Bronx Point Development Approved by City Planning

Rendering of Bronx Point. Image Credit: City Planning Commission

Bronx Point could spark development in the South Bronx. On August 14, 2019, the City Planning Commission unanimously approved an Urban Development Action Area Project (“UDAAP”) application in the South Bronx. The project, more commonly referred to as “Bronx Point” was brought by the Department of Housing Preservation and Development (“HPD”) to designate the property located north of East 150^th Street, south of Mill Pond Park, west of Exterior Street/Major Deegan Expressway and east of the Harlem River as an UDAAP. UDAAP designations provide tax exemptions for the rehabilitation or new construction of housing, on former city owned land, if City Council determines the area to be in need of an urban renewal.

This project is a joint venture between L&M Development Partners and Type A Projects which provides for a mixed-use development and open space improvements. The project estimates there will be approximately 1,045 housing units with approximately 540 units dedicated as permanently affordable units. The project will include a new publicly accessible playground and waterfront esplanade connecting to Mill Pond Park. There will be nearly 57,000 square feet of educational and community facilities including BronxWorks Community Service spaces, a CityScience space, a Billion Oyster Project space and a Universal Hip Hop Museum to serve as the development’s cultural anchor. Lastly, there will be over 70,000 square feet dedicated to retail space which including a ten-screen state of the art movie theater.

In 2017, the Special Harlem River Waterfront District was expanded to include the Bronx Point site. This facilitated a waterfront access plan, which was incorporated into the project’s design. In addition, there was a capital investment commitment of $200 million to update water and sewer lines, upgrade streetscape and install commercial-grade broadband access.

The open space improvements will be partially funded by city funds which is why HPD brought this UDAAP request. This project is planned to have a two phases, where the second phase will be subject to a future development proposal. For this reason, this application only pertains to Phase 1.

Image Credit: City Planning Commission

At a public hearing on July 31, 2019, Commissioner Michelle de la Uz inquired how the project and Parks Department would fund and oversee construction and maintenance of the site. The application team purports to have worked extensively with the Parks Department and that financial support will provided to the Parks Department to maintain Mill Pond Park.

Developers hope that this project will serve as a catalyst for development along the South Bronx waterfront. Bronx Community Board 4 submitted a letter in support of the project on May 6, 2019.

This development is projected to commence in December 2019 and is expected to take three years to complete. The application is currently under City Council Review, where later today the Subcommittee on Landmarks, Public Siting and Maritime will hold a public hearing. City Council has until October 7, 2019 to make a determination.

By: Jason Rogovich (Jason Rogovich is the CityLaw Fellow and New York Law School Graduate, Class of 2019)