Planning Commission Okays 206 New Affordable Units in Unionport

Rendering of new development designed by Magnusson Architecture and Planning. Image Credit: Procida

The City Planning Commission approved the construction two new joined buildings to contain 206 affordable units in the Unionport neighborhood of the Bronx. On April 5, 2017, the City Planning Commission issued a favorable report on an application from Westchester Mews LLC. The project would result in a new mixed-use development at 2044 Westchester Avenue and 2035 Newbold Avenue in the Bronx’s Unionport neighborhood. The applicant proposed amending the zoning map and zoning text to facilitate the construction of two buildings to contain approximately 206 dwelling units and commercial and community facility space.

The area to be rezoned is currently zoned as R5/C2-2 and R5. The application sought to upzoned those areas to R6/C2-4 and R6 respectively. The change would be increase the allowed residential floor area ratio from 1.25 to 3.6 with the use of the Mandatory Inclusionary Housing sections of the Zoning Resolution. The maximum height permitted would increase from 40 feet to 115 feet.

The development site is currently a 47,060-square-foot vacant L-shaped lot. One side of the site fronts on Newbold Avenue and the other side fronts on Westchester Avenue. The site located at 2044 Westchester Avenue would be the location of a new 11-story building containing 82 residential units and 8,000 square feet of commercial space on the ground floor. At the 2035 Newbold Avenue site a new ten-story building with 124 residential units and 1,319 square feet of community space would be constructed. The two buildings would share a common 1,500-square-foot courtyard.

On January 19, 2017, Bronx Community Board 9 voted 19-5 to approve the application with modifications. The modifications recommended include: a $5,000 contribution to the Virginia Park & Hugh J. Grant Circle Park community group for startup costs; a $3,000 yearly contribution to the Park community group for 60 years, to assist with operating costs and programming; a $1,000 yearly contribution to a local youth community-policing event for 60 years; and, a promise to work with United Hispanic Construction Workers to ensure that up to 25% of the construction workers are residents in the Community Board district and The Bronx. On March 3, 2017, Bronx Borough President Ruben Diaz Jr. issued his recommendation to approve the application.

In its report, the Commission found the application to be appropriate. The report noted that the “development with commercial and community facility space will put this currently vacant property to productive use that will reinforce existing residential land uses within the rezoning area.” The Commission also took note of the conditions placed on the application by the Community Board, but found them to be unrelated to the land use action and were therefore outside the scope of the application.

The application will move to the City Council for consideration in the coming weeks.

CPC: 2044 Westchester Avenue & 2035 Newbold Avenue, The Bronx (C 160326 ZMX, N 160327 ZRX) (April 5, 2017).

 By: Jonathon Sizemore (Jonathon is a CityLaw Fellow and a New York Law School Graduate, Class of 2016).