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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
PR- 294-03
October 21, 2003

MAYOR MICHAEL R. BLOOMBERG ANNOUNCES $53 MILLION ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT PROJECT NEAR THE BRONX HUB

Future Site Of Department Of Finance Bronx Business Center To Consolidate Services & Reduce Wait Times; Retail Stories Will Add Jobs, Shopping

Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg today announced that the Related Companies will develop a $53 million two-story project on a piece of vacant, City-owned property just north of the Bronx HUB.At the Bronxchester Site 12, the 160,000 square feet mixed-use project will house the Department of Finance’s new offices, retail space for one to three retailers, and the renovation of an unsightly parking garage.  In addition to the 225 Department of Finance employees who will work at the Bronx Business Center, the developer expects that the retail portion of the project will directly create about 200 jobs in addition to 260 construction jobs that will result from the 18 to 24 month construction period.  Bronx Borough President Adolfo Carrión, Jr., Deputy Mayor for Economic Development and Rebuilding Daniel L. Doctoroff, EDC President Andrew M. Alper, Finance Commissioner Martha E. Stark, and The Related Companies Chairman Stephen M. Ross joined the Mayor at the development site, which is located between 153rd and 156th Street on Third Avenue, north of the HUB commercial district.  Earlier this morning, Mayor Bloomberg said during his economic development address at the Association for a Better New York breakfast, that the City would do its part to facilitate economic development in every borough. 

“This project is a strong example of how our job creation and economic development strategy is creating jobs and revitalizing neighborhoods across the City,” Mayor Bloomberg said.  “By using vacant City-owned land, making targeted capital investments and creating an environment where companies want to do business, we have a project that works. It is the tip of the iceberg and a indication that we are headed in the right direction.”

Related was designated to develop the site as a result of a Request for Proposals issued by the New York City Economic Development Corporation (EDC).  In addition to the new DOF offices, Related plans to construct 66,000 square feet of retail space in a new two-story building for one to three retailers.  Related will also completely renovate the unsightly parking garage on the site that has not been fully utilized for years. An additional store will be located in 15,000 square feet of retail on the ground floor of the 273-space, three-story parking garage.  Related, which is making a $42 million investment in the site, expects that the retail portion of the project will directly create about 200 jobs in addition to 260 construction jobs that will result from the 18 to 24 month construction period. The overall project will generate $35 million in sales tax revenue for the City over 25 years. Construction is scheduled to begin in the summer of 2004. 

The move will enable the Department of Finance to reduce wait times for residents who wish to contest parking tickets, record deeds and pay bills.  Finance plans to locate 225 employees in 74,000 square feet of space on the second floor of the office/retail project to be constructed by The Related Companies LP, and estimates that the City will spend $10.4 million for tenant improvements and furniture at its new offices.  The Bronx Borough President has committed to providing $500,000 for tenant improvements as well.  The HUB, the principal shopping and business district of the South and Central Bronx, is home to national, regional and local retailers. Lincoln Hospital and a major residential development are nearby. The site is easily accessible to subway lines and bus routes, as well as the Major Deegan and Bruckner Expressways. 

In addition to parking hearings and payment windows, the Bronx Business Center will house Finance’s City Register’s Office, which provides deed recordation services through state-of-the-art technology, the Automated City Register System (ACRIS). Offices for the surveyor, the sheriff and the property division will also be located at the new site. Currently, Finance’s Bronx operations are divided between two locations, at 1400 Williams-bridge Rd. and 1932 Arthur Avenue – neither of which is convenient to mass transit or parking.  The new location, with its proximity to the No. 2 and 5 subway lines and ample parking, will make it easier for Bronx residents to conduct business with the City, in vastly improved office space that is far superior to the current spaces.

“Bronx residents are entitled to City services that are delivered efficiently and with the least amount of aggravation, and that’s exactly what this new Department of Finance business center will provide,” said Mayor Bloomberg. “After several years of planning, we’re finally going to consolidate Finance’s Bronx operations, bringing several services together under one roof and making them convenient to mass transit and parking.”

“Bronx residents will have shorter wait times to contest and pay parking tickets and pay their bills because the new facility will more than double the number of hearing rooms, from 10 to 26, and increase the number of payment windows as well,” said Finance Commissioner Stark.  “Were going to provide one-stop shopping in spacious, comfortable offices equipped with the latest technology.”

“Government sends an important message about the economic future of a community when it consolidates its offices there, as it did in Brooklyn’s Metrotech and as it does today at long last in the Bronx HUB,” said Bronx Borough President Carrion. “This development helps expand the impact of almost a billion dollars in projects currently underway in the Downtown Bronx and will be, I hope, the first such move by City, State and Federal agencies here.”

“The $53 million project will also extend the vital commercial activity of the southern part of the HUB to the north and create a bridge between the HUB and the residential area of Melrose where the Department of Housing Preservation and Development has invested heavily in revitalization,” said EDC President Alper.

“The Related Companies is excited about participating in the continued revitalization of the Bronx,” said Related Chairman Ross. “This development which is the result of a public/private partnership will serve as a long needed catalyst for the growth and stabilization of the important commercial core of the borough.”
 
This is just one of many EDC projects underway underscoring the City’s efforts to bring economic development to the boroughs.  Near the Bronxchester Site 12 location, EDC has designated Starrett Corporation and Blackacre Capital Management LLC to develop office space, a supermarket, additional retail and housing.  The project will occupy 250,000 square feet of land bounded by East 149th Street and Grove Street and Brook and Bergen Avenues, dissected by Westchester Avenue.  And earlier this month, the Mayor attended a “topping out” ceremony for the Fulton Fish Market at Hunts Point, a project that when completed in early 2005, will bring about 600 jobs to the Bronx. The City is expecting to select developers for several industrial sites in the Zerega Industrial Park and on Brush Avenue shortly, and to issue a Request for Proposals for the Kingsbridge Armory by the end of the year. 

In keeping with the Mayor’s commitment to improve waterfront access for all New Yorkers, EDC is sponsoring a project in cooperation with Sustainable South Bronx and The Point, two local community groups, to identify appropriate places for waterfront access and greenway improvements throughout the Hunts Point Peninsula in the Bronx.  EDC is also in various stages of negotiations with a number of manufacturers and developers for projects that would bring or expand business in the Bronx, provide additional retail opportunities, as well as new housing units.







MEDIA CONTACT:


Ed Skyler / Jennifer Falk   (212) 788-2958



GENERAL CONTACT:

Michael Sherman / Janel Patterson   (EDC)
(212) 312-3523


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