Toby Moskovits Plans Her First Big Bronx Project
By Rebecca Baird-Remba September 23, 2019 12:08 pm
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Toby Moskovits and her business partner Michael Lichtenstein have closed on their first South Bronx parcel for $10 million, Moskovits told Commercial Observer.
Moskovits’ Heritage Equity Partners purchased an industrial building at 286 Rider Avenue in the Mott Haven section of the South Bronx. The firm plans to demolish the warehouse — currently home to an architectural glass and facade panel business — and construct a 140-unit, 120,000-square-foot rental building. At least a quarter of the units will rent for below-market rates because Heritage plans to apply for a tax exemption through the Affordable New York program, which requires developers to set aside 25 to 30 percent of the apartments in a project as below-market.
Moskovits said in a statement that she was excited about the project because her family had settled in the Bronx in the 1950s after immigrating to the U.S., “so for me this is coming full circle. Michael and I look forward to planting our flag and participating in the transformation of this amazing neighborhood and building places and spaces that help foster community.”
The seller was Robert Newblatt of 286 Rider Avenue LLC. Daniel Rahmani of Capital Property Partners represented Heritage in the deal, and his colleague Michael Saidian handled the transaction for the seller.
This purchase will be Heritage’s first foray into the Bronx, after co-developing an office building at 25 Kent Avenue with Rubenstein Partners in North Williamsburg, constructing an apartment building at 564 St Johns Place in Crown Heights and planning a yet-to-be-built commercial project at 215 Moore Street in East Williamsburg.
“Pricing and demand for larger scale development sites in Mott Haven has spiked tremendously in the last five years due to its accessibility and proximity to Manhattan,” said Saidian. “Thanks to the new opportunity zone program developers are even more inclined to build here.”
