Vaja Group signs $68M construction loan with Popular Bank for 113-unit project in Jamaica

Vaja Group through the entity Vaja Jamaica Building A LLC as borrower signed a new construction loan with lender Popular Bank through the entity Popular Bank valued at $68 million for a 113-unit residential project at 89-12 162nd Street in Jamaica, Queens.

On the lot, there is one active new building construction project, Q00721236, for a 113-unit, 85,344 square-foot residential (R-2) building. The project was submitted by Windfall Group and filed by Eddie Ni with plans filed April 21, 2022 and permitted June 10, 2022.
The deal closed on October 27, 2025 and was recorded on October 30, 2025. The prior lender was Popular Bank which held debt that had an original loan amount of $8.9 million.The property has 30,818 square feet of built space and 61,038 square feet of additional air rights for a total buildable of 91,925 square feet according to a PincusCo analysis of city data. The loan price per built square foot is $2,206 and the price per buildable square foot is $739 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 signatory for Vaja Group was Moses Freund . The signatory for Popular Bank was Gary Hoffson .

The property

The specialty building in Jamaica has 30,818 square feet of built space and 61,038 square feet of additional air rights for a total buildable of 91,925 square feet according to a PincusCo analysis of city data. The parcel has frontage of 185 feet and is 97 feet deep with a total lot size of 18,385 square feet. The lot is irregular. The zoning is C4-5X which allows for up to 4 times floor area ratio (FAR) for commercial and up to 5 times FAR for residential with inclusionary housing. The city-designated market value for the property in 2022 is $3.6 million.

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.

Development

On the lot, there is one active new building construction project, Q00721236, for a 113-unit, 85,344 square-foot R-2 building. The project was submitted by Windfall Group and filed by Eddie Ni with plans filed April 21, 2022 and permitted June 10, 2022.

The neighborhood

In Jamaica, The bulk, or 34 percent of the 29.2 million square feet of commercial built space are elevator buildings, with specialty buildings next occupying 14 percent of the space. In sales, Jamaica has near average sales volume among other neighborhoods with $256.4 million in sales volume in the last two years and is the 10th highest in Queens. For development, Jamaica has 1.5 times the average amount of major developments relative to other neighborhoods and is the 4th highest in Queens. It had 2.2 million square feet of commercial and multi-family construction under development in the last two years, which represents 8 percent of the neighborhood’s built space.

The block

On this tax block, PincusCo has identified the owners of nine of the 14 commercial properties representing 406,368 square feet of the 445,848 square feet. The largest owner is Ciampa Organization, followed by Vision Enterprises Management and then Boris Aronov.
On the tax block, there was one new building construction project filed totaling 85,344 square feet. It is a 113-unit, 85,344 square-foot residential (R-2) building submitted by Windfall Group and filed by Eddie Ni with plans filed April 21, 2022 and permitted June 10, 2022.

The majority, or 43 percent of the 445,848 square feet of built space are office buildings, with elevator buildings next occupying 34 percent of the space.

The borrower

The PincusCo database currently indicates that Vaja Group owned at least 29 commercial properties with 619 residential units in New York City with 226,628 square feet and a city-determined market value of $26.5 million. (Market value is typically about 50% of actual value.) The portfolio has $82.6 million in debt, with top three lenders as NorthEast Community Bank, Northeast Community Bank, and Integritas Capital respectively. Within the portfolio, the bulk, or 28 percent of the 226,628 square feet of built space are industrial properties, with walkup properties next occupying 17 percent of the space. The bulk, or 79 percent of the built space, is in Bronx, with Queens next at 21 percent of the space.

Direct link to Acris document. link