Gifford Miller, a partner at Signature Urban Properties, and a rendering of the Bronx development
A massive $350 million mixed-use development project in the Bronx —
one of the largest private rezonings proposed for that borough in
decades — received the final green light in the city’s Urban Land Use
Review Process earlier this month.
The proposal calls for the creation of ten mixed-use buildings
comprising 1325 housing units and 46,000 square feet of retail
space that will be built in Crotona Park East and West Farms on a
five-acre former industrial plot adjacent the Sheridan Expressway. The developer, Manhattan-based
Signature Urban Properties, is projecting that 663 homes would be set
aside as affordable housing.
Gifford Miller, former Speaker of the New York City Council who is now
a partner at Signature Urban Properties, said the project is expected
to take seven years to build so projections on where the market will
be upon completion is difficult to determine.
“It is hard for us to
know what the financing will be but we are committed to providing
affordable housing and that has been part of our business plan from
day one. The reality is that in this area market rents are not
substantially higher than affordable rentals,” he said.
As part of the deal, Signature will be donating a site within the
footprint of the project for an elementary school, a playground and
two landscaped public spaces.
According to a press release, the majority of the capital for the
project is being provided by New York City-based GTIS Partners, a
global real estate investment firm.
The New York City Council voted 43 to 1 in favor of the plan Oct. 5.