Plans for NYC’s first soccer stadium inch forward in the Bronx
Image by A.V. Flores from Pixabay
The long-anticipated plan to build a home stadium for New York City’s soccer team in the Bronx inched forward last week, the New York Times first reported. The group of developers and the New York City Football Club are close to reaching a deal with the city to bring a 25,000-seat stadium to the South Bronx as part of a $1 billion development plan that also includes a hotel, new school, and affordable housing. New York City F.C., which has been looking for a permanent home for years, currently plays games at nearby Yankee Stadium.
Via Wikimedia
Yankees president Randy Levine put the deal in motion when he brought in developer Maddd Equities. Levine offered to reduce the number of required parking spots for Yankee Stadium by 3,000, allowing Maddd Equities to purchase six parking lots in the area for $54 million. The Bronx Parking Development Corporation, which controls a majority of the lots, has continued to lose money, as fans more often take public transportation to the games. Maddd and the team will also purchase the GAL elevator factory site.
“The situation with Bronx Parking had started to seriously deteriorate and a solution had to be reached, which led to the opportunity to create an overall plan,” Levine told the Wall Street Journal.
The stadium, if approved, would replace parking lots on East 153rd Street and stretch from River Avenue to the Major Deegan Expressway. An off-ramp from the expressway would be shuttered to make way for a pedestrian walkway to a new waterfront park on the Harlem River, according to the Times. A hotel, new school, and “community-based” retail are included in the plan.
The city’s Economic Development Corporation on Friday said a formal agreement has not been reached. “A deal has not been reached, and more conversations are needed,” an EDC spokesperson said in a statement. “We are hopeful for a future where these lots can better serve the community. The first step toward achieving that is engaging the community on their needed and vision for this area.”
The approval process, which involves a rezoning application and public review, will take months. If approved, construction of the project would not begin for at least two years.
In 2018, a developer group made up of Related and Somerset Partners proposed a similar plan. The $700 million project, later scrapped, included a Rafael Viñoly-designed stadium at the site of the Harlem River Yards, a 13-acre parcel operated by the Empire State Development Corporation.
“We have been honored to call the Bronx our home for the last five years playing at Yankee Stadium, and we will keep our neighbors and our dedicated fans informed as we participate with Maddd and others in any related consultations and the public approval process,” a spokesperson from New York City F.C. said in a statement to the Times.
[Via New York Times]
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