Vaya Development signs $483.3M loan with Merchants, NYCHA, HDC for PACT in East Harlem

Vaya Development through the entity Harlem PACT Partners LLC as borrower signed a rehab construction and acquisition loan with lender Merchants Capital, New York City Housing Authority, and NYC Housing Development Corporation valued at $483.3 million for nine residential elevator properties in East Harlem, Manhattan, that will have a total of 1,058 residential units following the renovation, including the 171-unit building (D7) at 307 East 117th Street, the 56-unit building (D3) at 110 East 129th Street, and the 200-unit building (D3) at 1980 Lexington Avenue.
The deal closed on December 18, 2025 and was recorded on January 29, 2026. The nine properties have 1,150,519 square feet of built space and 310,457 square feet of additional air rights according to a PincusCo analysis of city data. The loan price per built square foot is $420 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 Vaya Development was Melissa Bindra . The signatory for Merchants Capital , New York City Housing Authority , and NYC Housing Development Corporation was Bianca Geary and Brian Cheigh . NYCHA Journal reported on the financing in December, stating the number was $453 million in renovation funds. The financing in Acris includes a $77 million purchase money mortgage.

Prior sales, articles and revenue

Out of the nine properties, six with a total of 1,150,519 square feet of built space generated revenue of $16.6 million per year.

Violations and lawsuits

There were no lawsuits or bankruptcies filed against the properties for the past 24 months. In addition, according to city public data, the properties have received five DOB violations, $5,000 in ECB penalties, two housing violations, and $8,780 in OATH penalties in the last year.

Development

There are no active new building construction projects or major alteration projects with initial costs more than $1 million on this tax lot.

The block

On the tax block of 307 East 117th Street, PincusCo has identified the owners of 10 of the 27 commercial properties representing 512,886 square feet of the 614,003 square feet. The largest owner is New York City Housing Authority, followed by Acuity Capital Partners and then Emerald Equity Group.
On the tax block, there was one new building construction project filed totaling 7,540 square feet. It is a seven-unit, 7,540 square-foot residential (R-2) building submitted by HPD’s Rona Reodica with plans filed April 19, 2022 and permitted August 22, 2024.

The majority, or 72 percent of the 614,003 square feet of built space are elevator buildings, with walkup buildings next occupying 14 percent of the space.

The borrower

The PincusCo database currently indicates that Vaya Development owned at least two commercial properties in New York City with 8,752 square feet and a city-determined market value of $1.1 million. (Market value is typically about 50% of actual value.) The portfolio has $65.6 million in debt, borrowed from NYS Housing Finance Agency and NYC Department of Housing Preservation and Development. Within the portfolio, all identified are industrial properties. They are all located in Bronx.

Direct link to Acris document. link