Bloomberg Announces Redevelopment of Empty Bronx Site

Calling it “the most talked-about empty building in the Bronx,” New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg announced on Thursday an initiative to redevelop the site of the Kingsbridge Armory.

In his state of the city speech at Morris High School Campus in the Bronx, Bloomberg confirmed that the city is releasing a request for proposals for a new operator of the armory, vacant for 15 years.

Two years ago, borough President Ruben Diaz Jr. and other Bronx leaders led the charge to defeat a proposal by Related Cos. to build a mall in Kingsbridge, located in the neighborhood by that name. Diaz and union officials objected to a refusal by the developer to guarantee a “living wage” for workers, prompting the City Council to reject the proposal and then override the mayor veto.

Diaz has since pulled back on his living-wage insistence, though the council is debating a bill requiring companies that receive large subsidies from the city to pay a workers a minimum of $10 per hour with benefits or $11.50 without benefits.

“We’re putting aside our differences to do what’s best for the city, and that’s what leadership is about,” Bloomberg said Thursday at a gathering that resembled a pep rally, replete with Salsa music and Irish dancers. “It’s not about a series of running arguments — it’s about getting things done.”

New York State’s minimum wage is $7.25 per hour and Bloomberg in his speech called on state lawmakers to increase it to $8.25 per hour, to match Connecticut’s.

Six months ago, a task force chaired by Diaz and council member Fernando Cabrera that included Marlene Cintron, president of the Bronx Overall Economic Development Corp., and Kathryn Wylde, president and chief executive of the Partnership for New York City, outlined several possible uses for the armory site. In the report, a New York University team developed three financial models for the redevelopment: a sports, wellness and entertainment center, a sustainable food industry center and a film studio.

According to the NYU team, in any scenario, a 30-year maturity tax-exempt bond with a 4.51% interest rate would be issued to cover capital costs. Fitch Ratings and Standard & Poor’s assign a AA to the city’s general obligation bonds. Moody’s Investors Service rates them Aa2.

“The assumption underlying all three scenarios is that New York City government retains ownership of the building and partners with a developer or management company to operate the space. In these scenarios, capital costs would be assumed by the city but passed through in the form of rent over a period of time,” the study said.

The building opened in 1918 to host the Eighth Regiment Armory, and was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1982.

When the National Guard vacated the building in 1996, New York City assumed the title from the state.

Recent proposals for the location have ranged from a velodrome for bicyclists to a hockey rink.

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