New construction doesn’t happen often in Hunts Point, a peninsula in the southeastern corner of the Bronx that’s starved for retail and neighborhood services. But YIMBY noticed that excavation and foundation work had started at 925 Hunts Point Avenue, a 40,000-square-foot mall planned across from the Bruckner Expressway and next to the Hunts Point Avenue 6 train stop.
Red Lobster, Deals, McDonalds, Dunkin Donuts, and Bank of America have already signed on as tenants at the commercial complex, called The Crossings, according to the developer’s website. The sea food chain will occupy 9,000 square feet and expects to employ more than 200 workers. And the local community board told the Hunts Point Express they hope it will draw more nightlife to an area where most businesses close by 6 pm.
The Crossing at 925 Hunts Point Avenue
The fast food franchises don’t exactly inspire optimism, because the neighborhood needs more healthy food options and better paying jobs. Retailers clustered nearby along 163rd Street and Southern Boulevard include fast food joints, clothing stores, cell phone stores, and a smattering of small businesses, as well as a Planet Fitness that opened towards the end of 2013. It’s hard to justify another McDonald’s when there are already two within walking distance, as Welcome2theBronx pointed out last year.
“Hunts Point residents already suffer the ultimate irony of being neighbors with the largest food distribution industrial park in the world yet have little to no access to the healthy fruits and vegetables coming out of there,” the blogger wrote. “This disparity, coupled with the plethora of fast food joints, has contributed to our neighborhoods having some of the highest rates of obesity, heart disease, and diabetes in the city.”
And the developer isn’t building anywhere near the site’s full potential. It was rezoned to encourage medium-density, mixed-use residential development in 2008, and could support at least 97,000 square feet of apartments and ground floor retail.
Syosset, N.Y.-based Blumenfeld Development Group is the developer, and Studio 5, headquartered in Glenrock, New Jersey, are the architects.
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What a waste not including the residential component. There’s an express station across the street, the 2 and 5 trains are down the block and a Metro North station coming up around the corner.
I wonder if this has the provisions to build on top at a later date?
Also no provisions for parking. This intersection has become a nightmare to navigate both on foot and in a car. It’s only gonna get worse
While I’m for the Red Lobster restaurant, I’m not for the other stores like McDonald’s, Deals, Dunkin Donuts. There are so many other cheap I and other fast food restaurants nearby. The property could just new kinds of restaurant chains like Chipotle, Starbucks, Pinkberry, Just Salad, Dig Inn. The Bronx is never going to go up then it keeps getting the same ole crap.
It makes no sense why waste time ‘money and energy just to have the same stores around the block why is anyone who lives in any other part of the Bronx going to travel all the way to southern boulevard if its most likely they have these stores across their own street. Did they not even think of the fact that evertbody has to travel far just to get to a target and those are the stores that make money because its the closest one around why don’t they stop opening the same old crap and put something that will actually bring variety and customers we don’t another discount stores or a bank or the same fast food restaurants what we need is forever 21 ,h&m,chipotle,Starbucks,areopastel,home depot,Victoria secret,Michaels,hot topic,TARGET,IKEA,panda express,frozen yorgut places ,applebeas,red robbin, dalles bbq,david busters and more southern boulevard has the potential of being the new Manhattan if we let it be !!!
I agree Natasha!! And let’s not forget a huge Holiday Inn or Raddison Hotel or Hilton, you get the drift. These companies are just plain scared to build here. But the first really big one that comes will open the floodgates for the rest. Then The Bronx will really be booming.
I think the borough president needs to talk to these big retail stores. Why are they scared to come to the bronx. Things happen in the other boroughs. They always want to put cheap things. So many cheap Furniture stores and 99 cents stores, and Cheap shoe stores. That is why people are shopping downtown. Like third avenue they can put an old navy there or American Eagle outfitter or an Aldo. There is plenty of retail space there. At least Childrens Place and Carters are there. Even Gap outlet
I would like stores like Target, CVS Pharmacy, Kmart, The Home Depot, ect. in that new building.
I was really hoping for a Chili’s I have to travel ALL the way to Queens just to go to Chili’s. We DO NOT need another Mcdonalds, when 2 locations from this are literally 3 and 5 mins away from this one in walking distance…I am VERY dissapointed with them lumping in the same old crap…why can’t we get better? Just “why?”..This place is a mess.. 🙁 Red Lobster is the only offer we have to get anything different..
Was so glad to read so many comments. I do believe this project received the most comments ever. We do have a voice and are concerned. I micknamed it walking Red Lobster because of the lack of no parking facility. Im so glad it is no longer a BP gas station. What a traffic nightmare. Use to take a hour to get across it!!!!. What a missed opportunity for a mixed use project.