Redevelopment Ahead for Two Land Parcels in South Bronx

NEW YORK CITY-More revitalization is coming to the South Bronx.

NYC Dept. of Housing Preservation and Development Commissioner Mathew Wambua announced Wednesday the release of a Request for Proposals for two parcels of land in the Melrose/HUB section of the Bronx. The city-owned sites—bordered by Bergen Street, Brook Avenue and East 149^th Street—will be developed to create mixed-income housing along with new commercial and/or community facility space, as well as open space. The site is one of the last large city-owned vacant lots in the South Bronx.  

The Bronxchester RFP project is being developed under Mayor Bloomberg's New Housing Marketplace Plan. The NHMP is a multi-billion dollar initiative to finance 165,000 units of affordable housing for half a million New Yorkers by the close of fiscal year 2014. For every dollar invested by the City, the NHMP has leveraged $3.43 in private funding, amounting to a total commitment to date of more than $21 billion to fund the creation or preservation of over 144,700 units of affordable housing across the five boroughs to date. A total of 44,450 units have been financed in the Bronx with 2,966 of those units in Bronx Community District 1, where the Bronxchester project will be developed. 

“The Bronxchester project represents a unique opportunity to add another signature development to the ongoing rebirth of this dynamic neighborhood,” says Wambua. “Not long ago it was a rarity to see new affordable homes being constructed in a neighborhood littered with abandoned buildings and rubble strewn lots. What we now see are thousands of new affordable homes and apartments that have laid a foundation for stability and growth in this community.”

The development sites are currently predominantly zoned for manufacturing use. The City will implement the process needed to rezone the area for residential development. 

The Bronxchester development sites include two parcels with a total of five tax lots and encompass approximately 184,500 square feet. Applicants are permitted to submit proposals for a single parcel or both parcels. One or more developer(s) or development team(s) will be selected to revamp the site. The RFP submission period runs from March 29^th through July 3, 2013. Click here for more information and to obtain a copy of the RFP. 

The project is situated just southeast of the Melrose Commons urban renewal area, where the City is transforming 46 contiguous acres located in the center of the South Bronx and shared by Community Districts 1 and 3. Since construction, began 2,818 new residential units have been completed, and when all sites are completed it is expected that approximately 3,700 new residential units and approximately 300,000-square-feet of commercial space will have been created.