Holy Smokes! South Bronx's Grand Concourse Set for Redevelopment (New York: low income, real estate)

[SobroGuy]

City just announced that it is rezoning the Lower Grand Concourse, from E.149th St. and the Major Deegan Expressway, and Morris Ave. to the Harlem River, basically a huge 30 block swath: "The Department of City Planning's rezoning proposal aims to leverage the area's waterfront and proximity to the 2, 4, 5 and 6 subway lines to create a bustling neighborhood of lofts, affordable housing, shops, hotels and recreation." The proposal includes a plan to create a waterfront park along the Harlem River between E.144th St. and E. 146th St., and improve public access to the river to create nearly 5.7 acres of open waterfront space. This is the kind of change that is happening in the South Bronx...nothing less than EXTRAORDINARY! Go BRONX! Lower Concourse lift: City mapping grand plan to remake gritty Bx. swath into vibrant mecca

[Rachael84]

Is there anything happening around 170 st? It would be nice if that area wasn't as dirty as I see it sometimes.

[SobroGuy]

The push is really going to be coming from the South Bronx up...so as this major redevelopment of the lower Grand Concourse gets into swing with condos, retail, parks, restaurants, etc, look for the areas just North of Yankee Stadium to get much more interest and improved.

[StrugglingMusician91]

They don't seem to have enough money to keep 15,000 teacher employed but they can turn the Bronx into condoburg. Very upsetting.

[bmwguydc]

There is an intention to rezone the area, nothing has been formally adopted as yet. And, this can take years to get off the ground, not weeks, especially in this real estate climate. This area was long neglected, however, even when the Grand Concourse was still a sought-after address, but the zoning was always industrial. Allowing mixed use does not foster the creation of a new SoHo as alluded in the article, as that's a process that will take years to unfold, if it can, after real estate stabilizes. It's a good idea to have the mixed-use designation in place for when that happens, unless the city is committing resources to underwrite the plan, which they absolutely should not do when considiring firing teachers.

[DITC]

So the city is practically broke, and they want to develop even more? There is little industry left here, and the backbone of New York, the middle class, is fleeing. New York is turning into a pre civil war plantation. Either you are a rich owner, or a trapped servant. There is little balance, and places like Houston are going to close the gap in economic production very quickly. These dynamics make for a horrible environment in every way possible, especially for the so called greatest city on earth.

More yuppy housing with a minimal percentage going to the lower classes. This is going to push out long term residents that stuck with the place when it was a hole in the 70s/80s/90s. To me this smells and sounds like the reincarnation of the soon to be failed Ratner plan in Brooklyn, except in this case the stadium is just about complete. We saw the lies with that and I am sure we will see lies around this. Just another yuppy scam. But let me ask you the million dollar question...how and why can we even utter building more housing when we have lost THOUSANDS OF JOBS???? Construction = temporary jobs, so here come the inflated statistics about permanent jobs. Increasing housing stock + decreasing jobs is the Miami housing bust. We should be bringing back industry (clean 2009 green type stuff at least) and giving them tax breaks to operate to diversify our economy as a hedge during bad times.

Lofts? Are you kiddin me? Aim for smart development. The whole city doesnt have to be a copy of soho!

I would like to see the Grand Concourse become what it was during its glory days. Housing affordable for the common man. Shops owned by local people. Not a poor man's soho/village with the vibrant psuedoculture that engulfs much of Manhattan.

[bmwguydc]

Originally Posted by DITC

So the city is practically broke, and they want to develop even more? There is little industry left here, and the backbone of New York, the middle class, is fleeing. New York is turning into a pre civil war plantation. Either you are a rich owner, or a trapped servant. There is little balance, and places like Houston are going to close the gap in economic production very quickly. These dynamics make for a horrible environment in every way possible, especially for the so called greatest city on earth.

More yuppy housing with a minimal percentage going to the lower classes. This is going to push out long term residents that stuck with the place when it was a hole in the 70s/80s/90s. To me this smells and sounds like the reincarnation of the soon to be failed Ratner plan in Brooklyn, except in this case the stadium is just about complete. We saw the lies with that and I am sure we will see lies around this. Just another yuppy scam. But let me ask you the million dollar question...how and why can we even utter building more housing when we have lost THOUSANDS OF JOBS???? Construction = temporary jobs, so here come the inflated statistics about permanent jobs. Increasing housing stock + decreasing jobs is the Miami housing bust. We should be bringing back industry (clean 2009 green type stuff at least) and giving them tax breaks to operate to diversify our economy as a hedge during bad times.

Lofts? Are you kiddin me? Aim for smart development. The whole city doesnt have to be a copy of soho!

I would like to see the Grand Concourse become what it was during its glory days. Housing affordable for the common man. Shops owned by local people. Not a poor man's soho/village with the vibrant psuedoculture that engulfs much of Manhattan.

I don't even know if that area can bridge the gap to become a true yuppie neighborhood, since downward pressure on prices is bringing people closer to Manhattan, and will continue to do so as the prices slide. Why would someone buy in a transitional area of an outer borough that will be the last to rise and first to fall when they can get in on a more convenient and established area that will be the first to rise when real estate picks up? If you could buy a unit for $50-$100k, perhaps that would be a decent way to bring new people into the area, but not at top dollar.

I think that the SoHo comment is puffery by the powers that be to get buzz around the project. There's no way that luxury retailers and high end art galleries are going to flock to that stretch of The Concourse, not for many years. Even then, unless it becomes a destination, the market would not support higher end shops and the like.

SoHo was a natural, between Midtown and Lower Manhattan, so was uniquely positioned to turn into the neighborhood we now have in NYC. The same proximity does not exist in The Bronx, so I agree with DITC that it would be a pseudo-SoHo. Merely converting an industrial area to mixed use does not necessarily set the stage for another SoHo, but it makes for a good sound byte to allude to the possibility.

[Moderate Guy]

I understand SoBroGuy's enthusiasm for the South Bronx but the above posters have helped put that into context of the status quo economic climate in the city and one must temper one's exuberance . To do otherwise would be to set oneself up for a major letdown.

I do agree, however, that that area is long overdue for some mixed-use infrastructural changes.

[Rachael84]

Originally Posted by StrugglingMusician91

They don't seem to have enough money to keep 15,000 teacher employed but they can turn the Bronx into condoburg. Very upsetting.

I know, very true and sad. But yet the mayor will spend the money on 2 new baseball stadiums that we don't even need.

The south Bronx may look more appealing to the eye, but crime will soar if us city employees (especially cops) are laid off

[A_Better_Bronx_2morrow]

Originally Posted by SobroGuy

City just announced that it is rezoning the Lower Grand Concourse, from E.149th St. and the Major Deegan Expressway, and Morris Ave. to the Harlem River, basically a huge 30 block swath: "The Department of City Planning's rezoning proposal aims to leverage the area's waterfront and proximity to the 2, 4, 5 and 6 subway lines to create a bustling neighborhood of lofts, affordable housing, shops, hotels and recreation." The proposal includes a plan to create a waterfront park along the Harlem River between E.144th St. and E. 146th St., and improve public access to the river to create nearly 5.7 acres of open waterfront space. This is the kind of change that is happening in the South Bronx...nothing less than EXTRAORDINARY! Go BRONX! Lower Concourse lift: City mapping grand plan to remake gritty Bx. swath into vibrant mecca

Thank god! Yes, the Bronx is way overdue for construction projects like these. For decades, the Bronx has been the "FORGOTTEN BOROUGH", neglected by investors and developers.

Investors are now smartning up and realizing that the Bronx has alot of POTENTIAL in real estate APPRECIATION while other boroughs in the city have pretty much maxed out.

If this project does go through, I see a BIG positive change over the years in quality of life issues. The Bronx will FINALLY appear to look MORE DESIRABLE as oppose to runned down like its been for decades.

Perception is EVERYTHING. Perception is a great tool that can help convince more affluet people to move into the Bronx so we can FINALLY get some diversity in the Bronx instead of just having low income people take over the borough with no significant growth.

THE BRONX REALLY NEEDS THIS.