VAJA Group signs $19.2M refi for new 38-unit rental in Fordham Heights

VAJA Group through the entity Swaja Anthony LLC as borrower signed a refi loan with lender Popular Bank valued at $19.2 million for the 38-unit residential elevator building (D1) at 2081 Anthony Avenue in Fordham Heights, Bronx.
The deal closed on February 13, 2025 and was recorded on February 18, 2025. The prior lender was NorthEast Community Bank which held debt that had an original loan amount of $14.8 million.The property has 27,300 square feet of built space according to a PincusCo analysis of city data. The loan price per built square foot is $705 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 September 16, 2022, for $1.7 million. The signatory for VAJA Group was Moses Freund . The signatory for Popular Bank was Gary Hoffson .

The property

The residential elevator building with 38 residential units in Fordham Heights has 27,300 square feet of built space according to a PincusCo analysis of city data. The parcel has frontage of 50 feet and is 89 feet deep with a total lot size of 4,322 square feet. The lot is irregular. 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 $622,000. The most recent loan totaled $14.8 million and was provided by NorthEast Community Bank on July 21, 2023.

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 $625 in ECB penalties and $1,480 in OATH penalties in the last year.

Development

On the lot, there is one active new building construction project, X00679772, for a 38-unit, 25,950 square-foot R-2 building. The project was submitted by VAJA Group and filed by Moses Freund with plans filed February 22, 2022 and permitted July 21, 2023.

The block

On this tax block, PincusCo has identified the owners of 21 of the 37 commercial properties representing 827,749 square feet of the 1,027,395 square feet. The largest owner is Angelo Gordon, followed by Acmh and then Ved Parkash.
On the tax block, there were 11 new building construction projects totaling 440,488 square feet. The largest is a 102-unit, 67,673 square-foot residential (R-2) building submitted by Spaxel and filed by Gzim Hasandjekic with plans filed March 5, 2020 and permitted June 3, 2022. The second largest is a 95-unit, 62,290 square-foot residential (R-2) building submitted by Darwin Torres and filed by Darwin Torres with plans filed October 29, 2024 and it has not been permitted yet.

The majority, or 73 percent of the 1 million square feet of built space are elevator buildings, with walkup buildings next occupying 22 percent of the space.

The borrower

The PincusCo database currently indicates that Vaja Group owned at least 20 commercial properties with 264 residential units in New York City with 169,513 square feet and a city-determined market value of $19.4 million. (Market value is typically about 50% of actual value.) The portfolio has $40.8 million in debt, borrowed from Northeast Community Bank and NorthEast Community Bank. Within the portfolio, the bulk, or 23 percent of the 169,513 square feet of built space are walkup properties, with specialty properties next occupying 18 percent of the space. The bulk, or 74 percent of the built space, is in Bronx, with Queens next at 26 percent of the space.

Direct link to Acris document. link