Bronx Point at full build-out will include up to 1.045 housing units.

NEW YORK CITY—City officials announced on Friday that a joint venture of Larchmont, NY-based L+M Development Partners and Type A Projects of New York City has been selected to develop a massive housing development in the South Bronx called Bronx Point that will also include a hip-hop museum.

Officials with the New York City Economic Development Corp. and city departments of Housing Preservation and Development and Parks and Recreation announced the selection of L+M and Type A Projects, a woman-owned emerging development firm. The project along the Harlem River waterfront was first introduced in July 2016 when the city issued requests for expressions of interest.

The two-phased Bronx Point waterfront development will include at full build-out up to 1,045 units of housing, a home for the Universal Hip-Hop Museum, a state-of-the-art multiplex theater, education space and a neighborhood food and beverage hall and incubator.

The project is be to developed on one of the largest city-owned vacant parcels in the Bronx. Located in the Lower Concourse, the site is adjacent to Mill Pond Park and the 145th Street Bridge that connects the Bronx to Upper Manhattan and is nearby the 149th Street corridor where Hostos College, the Bronx General Post Office, and Lincoln Hospital are located.

“Over the last two years, NYCEDC has worked with the South Bronx community to address the area's most pressing needs: affordable housing and waterfront access. Today, we are excited to announce the activation of this long-vacant waterfront site with high-quality public open space, over 600 units of permanently affordable housing, and a range of cultural facilities that pay homage to the boogie down Bronx,” said NYCEDC president and CEO James Patchett.

Phase one is anticipated to be completed in 2022 and will include approximately 600 units of permanently affordable housing that targets households with incomes ranging from extremely low to moderate. Half of the permanently affordable housing will consist of larger, two-and three-bedroom apartments, city officials stated.

Other components of phase one are projected to include a new waterfront esplanade, an outdoor performance space, a public plaza, a multiplex theater, community-based programming space for BronxWorks, the Universal Hip-Hop Museum, which city officials maintain will be the nation's first brick and mortar hip-hop museum. Also planned are a food and beverage hall and incubator that will target Bronx-based small food vendors, and educational programming to be operated by organizations such as CityScience and Billion Oyster Project.

In the first phase, Bronx Point is expected to create more than 100 permanent jobs and approximately 915 construction jobs. The project is targeting to meet or exceed a 35% M/WBE participation goal.

“Bronx Point is a tremendous step forward for our borough. Not only will this project create much-needed affordable housing units, it will activate underutilized space, open up more waterfront to public access, create new public spaces and retail amenities for community use and, finally, bring the Universal Hip-Hop Museum to its rightful location in the birthplace of hip-hop, The Bronx,” said Bronx Borough president Ruben Diaz Jr.

He added, “Hip-hop was born in The Bronx, and the inclusion of the Universal Hip-Hop Museum as part of this project will help showcase our role in the creation of that worldwide cultural movement for generations to come.”

The city is investing $194 million in connection with the Lower Concourse North initiative that includes the acquisition of land for the creation of a new 2.3-acre park on the Harlem River waterfront at E. 144th Street, blocks south of the Bronx Point project site; investments in sewers; complete redesign of large high-traffic intersections and significant streetscape improvements along Exterior Street, including new lighting and sidewalks; expansion of high-speed broadband to attract businesses. These capital projects are now underway and slated for completion in the next few years, city officials stated.

Development of the Lower Concourse North site is currently undergoing the public land use review process and has received positive approvals from Community Board 4, Bronx Borough President Reuben Diaz and the City Planning Commission, city officials report.

In the first phase, Bronx Point is expected to create more than 100 permanent jobs and approximately 915 construction jobs. The project is targeting to meet or exceed a 35% M/WBE participation goal.

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L+M Venture Wins Major Bronx Project That Includes Hip-Hop Museum

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