First luxury high-rise at The Hub in The Bronx nears completion

MELROSE—The Bronx’s oldest commercial shopping district, The Hub is about to get its first luxury high-rise and it was only a matter of time before it happened given what’s been going on down by the Harlem River Waterfront.

The Jacqueline, located at 2980 3rd Avenue at E 153rd Street, the 15-story building is the first market-rate and luxury development in the neighborhood and is nearing completion after construction began over a year ago.

Once complete, which should be by the end of the year or very early 2024, will feature 69 apartments ranging from studios to two-bedroom units.

According to marketing materials for The Jacqueline, the development will feature dishwashers in each unit, a doorman, a secure package room, as well as a bike storage room. A private gym for residents will be available on the second floor and as for outdoor space, residents will have access to a 2,900 square foot rooftop terrace.

Currently, rents for the units haven’t been finalized but according to marketing for the development, they are in the final phase of the rents which should be publicized at some point later this year.

Whatever they will be, based on what’s going on just blocks to the south in Mott Haven and Port Morris, we can expect the rents to be well out of the reach of the average resident of the area.

For the past several years, The Hub has been particularly hard hit with the opioid crisis and has unfortunately been one of the epicenters of the crisis in New York City and has seen its fair share of overdoses. One of the unfortunate realities of this crisis is the blatant open use of such drugs out in the middle of the street as those suffering from addiction openly use syringes for all to see.

The Jacqueline will be a tough sell for the kind of market they’re clearly seeking if prospective residents have to walk several blocks witnessing all of that just to get to and from their homes.

The presence of such a large-scale luxury development in Melrose might only be the beginning given and may be an indication that smaller developers are being priced out of Mott Haven given what’s happened there already in terms of gentrification.

Only time will tell if this development will usher in a new wave of such developments in Melrose and around The Hub.