There was a lot of buzz this April when the luxurious new $1.5 billion Yankee Stadium opened in the Bronx. The facility sets a new standard for stadium opulence with a high-end steakhouse, a glass-enclosed sports bar, $2,500 a game seats and other over-the-top amenities. There's now a debate as to whether the team priced out some of its fans in the process and whether the stadium will deliver the economic boost the borough was aiming for.
A stone's throw away from the ballpark, however, a lower profile project is coming online that, ultimately, may end up being a much greater boon to the Bronx. There, on the site of the historic Bronx Terminal Market, New York-based Related Cos.' Gateway Center at Bronx Terminal Market is now 85 percent open.
The LEED-certified, $500 million retail complex is one of the largest private investments ever in the Bronx and will create 2,900 construction jobs and 2,100 permanent jobs. It may also spur other development around the site, extending its economic impact. The project is noteworthy for other reasons as well as it will bring big-box tenants within spitting distance of Manhattan and provide convenient shopping to New York residents that previously may have needed to drive great distances to access similar retailers.
The one-million-square-foot complex sits directly adjacent to the Major Deegan Highway and includes retailers as Target, Home Depot, BJ’s, Best Buy, Marshalls, Bed Bath & Beyond and Staples. The big-box tenants are vertically stacked in a plan offers each tenant dedicated parking fields on the same level of each store in an interlocking structure. There is also small-shop space in a series of buildings adjacent to the power center. Overall, the project is more than 90 percent leased.
Retail Traffic editor-in-chief David Bodamer recently sat down with Glenn A. Goldstein, president of Related Retail, to discuss the project. Related Retail is one the largest developers of ground-up large format shopping centers. Since 1993, Related has been developing category-dominant shopping centers in urban and suburban areas, incorporating major retailers in attractive, pedestrian-friendly environments. Related Retail is the retail development division of Related Companies.
Related Retail has completed several large-scale retail destinations including College Point Retail Center, a 330,000 square foot shopping center in College Point, Queens, New York, Clifton Commons, a 450,000 square foot retail and entertainment complex in Clifton New Jersey, The Hub Office and Retail Complex in Bronx, New York, a 172,000 square foot office and retail development, and Gateway Center, a 640,000 square foot retail complex in East New York, Brooklyn, New York.
Built in 1920, the Bronx Terminal Market at one time was one of the largest Hispanic food wholesale operations in the country with more than 100 tenants and 1,000 employees. Over the years, it declined until its nine remaining deteriorating buildings were occupied by fewer than 30 wholesalers. The disinvestment contributed to high crime rates in the neighborhood. In 2004, Related entered into an agreement with the City of New York and New York City Economic Development Corporation to redevelop the property with a mix of newly-constructed buildings, a 2,600 spot parking garage located within one of the original structures and a nine-acre public park along the Harlem River. Construction started in 2006. The City worked successfully with many of the wholesalers to help them relocate in the neighborhood, in Hunts Point and elsewhere in New York City. As part of the Gateway Center project, Related is restoring the Prow Building at the corner of East 149th Street and River Avenue in an effort to preserve the history of the old Terminal Market. The video features footage of the project shortly before many of the stores opened.