New Bronx Development To Provide Housing And Jobs
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A recent City Council vote has opened the door to expansive development in some of the Bronx’s rundown industrial areas. NY1’s Jill Urban filed the following report.Industrial areas of Crotona Park East and West Farms in the Bronx will see five acres, 10 buildings and $350 million of development following a City Council vote to rezone the land.
“We are proposing to build 10 buildings, 1,300 units of housing. There would be neighborhood retail in the base of most of those buildings. There will be two open spaces that will connect Boone and West Farms for the first time and one children’s playground,” says Gifford Miller, a partner at Signature Urban Properties.
Miller says this mixed income housing project will revitalize the dilapidated area of the Bronx.
About half of the 1,300 units would be built as subsidized, affordable housing. The buildings will be located along West Farms Road overlooking the Sheridan Expressway and offer easy access to major subway and bus lines.
The buildings will also include 46,000 square feet of retail, which will mostly service the residents.
“One of the great things about this development is that we are not just going to create great housing to the area, but also to bring some permanent jobs. In fact, our estimates are that we will bring about 412 permanent jobs as a result for the housing and neighborhood retail,” says Miller.
Since the buildings will bring families, the project also includes plans for a new school. The developer has set aside land for the school construction authority to build a 540-seat elementary school.
Councilman Joel Rivera represents the district and says this is exactly what this neighborhood needs.
“My office is literally five minutes away from here, and every single day we have constituents coming in talking about jobs, talking about housing, talking about parks, talking about how can we get this a safer and better community, so this project handles literally all of that,” says Rivera.
The developer hopes to break ground on the first two buildings by the fall of next year. They expect to have the entire project completed within seven years.