The Bronx Continues to Rise

Via Verde under construction, May 2011 [Deena Parham]

There are times when I am surprised to find brand new real estate developments in the most unexpected places.  In May 2011, I was in the South Bronx for an event at a community garden, when I noticed the striking building across the street (above photo) under construction.  I later learned that it was Via Verde (700 Brook Avenue), a much-heralded new affordable housing complex.

Fortunately, I do occasionally find myself walking on the streets of the Bronx to witness neighborhood transformation first-hand.  The larger than life historical narratives that I've read about the borough's brushes with urban decay, and abandonment, are usually shattered the moment that I meet residents who are working hard to improve their communities.  The truth is that large swaths of the South Bronx have long-risen from the devastation.

Yes, 2011 was a banner year for the Bronx, as several prominent projects emerged that forced the media to take notice.  The borough continues to make tremendous strides in economic development. Here are three real estate related projects that were on my radar this year:

 Via Verde (“the green way”) the South Bronx

View of Via Verde from the street [Phipps, Rose, Dattner, Grimshaw]

In September 2011, Michael Kimmelman, the new architecture critic at the New York Times, visited Via Verde, a new housing development in the South Bronx.  His first review brought considerable attention to the affordable housing complex.  The innovative environmentally “green” building, starts at three-story townhomes, gradually rising to a 20-story tower, and offers 151 rental and 71 co-op apartments to mixed-income families. Phipps Houses and Jonathan Rose Companies developed it with Dattner Architects and Grimshaw. 

Looking South from the Rooftop Garden [Phipps, Rose, Dattner, Grimshaw]

The building incorporates elements of nature, which includes a 40,000 square foot roof deck that will be used to plant fruit trees, and will have garden plots for tenants to plant their own gardens.  Via Verde is designed to achieve LEED Gold certification from the U.S. Green Building Council, for its innovative environmentally responsible design.  It also promotes physical activity, by placing staircases in prominent locations, to discourage residents from using the elevators, whenever possible.

 The 20-story rental apartment tower [Phipps, Rose, Dattner, Grimshaw]

What was most noteworthy about the New York Times article was the praise for Via Verde’s design.  Over the years affordable housing developments have rarely garnered accolades.   Michael Kimmelman said:

The rebirth of the South Bronx isn’t news. But Via Verde is. And it makes as good an argument as any new building in the city for the cultural and civic value of architecture. The profession, or in any case much talk about it, has been fixated for too long on brand-name luxury objects and buildings as sculptures instead of attending to the richer, broader, more urgent vein of public policy and community engagement, in which aesthetics play a part.

Via Verde helps shift the conversation. Like all good architecture, it is handsome. Unlike too much, it goes out of its way to be healthy. It evolved out of a competition five years ago, organized by Shaun Donovan, then commissioner of the city’s Department of Housing Preservation and Development, now President Obama’s secretary of housing and urban development. The idea was to spur developers to team with architects in combining the latest green concepts with high-quality architecture for a public-housing project, a “beacon,” as Mr. Donovan put it to me the other day, that would “re-engage design with the issue of affordable housing.”

 Occupancy is expected in the winter of 2012.

Bay Plaza Mall, Co-Op City

Aerial view of the proposed Macy's store on the left, and the Bay Plaza Mall.

Macy’s will soon build a brand new three-story, 160,000 square foot store in the Bronx.  The department store is part of the new Bay Plaza Mall, which will connect to the existing JC Penney’s store.  This will be the second Macy’s in the borough, where there is currently a store in Parkchester.

 

The mall is being designed by Altoon + Porter, a Los Angeles-based architectural firm known for mixed-use retail, and institutional development around the world.   The $270 million mall will be 780,000 square feet, built on land owned by Prestige Properties. The project is expected to attract 2,000 construction jobs, and 1,700 permanent jobs.  It will be conveniently located between Interstate-95 and the Hutchinson River Parkway. Construction is anticipated to begin in the spring of 2012, with an expected completion date in 2014.  It will be the first enclosed mall in the Bronx.

Ferry Point Park Golf Course

Another recent development in the Bronx was the news that the New York City Parks Department has award Donald Trump a 20-year deal to run a public golf course at Ferry Point Park.  The Trump Organization will spend $10 million on designing and building a clubhouse at the 18-hole Jack Nicklaus Signature course.

The NYC taxpayers-funded golf course will be located adjacent to the Whitestone Bridge, with views of the Manhattan skyline.  Additionally, officials are expecting that the public course will attract major golf tournaments.  According to the New York Daily News, this project has been more than 14 years in the making, with any number of false starts and controversy. Many have questioned whether a golf course is the best use of parkland in an area with a high concentration of public housing.  Critics have often referred to as a major boondoggle.

The city took over construction in 2008, a few years after the course’s private developer walked off the troubled lot. Projected to cost $57 million then, the project’s budget has since ballooned to $97 million, said a Parks Department spokeswoman.

Ferry Point Golf Course Routing Plan

The 18-hole, links-style, Jack Nicklaus Signature golf course is being built on 222 acres of a former toxic landfill at the edge of the East River.  “This new public golf course will be a great amenity for the Bronx, for the City, and for visitors,” said Parks & Recreation Commissioner Adrian Benepe. “More than $600 million has been invested in parks around the Bronx during Mayor Bloomberg’s tenure, and now this long-awaited golf course will soon be among them – bringing more people from across the country and around the world to the Bronx. The Trump Organization is known for operating world-class golf courses, and I’m excited to be able to partner with them to build and run the first tournament-quality golf course in New York City.”

The expected completion date of the golf course is the spring of 2014.  It is estimated that it will create 100 construction jobs.  While the project has its (rightful) share of critics who have questioned the recreational usage and the costs, it will hopefully move forward, because there has already been so much public funding already invested.

Truthfully, as a planner, I'm not usually a huge fan of either golf courses or malls.  However, in these economically challenging times, any new construction that can potentially leverage additional economic development is a huge win.  There's no doubt that the new projects underway will continue to boost the borough's profile.  The Bronx is writing its own comeback story, which is welcome news for its 1.4 million residents, and the rest of the region.

More information

• Altoon + Porter Architects
• The New York Times: Via Verde in the South Bronx Rewrites Low-Income Housing Rules
• WABC 7 Eyewitness News: A 160,000 Square Foot Macy's Coming to the Bronx
• New York Daily News: Donald Trump Signs 20-Year Deal to run NYC Golf Course