Simone Markets Bronx Warehouse for New Uses

NEW YORK CITY-With Old London Foods scheduled to move its bakery operations out of the Bronx at the end of next year, Simone Development Cos. is looking to reposition the 204,015-square-foot warehouse currently occupied by the snack food maker. Simone is marketing the complex at 1776 Eastchester Rd. for lease as warehouse, office and biotech space, according to a release.

The two-story 1776 Eastchester is on seven acres adjacent to Simone Development’s 740,000-square-foot Hutchinson Metro Center office complex, with 121,961 square feet on the first floor and 82,054 square feet on the second floor. It includes 10,000 square feet of office space, which Simone Development says is expandable.

In the release, Simone Development president Joseph Simone says the property offers “tremendous potential for a number of commercial uses.” In particular, Simone says, “With four major hospitals less than a mile away and a growing base of medical practices at the Hutchinson Metro Center, this property is ideally situated for conversion to a biotech research center.”

The property’s location is advantageous in more ways than one, says Simone. It’s near the site of the 911 Call Center that New York City is scheduled to begin constructing in March of 2010, which will mean infrastructure improvements to the immediate area, including a new public road with bus service and upgrades to electrical power transmission in the area. “The construction of the 911 Call Center will be a major boost for commercial properties in the immediate area, including the Old London site,” he says in the release.

Hutchinson Metro Center is itself the product of redeveloping an existing asset. In 2001, Simone bought the former Bronx Developmental Center from the city, expanding the complex’s original 18.2 acres into 42 through a series of acquisitions. The first tenants at Hutchinson Metro began occupancy in 2003.