Members of the City Council’s Bronx delegation, at a public hearing, said they opposed the project because the developer would not agree to a living wage provision for armory workers. On December 14, 2009, the City Council denied Related Companies’ redevelopment plan for the long-vacant Kingsbridge Armory in the northwest Bronx. Under the proposal, Related would have built a four-story structure within the armory providing 500,000 sq.ft. of commercial space, 27,000 sq.ft. of community facility space, 30,000 sq.ft. of open space, and a sub-level parking garage. To facilitate the $300 million project, the proposal included applications to dispose of the City-owned armory and to rezone the area from an R6 district to a C4-4 commercial use district.

At the City Planning Commission’s hearing, members of the Kingsbridge Armory Redevelopment Alliance (KARA), a coalition of nineteen Bronx community groups, and a representative of Bronx Borough President Ruben Diaz Jr. expressed concerns about the project’s impact on the community. They requested that Related sign a community benefits agreement guaranteeing a living wage provision that would provide employees with a salary of at least $10 an hour with benefits, or $11.50 an hour without benefits. The owners of a nearby supermarket chain claimed that a potential new supermarket within the armory would hurt the local markets in the area. (read more…)

City Planning Commission approved Related Companies’ Kingsbridge Armory plan,with four Commissioners voting against proposal. On October 19, 2009, the City Planning Commission approved Related Companies’ proposal to redevelop the landmarked Kingsbridge Armory in northwest Bronx. The plan is a result of the combined efforts of the EDC and the Kingsbridge Armory Task Force, which was established by the City in 2006 to facilitate the development of the vacant building.

Related’s proposal includes building a four-story structure within the armory’s 180,000 sq.ft. drill hall, leaving its landmarked exterior unaltered. Combined with the armory’s three basement levels, this would create seven levels of usable space. The project would provide 500,000 sq.ft. of commercial and retail space, including a movie theater and fitness facility. It would also provide 27,000 sq.ft. of community facility space, 30,000 sq.ft. of public open space, and approximately 400 sub-level accessory parking spaces. (read more…)