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Signature Properties has signed on to redevelop a 5 acre swath along the Sheridan Expressway/Bronx River, in the West Farms community, adjacent to the 2/5/6 trains. This $350 million dollar redevelopment will be comprised of 10 luxury-style buildings with over 1,300 mixed income units and 46,000 sf of retail space.
This development has been 4 years in the making, and groundbreaking is set for the end of 2012. Financing is already in place for the initial 2 towers.
This is part of the total redevelopment of the Bronx River Greenway, and eventual removal of the Sheridan Expressway. The artist rendering looks impressive. This is one of the largest rezonings in the Bronx in decades. GO BRONX!
This is great news,especially for that area ,which is pretty unattractive.BUT.
I am beginning to get a bit concerned with all this development going on in various parts of The Bronx without any substantial improvements or additions to the infrastructure .The Bronx was the fastest growing borough in the city between 2000 and 2010 and it looks like that is going to continue.My CD went from a population of 115,000 in 2000 to 150,000 in 2010 There are substantially more people living in my neighborhood than ever and that's without any of this new development going on in the South Bronx. The schools are overflowing with 35 and 40 kids in a class with classes in trailers outside the school buildings,the subway platforms are packed beyond belief,yet subway service is less not more and no cops or firemen have been hired.
A lot of this is happening along the 2,5 line.They redid all the stations along the line but that doesn't solve the problem.
How many more of these "huge new residential developments" like this can we take without more schools,more subway lines and increased subway/bus service,more cops and more firemen and more teachers ?
The new development is not going to "bring" any positive effect on the communities of East Tremont/West Farms they remain the same. The new residents just live their separate lifes near the river, occasionally you might see them frightened on the 2 train. Such is life.
Last edited by Northwindsforever; 01-05-2012 at 06:06 PM..
It makes me wonder if there developing so much in the Bronx , why not in Neglected Newark? The City recently upgraded itself to handle large scale redevelopments yet they keep passing Newark for NYC. These developers usually have 2 developments proposed one in Newark and the other in NYC which usually gets built. I don't think that part of the Bronx can handle anymore residents same with LIC in Queens.
More cases of asthma will increase if they build this development on both sides of the Cross Bronx. It would have been a better idea to cover the section of the Cross Bronx and build these developments over them.
While I applaud the addition of half of these as apartments as "affordable" I think that a little more planning should have been required. Putting 10 towers on 5 acres strikes me as unnecessary overcrowding with no green space between.
(By comparison, Newport on the Jersey City waterfront is crowded and lacking sufficient park areas and consists of almost the same number of buildings, albeit taller, on 600 acres.
When building helter-skelter like most of Manhattan, you get the ass-to-elbow construction where 2 public benches are called a "public amenity" but any large "planned" community should NOT be crammed onto a small lot like this.
Actually there just now building parks for Newport , which will be located between the Newport Development and a future high rise next to Hoboken Terminal. The Jersey City Waterfront has a few parks , some aren't built or completed due to funding like the Colgate Park or Pier 35 in Harborside. If you go inland a few blocks there are tree covered plazas....older Jersey City has more parks then newer. Largest Urban Jersey park is in Newark its half the size of Central Park ,its located in the Northward which is suburb. Compared to Jersey City and NYC , Newark has alot of large parks for a city of its size and it isn't overcrowded.
This is great news. I hope this accelerates the demolition of the Sheridan Expressway, better connecting the communities on the both sides of the Bronx River. I also hope this leads to better waterfront access. I know the city likely has plans to expand the greenway from the former Hunts Point industrial facility up to Bronx Park. It only makes sense as the city enhances the waterfront city-wide.
It is great the developer is building high density, mixed zoned properties. Concerns about a lack of enhanced transit infrastructure are well warrented. I am pretty sure the Whitlock Ave stop on the 6 is under utilized but any changes on line congestion will come with the Second Ave Subway. School, we will have to look at the demographic profile of new residents. Are they families, young couples, singles? Definately a shortage of educational facilities in the area.
Yikes what a bunch of naysayers! So when they don't invest and develop, we complain and shout racism (of course), and when they do, we say "more asthma, trains will be horrible, they will not interact with the community, no park space". Are you people seriously crazy?
Is the development perfect? Heck no..which is? For those who are complaining about this development, let me break it down for you:
1. This is a large development, however it is currently an abandoned and decrepit industrial area. The community has been working towards redeveloping this into higher density mixed income housing for years. It has finally reached its goal.
3. The impact on the train system however is an issue. However, if they bring Metro-North as they plan to to the Hunts Point area, this will mitigate overcrowding.
In addition, as part of the total redevelopment of the area, the community is working towards the tear down of the Sheridan Expressway and turning that into a pedestrian/greenway linked to this development. Plan to Remove Sheridan Expressway Gains Momentum - NYTimes.com
"Removing the Sheridan would open up 13 acres of open space along the river, land that advocates want to connect with some 15 other acres of service roads and riverfront property to create 1,200 affordable housing units, commercial and industrial space, and amenities like playgrounds, swimming pools and soccer fields."
And as for Whitlock's comment, the idea that this will not improve the community is laughable. I mean really, why do you even post on city-data?
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There are substantially more people living in my neighborhood than ever and that's without any of this new development going on in the South Bronx. The schools are overflowing with 35 and 40 kids in a class with classes in trailers outside the school buildings,the subway platforms are packed beyond belief,yet subway service is less not more and no cops or firemen have been hired.
