Developer obtained rezoning in order to build a ten-story tower on top of a three-story medical facility currently under construction. On June 29, 2010, the City Council approved Sean Daneshvar’s rezoning proposal to facilitate the development of a thirteen-story building at 621 East Fordham Road in the Belmont section of the Bronx. The site is occupied by a one-story medical facility that Daneshvar is currently enlarging to three stories pursuant to a BSA variance. The lot’s southern two-thirds is zoned C8-1, while the northern portion is zoned R6. Daneshvar requested that the City extend the R6 district to include the lot and apply a C2-4 overlay in order to build a ten-story residential tower on top of the three-story medical building. The thirteen-story project would provide 58 market- rate units, 22,800 sq.ft. of ground floor retail space, and a 134-space underground garage with an entrance on Hughes Avenue. The surrounding area is characterized by a range of residential, commercial, and institutional uses, including the nearby 29-story Keith Plaza Apartments and Fordham University’s Rose Hill Campus.

Bronx Borough President Ruben Diaz Jr. supported the project on the condition that Daneshvar promise to build the underground garage and provide an alternate garage entrance along the site’s western edge on Belmont Avenue. Daneshvar owns a 96-space parking lot across the street from the site, and Diaz requested that the lot remain available for the project’s accessory use. (more…)