit project in East Morrisania

The Bridge through the entity 1559 BOONE AVENUE L.P. as borrower signed a new construction loan with lender JPMorgan Chase valued at $27.7 million for the 66-unit development at 1559 Boone Avenue in East Morrisania, Bronx.

On the lot, there is one active new building construction project for a 66-unit, 35,925 square-foot R-2 building. The project was submitted by The Bridge, Inc. and filed by Carole Gordon with plans filed April 22, 2020 and it has not been permitted yet.

The loan closed on June 28, 2023 and was recorded on July 31, 2023. The property has 10,000 square feet of built space and 19,998 square feet of additional air rights for a total buildable of 29,997 square feet according to a PincusCo analysis of city data. The loan price per built square foot is $2,768 and the price per buildable square foot is $922 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 May 1, 2019, for $2.6 million. The signatory for The Bridge was Carole Gordon. The NYS Homeless Housing and Assistance provided an additional $3.25 million.

Prior sales and revenue

The 10,000-square-foot property generated revenue of $159,992 or $16 per square foot, according to the most recent income and expense figures.

The property

The industrial building in East Morrisania has 10,000 square feet of built space and 19,998 square feet of additional air rights for a total buildable of 29,997 square feet according to a PincusCo analysis of city data. The parcel has frontage of 100 feet and is 100 feet deep with a total lot size of 9,999 square feet. The zoning is R6A which allows for up to 3 times floor area ratio (FAR) for residential with inclusionary housing. The city-designated market value for the property in 2022 is $834,000.

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 not received any significant violations in the last year.

The neighborhood

In East Morrisania, The bulk, or 43 percent of the 12 million square feet of commercial built space are elevator buildings, with walkup buildings next occupying 30 percent of the space. In sales, East Morrisania has had very little sales volume relative to other neighborhoods with $106.7 million in sales volume in the last two years. For development, East Morrisania has near average amount of major developments among other neighborhoods and is the 7th highest in Bronx. It had 872,898 square feet of commercial and multi-family construction under development in the last two years, which represents 7 percent of the neighborhood’s built space.

The block

On the tax block, there was one new building construction project filed totaling 35,925 square feet. It is a 66-unit, 35,925 square-foot residential (R-2) building submitted by The Bridge, Inc. and filed by Carole Gordon with plans filed April 22, 2020 and it has not been permitted yet.

All properties are industrial.

The borrower

The PincusCo database currently indicates that The Bridge owned at least four commercial properties with 197 residential units in New York City with 155,763 square feet and a city-determined market value of $22.3 million. (Market value is typically about 50% of actual value.) The portfolio has $158.2 million in debt, with top three lenders as NYS Housing Finance Agency, CPC Mortgage Company, and NYS Dormitory Authority respectively. Within the portfolio, the bulk, or 94 percent of the 155,763 square feet of built space are elevator properties, with N2 properties next occupying 6 percent of the space. The bulk, or 75 percent of the built space, is in Bronx, with Manhattan next at 25 percent of the space.

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