Developer requested rezoning in order to build 68 units of affordable rental units in south central Bronx. On September 13, 2010, the City Planning Commission approved High Hawk LLC’s rezoning proposal to facilitate the development of an affordable housing project in the Crotona Park East section of the Bronx. The proposal would rezone a triangular block, bounded by East 174th Street, Hoe Avenue, and Boston Road, from C8-3 to R7-1 with a C2-4 commercial overlay. The block is occupied by a 16,876 sq.ft. parking lot owned by High Hawk, a three-story office building, and two low-rise retail buildings. High Hawk would replace the parking lot with an eight-story building providing 10,000 sq.ft of community facility space, 9,473 sq.ft. of ground floor retail space, and 68 rental units for low-income residents.

Bronx Community Board 3 supported the plan. Bronx Borough President Ruben Diaz Jr. also supported the rezoning, but expressed concerns about the the proposed building’s apartments. Diaz recommended that the developer reconfigure the “woefully small” apartments which, according to Diaz, included 385 sq.ft. studios, 590 sq.ft. one-bedroom units, 725 sq.ft. two-bedroom units, and 987 sq.ft. three-bedroom units. (read more…)