Mixed-Use Development Slated for Former Juvenile Detention Center Site
The NYCEDC and the Department of Housing Preservation and Development are planning to transform the Bronx property into a campus featuring affordable housing and commercial space.
New York—The New York City Economic Development Corp. (NYCEDC) and the Department of Housing Preservation and Development are planning to transform the former Spofford Juvenile Detention Center in the Hunts Point section of the Bronx into a five-acre, mixed-use campus featuring affordable housing, commercial space and recreational space. After operating for more than 50 years, the detention facility closed in 2011.
Under the plan, the facility will be demolished and replaced with a live-work campus known as The Peninsula. The project will create about 740 units of affordable housing; 52,000 square feet of open/recreational space, including a new public plaza; 49,000 square feet of light industrial space; 48,000 square feet of community facility space (including 15,000 square feet of artist workspace); and 21,000 square feet of ground-floor retail/commercial space.
In June 2015, NYCEDC issued a request for expressions of interest to redevelop the site, with responses due October of that year. The Peninsula LLC, a joint submission by Gilbane Development Co., Hudson Cos. and Mutual Housing Association of New York, submitted the winning proposal. The development team will work on the project with such organizations as The Point Community Development Corp., Urban Health Plan, Sustainable South Bronx, The Knowledge House, Casita Maria, Rocking the Boat and BronxWorks.
Development of The Peninsula will occur in three phases, with phase I to be completed in 2021, phase II in 2022, and phase III probably in 2024. The project is within the framework of the city’s Housing New York plan, whose goal is to build or preserve 200,000 units of affordable housing in New York City by promoting mixed-use, mixed-income and healthy communities.
The campus will be comprised of a five building, three phase project that will provide affordable housing for low- and moderate-income New Yorkers. Many of the anticipated retail, commercial and industrial tenants are Bronx-based organizations operating in and around the Hunts Point area, including Il Forno Bakery, Soul Snacks, Bascom Catering, Mass Ideation, Hunts Point Brewing Com. and the Lightbox NY film studio.
The Peninsula campus will also offer community development and education resources through a higher-education space and incubator space. Specifically, the project will preserve and expand an on-site Head Start facility and add a dedicated playground, provide higher-education space that features career-readiness programming, co-working space designated for small business incubation, and technical assistance to local entrepreneurs.
There will be an 18,000-square-foot health and wellness center operated by Urban Health Plan as part of the campus. The facility will connect residents to quality primary and specialty health care services and employ emerging health-tech professionals.
