Rendering of 4541 Furman Avenue, as seen from White Plains Road. Image Credit: CPC.
Parking availability in the neighborhood had been a point of concern for the Community Board. May 11, 2022, the City Planning Commission voted to approve an application for a mixed-use residential and commercial building at 4541 Furman Avenue in the Wakefield section of the Bronx. The rezoning site is on a portion of the block bounded by East 240th Street, a line 300 feet north of East 239th Street to the south, White Plains Road to the west, and Furman Avenue to the east.
The building, which will have an east wing and a west wing, will have 148 affordable units, in a mix of studios to three-bedroom units. Fifty-six units will be permanently affordable through Mandatory Inclusionary Housing Option 1, which requires 25 percent of units to be permanently affordable at an average 60 percent area median income and an agreement with the Department of Housing Preservation and Development to make additional units permanently affordable. A regulatory agreement will maintain affordability for the remaining units for 60 years.
Ground floor retail space will be available, and the building will feature amenities like a package room, a gym, laundry room, indoor and outdoor recreation spaces, and an after-school study room for residents.
The building will offer 52 parking spaces in the cellar through stacked parking, made possible by the significant grade change between White Plains Road and Furman Avenue which enables reduced excavation costs. Parking had been a concern voiced by Bronx Community Board 12 due to the neighborhood’s location in the northern Bronx, though the new building will be adjacent to the No. 2 elevated subway line, which stops at East 241st Street. To address the community board’s concerns, the applicants expanded the number of parking spaces made available to 52. For CityLand’s prior coverage of this application, click here.
The City Planning Commission unanimously voted to approve the project, with the exception of Vice Chair Kenneth Knuckles and Commissioner Leah Goodridge, who were absent for the vote.
The application will now be reviewed by the City Council.
By: Veronica Rose (Veronica is the CityLaw fellow and a New York Law School graduate, Class of 2018.)