The Year in Development: Hope and Intrigue at Kingsbridge Armory ...

December 26, 2012 at 6:49 AM

By Alex Kratz

Members of the Kingsbridge Armory Redevelopment Alliance rally for responsible redevelopment this past summer. (Photo by Adi Talwar)

Hope for the redevelopment of the Kingsbridge Armory, the largest armory in the world and one of the northwest Bronx?s most fascinating and potential-filled pieces of undeveloped property, was resurrected in 2012.

In his annual State of the City address, held in the Bronx last January, Mayor Bloomberg announced that the city would release another request for proposals (RFP) for the Armory.

The announcement marked a sharp turnaround from two years prior when the City Council, backed by Bronx Borough President Ruben Diaz Jr. and the community-led Kingsbridge Armory Redevelopment Alliance, voted down a proposal to turn the Armory into a shopping mall. After the vote, the mayor said he couldn?t see the Armory being developed in the ?foreseeable future.?

But momentum was building for a new Armory project. Diaz had formed a star-studded Armory Task Force to explore development options, which yielded lots of ideas, but little in terms of solid financing.

Then along came Kevin Parker, a former Deutsche Bank executive and Long Island hockey enthusiast, who put together a group of investors who wanted to turn the Armory into the world?s largest ice sports complex. They enlisted big name ice sports stars in New York Rangers hockey legend Mark Messier and Olympic figure skater Sarah Hughes to back their project and installed a youth component modeled after a successful inner-city program in Philadelphia. And perhaps more importantly, they said they would finance the project without taxpayer assistance.

The potential of Parker?s project, now known as the Kingsbridge Armory National Ice Center, allowed the city, and its Economic Development Corporation, to issue the RFP just days after Bloomberg?s January announcement.

Though the ice project was widely considered the front-runner, an alternative emerged out of the RFP process. It came from Young Woo & Associates, the cutting edge design firm that created the successful Chelsea Market. The proposal envisioned the Armory as a futuristic town square type of market that would include recreational, entertainment, retail and business incubator components.

The project evolved over the spring and summer months to include the promise of a youth basketball program run by the Bronx-based New York Gauchos and the inclusion of the nation?s first Hip Hop Museum with backing from the Afrika Bambaataa, the Zulu Nation and other Bronx hip hop pioneers. Young Woo has also said it would finance the project on its own.

Both groups have said they would create at least 175 living wage jobs ($10 an hour plus benefits or $11.50 an hour without benefits), with Young Woo saying it would create a total of 900 permanent jobs. Both would offer an exciting alternative to another shopping mall.

In late August, Diaz and a handful of other Bronx politicians, including State Senator Gustavo Rivera (who lives two blocks from the Armory) and Councilman Oliver Koppell (who wanted the Armory to be an ice center 15 years ago), voiced their strong support for the ice complex, which would include nine Olympic-sized rinks and a 5,000-seat arena. Councilman Fernando Cabrera, who represents the area surrounding the Armory, decided not to take a position on which project he preferred.

The rumor was that the EDC would be making its decision between the two competing groups in a matter of weeks or by the end of September. But as of Dec. 18, the city still had not chosen a winner for the Armory project and it was not on the agenda for the EDC?s final executive committee meeting of the year, scheduled for Wednesday, Dec. 19.

The EDC is reportedly in negotiations with both developers, which could be the cause of the holdup. In the meantime, another ice center proposal is making headway just a few miles upstate in Rye Brook, which could eat into the Armory ice center?s earning potential.

The clock is ticking. Once a project is chosen, it must pass through the city?s exhaustive land use review process (ULURP), which could take a year or more. By then, we could have a new mayor and a new Council Speaker and all bets would be off.

Editor?s note: This article was originally published in the Dec. 27, 2012-Jan. 9 2013 print edition of the Norwood News. It?s one of several article recapping the top stories of 2012.

Comments

Source: http://www.norwoodnews.org/id=9999&story=the-year-in%E2%80%88development-hope-and-intrigue-at-kingsbridge-armory/

Jordan Pruitt real housewives of new jersey Kanye West sex tape emmys emmys torrey smith torrey smith