There are many questions surrounding the secrecy of a project under construction at 1680 Pelham Parkway South, but few answers.
The developer is Stagg Development Group.
Little is known about the seven-story building with 130 luxury apartments .
According to Community Board 11 member Vinny Prezioso, Mark Stagg, owner of Stagg Development Group, and former Bronx borough president Adolfo Carrión met with members of CB 11 in 2014 at Councilman James Vacca’s office to introduce themselves to the community.
Prezioso said the developer presented a few renderings of the project to the community board members, but the gist of the meeting was Stagg’s request for help to remove a squatter, Garland Roberts, an Army vet, from the property so construction could begin.
Prezioso said the board requested another meeting so that Stagg and Carrion could provide more detailed plans.
That was the last time the two sides met.
Vacca said he tried three times to schedule a new meeting and the two parties even agreed to meet more than once.
However, Prezioso said Stagg and his cronies canceled each time.
Building permits were granted in March 2016 to Mohammad R Badaly, of Badaly Architects.
Construction of the building’s exterior is two-thirds complete.
One of the community board’s concerns with Stagg and company was traffic in the area.
Prezioso said the board wanted to address transportation issues and parking since the back of the building abuts a dead end street.
The development is located between Stillwell Avenue and Bassett Avenue.
Currently, a portion of Bassett Avenue between McDonald Street and Pelham Parkway is closed off.
CB 11 chair Anthony Vitaliano said Bassett Avenue dead ends just south of the parkway because the city leases out a large parcel of land that includes the continuation of the street.
In a letter to Lissette Camilo, commissioner for the NYC Department of Citywide Administrative services, Vitaliano asks that the street be cut through towards Pelham Parkway to help relieve possible traffic problems.
A portion of the building’s property was formerly owned by Buster Marengo who operated a horse stable from the location.
Marengo owned the stable property for almost two decades, but was forced to leave due to real estate tax arrears.
The property was purchased at auction in 2013 for $451,000 by real estate investor Louis Zazzarino.
The Bronx Times attempted to contact Mark Stagg multiple times about the current development at 1680 Pelham Parkway South but received no reply.
