Yaakov Lefkowitz signs $10M refi for 35-unit building in Mt Hope

Yaakov Lefkowitz through the entity Townsend Partners LLC as borrower signed a refi loan with lender Spencer Savings Bank valued at $10 million for the 35-unit development at 1677 Townsend Avenue in Mt Hope, Bronx.
On the lot, there one new building construction project for a 35-unit, 23,173 square-foot R-2 building. The project was submitted by Lefko Capital Group and filed by Yaakov Lefkowitz with plans filed August 4, 2021.
The deal closed on April 3, 2023 and was recorded on April 5, 2023. The prior lender was IceCap Group which held debt that had an original loan amount of $7.9 million. The property has 3,349 square feet of built space and 20,010 square feet of additional air rights for a total buildable of 20,010 square feet according to a PincusCo analysis of city data. The loan price per built square foot is $2,985 and the price per buildable square foot is $499 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 July 22, 2021, for $1.9 million. The signatory for Yaakov Lefkowitz was Yaakov Lefkowitz. The signatory for Spencer Savings Bank was Michael Claisse.

The property

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 $802,000. The most recent loan totaled $7.9 million and was provided by IceCap Group on January 18, 2022.

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 $2,500 in ECB penalties and $2,500 in OATH penalties in the last year.

The neighborhood

In Mt Hope, The majority, or 57 percent of the 11 million square feet of commercial built space are elevator buildings, with walkup buildings next occupying 28 percent of the space. In sales, Mt Hope has had very little sales volume relative to other neighborhoods with $102.1 million in sales volume in the last two years. For development, Mt Hope has had very little major development activity relative to other neighborhoods.It had 721,473 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 this tax block, PincusCo has identified the owners of one of the six commercial properties representing zero square feet of the 49,655 square feet. The identified owner is Yaakov Lefkowitz.
On the tax block, there was one new building construction project filed totaling 23,173 square feet. It is a 35-unit, 23,173 square-foot residential (R-2) building submitted by Lefko Capital Group and filed by Yaakov Lefkowitz with plans filed August 4, 2021 and permitted November 23, 2021.

The majority, or 55 percent of the 49,655 square feet of built space are walkup buildings, with industrial buildings next occupying 34 percent of the space.

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