Riverdale boomlet crimps some condos

Roughly $70 million worth of new residential condo inventory is on the market in Riverdale this year, despite new zoning restrictions in the pricey Bronx enclave.

Development continues at a rapid clip even as planners seek to maintain Riverdale’s uncluttered character by restricting the height of new buildings. Before a series of zoning changes that limit development began in late 2003, only two major condo developments in Riverdale were in progress or being planned: the Promenade West at 3614 Johnson Avenue and the Danielle at 3800 Blackstone Avenue. Now there are about a dozen projects in various stages of construction, from the controversial 65-unit Solaria at 640 West 237th Street to the 12-unit Shirley Woods at 628 West 238th Street. More are on the way.

“Developers aren’t shying away,” says Vasco Da Silva, director of sales at Halstead Riverdale, which is marketing several projects in the neighborhood this year. “There is planning on the table with serious developers who have developed before in Riverdale and been successful.”

Developers such as Shmuel Jonas are betting on demand for luxury condos like his project at 3220 Arlington Avenue. Formerly known as Arlington Suites, this 13-story, 26-unit project has just been renamed Riverstone, a fitting moniker for a complex built with Jerusalem stone. Asking prices in the project, which also features a swimming pool, start at $1.25 million and reach $2.3 million for a duplex.

Skeptics, however, say it’s unclear whether Riverdale, a slightly out-of-the-way area that lacks extensive subway service, is really ready for quite so many upscale developments.

“The jury is still out on the $600-a-square-foot condo property in Riverdale,” says Karl Brumback, director of sales for Riverdale at Massey Knakal. “Right now it’s safe to say sales aren’t what people would have hoped for at this point for some of the bigger names.”

One of these is the Solaria, Riverdale’s tallest building, at 640 West 237th Street. There has been furor over the 20-story tower — viewed by many residents as out of character with central Riverdale’s smaller, brick apartment buildings and single-family homes. A zoning change in this section of Riverdale now limits the height of buildings to 80 feet, which translates to eight or nine stories.

Despite tons of publicity, generated in part by the controversy, the Solaria was only 25 percent sold at press time, nearly a year into its marketing campaign. And the building is not yet finished.

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Monica Klingenberg, executive vice president of the Marketing Directors, which is marketing and selling units in the Solaria, admits having to overcome a rumor that the building lacked parking. Klingenberg says the Solaria offers residents parking in an adjacent garage. Prices for the Solaria’s 2,000-square-foot, three-bedroom apartments average $1.3 million.

Buyers who spend that much for an apartment may also expect parking inside, rather than adjacent to their buildings. Former Manhattanites, especially, may also want to be closer to a subway stop.

Developers at other prominent projects have encountered major setbacks, leaving incomplete buildings or construction sites that are something of a blight on the neighborhood. These troubled projects include Cambridge Mews at 3536 Cambridge Avenue. According to court documents from 2006, James Murray, a former investor in the project, has been indicted on three criminal counts, including embezzlement. Developer Robert Wagner did not respond to repeated requests for an interview, but he has reportedly been working to settle a legal claim the federal government has on the property.

A couple of hundred feet away, at 3585 Greystone Avenue, at the site of what was planned as Westwood Terrace, developer David Feinberg had to stop work on the project in 2005. Department of Buildings officials cited him for allegedly improperly underpinning the adjacent structure. Eastern Consolidated is now offering the property for sale. Feinberg did not return a call seeking comment.

Given Riverdale’s charm as a tight-knit, homey neighborhood that is close to Manhattan, real estate executives expect the area to weather the glitches of the condo boom.

One new development that has attracted buyers is the Waterford at 3816 Waldo Avenue. All of the Waterford’s 24 residential units have been sold or are in contract, fetching roughly $550,000 to $600,000. The Waterford is closer to the subway at Broadway than some of the other new condos that are situated farther west. As the development boom continues, the zoning restrictions on height that were supposed to preserve Riverdale are frustrating some residents. That’s because of an unintended negative consequence: squat buildings packed tightly onto lots. These are the result of zoning changes that limit building height but actually allow for an increase in total floor-area ratio, or FAR.

Take the case of the Arbor, at 3620 Henry Hudson Parkway. That property, formerly the site of the Hebrew Home for the Aged at Riverdale, was zoned R7, which has a maximum FAR of 3.44. It was changed to R7A, which has a maximum FAR of 4.0. The difference in FAR may not seem like much, but it allows the developer to construct a nearly 17 percent larger building.

“With the height limitation, you have to pack it solid,” says Bill Friedlich, owner of Harbor View Construction.

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