Vaja Group signs $16.8M construction loan for 42-unit project in Pelham Bay

Vaja Group through the entity Pelham Residences LLC as borrower signed a new construction loan with lender NorthEast Community Bank valued at $16.8 million for the 42-unit project at 2135 Colonial Avenue in Pelham Bay, Bronx.

On the lot, there is one active new building construction project for a 42-unit, 25,000 square-foot R-2 building. The project was submitted by Moses Freund of Vaja Group with plans filed April 6, 2022 and permitted November 1, 2023.

The deal closed on December 21, 2023 and was recorded on December 28, 2023. The prior lender was NorthEast Community Bank which held debt that had an original loan amount of $2.1 million.

The owner bought at least a portion of the property on May 24, 2022, for $2.2 million. The signatory for Vaja Group was Moses Freund. The signatory for NorthEast Community Bank was Raymond L. Francis.

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 $1,250 in ECB penalties in the last year.

The neighborhood

In Pelham Bay, The bulk, or 27 percent of the 6.8 million square feet of commercial built space are elevator buildings, with specialty buildings next occupying 23 percent of the space. In sales, Pelham Bay has the 18th highest sale turnover among other neighborhoods in Bronx with $87.7 million in sales volume in the last two years. For development, Pelham Bay has had very little major development activity relative to other neighborhoods.It had 245,354 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 one of the two commercial properties representing 35,000 square feet of the 77,000 square feet. The identified owner is Michael Lajqi.
On the tax block, there was one new building construction project filed totaling 25,000 square feet. It is a 42-unit, 25,000 square-foot residential (R-2) building submitted by Moses Freund with plans filed April 6, 2022 and permitted November 1, 2023.

The borrower

The PincusCo database currently indicates that Vaja Group owned at least 11 commercial properties with 151 residential units in New York City with 63,789 square feet and a city-determined market value of $7.8 million. (Market value is typically about 50% of actual value.) The portfolio has $24.1 million in debt, borrowed from Northeast Community Bank. Within the portfolio, the bulk, or 60 percent of the 63,789 square feet of built space are walkup properties, with elevator properties next occupying 36 percent of the space. They are all located in Bronx.

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