On May 30, 2026, Abdu Salman filed permits for a four-story mixed-use building at 2958 White Plains Road in the Allerton section of the Bronx. The corner lot at Adee Avenue sits steps from the Burke Avenue subway station, served by the 2 and 5 trains.
The proposed structure will rise 50 feet and yield 18,579 square feet. Residential space accounts for 14,959 square feet; commercial space totals 3,619 square feet. The building will contain 21 residences, likely condominiums given the average unit size of 1,004 square feet.
Darlyn Alvarez of Rojas Engineering, PLLC is the architect of record. The lot is currently vacant, so demolition permits will not be required. No completion date has been announced.
This filing is a small-bore project in a market dominated by larger institutional plays. But it reveals something about where capital is flowing in New York City's outer boroughs: transit-adjacent infill sites with clear condo demand remain financeable, even as the broader development lending environment tightens.
The 2 and 5 train access is the project's primary demand driver. Allerton is a middle-income neighborhood with limited new supply. Per ACRIS records, the site has been vacant for years, suggesting Salman acquired it at a basis that allows for a viable pro forma at current construction costs and condo pricing.
At 1,004 square feet average, the units target buyers seeking space over amenity. That is a deliberate product choice. In a market where studio and one-bedroom condos face absorption risk from a glut of similar inventory, larger two- and three-bedroom layouts in transit-served neighborhoods maintain pricing power.
The commercial component—3,619 square feet—is modest but meaningful. Ground-floor retail in Bronx corridors like White Plains Road commands rents between $30 and $50 per square foot, per CBRE's Q1 2026 retail report. That income stream helps debt service coverage ratios for construction loans, which remain expensive at SOFR plus 300 to 400 basis points.
Salman is not a household name in New York development. His track record is limited to small-scale projects in the Bronx and Upper Manhattan. That profile matters: in a capital environment where lenders favor established sponsors with balance sheet depth, a developer like Salman must present a tighter underwriting case to secure financing.
The project's viability hinges on construction costs and exit cap rates. Current hard costs for masonry mid-rise in the Bronx run approximately $350 to $400 per square foot, per Rider Levett Bucknall's Q2 2026 data. At 18,579 square feet, total hard costs land between $6.5 million and $7.4 million. Soft costs, land, and financing push the all-in to roughly $10 million to $12 million.
At an average sale price of $550 per square foot—achievable for new construction condos in Allerton, per StreetEasy comps—the residential component generates roughly $8.2 million in gross revenue. The commercial space, if sold as a condo or held for income, adds another $1.1 million to $1.8 million. The math works, but barely. Margins are thin.
This project is a microcosm of the current development cycle. Institutional capital has retreated to core-plus and value-add strategies in gateway cities. Small-scale developers like Salman fill the gap, building for end-users in neighborhoods where demand exists but institutional supply has not arrived. The risk is execution: construction delays, cost overruns, or a softening condo market could erase the thin equity cushion.
For lenders, the lesson is straightforward. Transit-oriented infill in the Bronx is not a speculative bet. It is a demographic play. Population growth in the borough has outpaced Manhattan and Brooklyn for five consecutive years, per Census Bureau estimates. Projects like 2958 White Plains Road serve that demand directly.
Salman's filing is a signal, not a headline. It says that developers with local knowledge and realistic pro formas can still get projects permitted and financed. The question is whether they can deliver on time and on budget. The answer will determine whether this project is a template or an outlier.