The Bronx is getting another facelift at an industrial wasteland along the east side of the Harlem River’s waterfront.
Dynamic Star, a Connecticut- based developer founded by Gary Segal and Brad Zackson, is planning a massive $3.5 billion mixed-use, named Fordham Landing project. Five million square feet of land between the Harlem River and the Major Deegan Expressway is being planned out by architects at NADAAA and Perkins Eastman. Margie Ruddick Landscape is also involved and will focus on planning the 12.5 acres of open spaces, esplanades, playing fields as well as waterside activities such as kayaking.
As reported by the NY Post, plans are being discussed with the Department of City Planning, and still need to undergo approvals for uniform land use. Housing and commercial space are in the works, as well as big improvements for the nearby University Heights Metro-North station. The discussions also include talk of a long awaited new elementary school for K-5, south of the University Heights Bridge.
Andy Gerringer, a Marketing Director, is guiding the residential leasing and layouts of almost 2,800 units, with 30% of them to be affordable. Plans also include an approximately 700,000-square-foot Life Science Center and offices, on the north side, which ends by 193rd Street. John Reinertsen of CBRE has been selected to lease the offices, along with Steve Purpura leading the CBRE Life Science team. There will also be retail space, a hotel, a conference center and community space. Jeff Winick of Winick Realty Group will oversee the retail section. His designs include an e-sports stadium by ITEC Entertainment, with a virtual level for watching global sports. The entire project will come together sharing a new waterfront esplanade with paths for pedestrians and bikes, all connected with public Wi-Fi.
In the beginning of April, Dynamic Star announced its purchase of the site at 320 West Fordham Road for $31.5 million from the Lasala family. Other nearby sites are also being negotiated, as the Bronx continues to attract investment dollars.
Segal, a veteran union electrical contractor who in 2011 sold his company and went into residential development, pledges to build the project in phases, using all union labor, which is something almost unheard of in the Bronx. “Being a third-generation union contractor, in my opinion, unions build better, build quicker and build safer,” he said. A project labor agreement (PLA) will need to be put in place to make sure the pricing meets the Bronx spending limits.
