Breaking News: Massive $345 Million Development Announced For Largest Remaining City-Owned Land In The South Bronx

From East 149th Street and Brook Avenue all the way north to East 153rd Street remains the largest track of city-owned land in the South Bronx.  Located in Melrose adjacent to the Hub will rise a massive 985 mixed-income project of the likes the Bronx has never seen.

Earlier this year, after the success of Via Verde which gained world-wide recognition, the city asked for an RFP (Request for Proposal) for the lots across from Via Verde which extended all the way down to East 149th Street and Brook Avenue.  They asked developers to think big and to come up with something bigger than greater than Via Verde.

It is with great pleasure that Welcome2TheBronx and Welcome2Melrose introduce you to La Central – a mixed-income, mixed-use project which will include community space for the arts and sciences.

La Central, as the massive development project will be called and developed by BRP Development Corporation, Hudson Companies Inc., Common Ground, Comunilife, The Kretchmer Companies, ELH Mgmt LLC, and the Year, will be comprised of 5 buildings and 985 units of mixed-income including 48,000 square foot YMCA-community facility, 43,000 square feet of retail space, 5,000 square foot community space with a recording studio and curate workshops and open recording studio for projects for and by the community, Bronx Astronomy Tower and Lab including a rooftop telescope, and a rooftop farm just to name a few.  The development will occupy approximately 185,000 square feet of land.  The total cost of the project is currently said to be, “very approximately $345 million.”

According to Bloomberg’s office the development will be broken down as follows:

• Building A: 211 affordable apartments; approximately 48,000 square foot YMCA-community facility; a diabetes prevention program operated by Montefiore Medical Center; rooftop farm; approximately 19,000 square feet of new retail space.
• Building B: 279 affordable apartments; approximately 24,000 square feet of retail space, including restaurant space; cellar level garage with approximately 138 parking spaces.
• Building C: 137 affordable apartments; Music Has No Enemies (MHNE) which will occupy approximately 5,000 square feet of community space consisting of a recording studio and curate workshops and open the recording studio to projects for and by the community.
• Building D: 160 affordable apartments; 10,000 square foot mental health clinic operated by Comunilife that will work with veterans living within the development and individuals within the community.
• Building E: 198 affordable apartments; Bronx Astronomy Tower and Lab – a rooftop telescope to be used by the Bronx High School of Science; daycare facility.
• The approximately 7,000 square-foot triangular vacant lot at the intersection of Brook and Bergen Avenues will be developed as open space, accessible to the general public.

The project still has to go through ULURP (Uniform Land Use Review Procedure) before any construction can begin.  It is currently estimated to begin construction sometime in 2015.  “As the size and cost of the project means that it will need to be done in two phases, the development team is estimating that final completion of all of the construction could take approximately four years.” said Ted Weinstein, HPD’s Director of Bronx Planning.