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For Leasing or other information, contact:

Fred Connolly
Cell:     917 693 5676
Office: 718 230 3700

Email: connolly.fred@gmail.com

A developer is working to redevelop a Bronx courthouse as a mixed-use complex while still maintaining its turn-of-the-century charm. NY1's Shazia Khan filed the following report.
For developer Henry Weinstein, the old Bronx courthouse on 161 Street and Third Avenue, was love at first sight.

“Just look at it! It's a wonderful building,” exclaimed developer Henry Weinstein.

The lofty temple of justice served the borough until it was abandoned in the late 1970s and left for ruin. Inside, remnants like cracked marble stairs and broken stained glass offer a window into the courthouse's glory days.

The long-time neighborhood advocacy group, Nos Quedamos, instrumental in the renaissance of the Melrose section of the South Bronx, fought to acquire the now-landmarked property, but the Giuliani administration put it up for sale.

In 1998, Weinstein purchased the courthouse in a real estate auction.

“We've spent probably more than a million dollars doing demolition, plans, and putting in gas, electric, water, and all the necessary utilities,” he said.

A wide range of tenants, from fitness clubs to banks to food vendors, has expressed interest in the more than 80,000 square foot property, spread out across six levels. Weinstein says there have been many false starts; most recently, plans for a charter school fell through. So the wait for the right anchor tenant continues.

“We could have turned it into self-storage 10 years ago when we first purchased the building, but we didn't feel that it was an appropriate use for such a beautiful structure,” Weinstein said.

Bringing a turn-of-the-century building into the new millennium has its fair share of challenges, especially when dealing with a building of the courthouse’s size.

With its landmark status, the exterior of the courthouse must remain intact; however, there are no construction restrictions inside. Weinstein says he is offering build-to-suit or lease as-is at or below market prices.

And with the near completion of the adjacent Boricua village, which includes a college campus, affordable housing and retail space, Weinstein hopes it will increases interest in his property.

“We are very anxious to see something happen here,” Weinstein said.

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Historic Bronx Borough Courthouse: Alive Again!

“The Borough Courthouse, completed in 1915, had once been the center of civic life in the Bronx. Known in the neighborhood as the “Grey Lady”, it had been part of a complex of government buildings in the area that have long since been torn down…”

Adaptive reuse makes retail, office, feasible in the midst of 2000+ new apts/condos/co-ops built in or currently under construction.
Be part of the rebirth of this Bronx icon.

CLICK Here for more Pictures

82,000 Sq Ft As Is….
125,000 buildable SF, with mezzanines, after renovation.
161st Street , Brooks Avenue and 3rd Avenue, Bronx, NY.
New Water + Sprinkler Mains installed
New Electric Service installed.
Empty underground service tubes installed for future Cat 5/FO Service.

Boricua Village, a mixed use development containing retail, 700+ dwelling units and a new campus for Boricua College (2400 students) is opening this summer, 2010. Boricua Village is located adjacent to the Courthouse, to the Northwest.
3 Blocks from Courtland Gardens, 323 apartments + Retail.
1 Block from St Ann’s Terrace, 600 Apartments + Retail. CPC Resources, The Briarwood Organization and The Bridge have been chosen to develop a 260-unit affordable housing development in the South Bronx that is designed for LEED Silver certification. The mixed-use project will include low- to moderate-income family housing, subsidized senior housing, studios for a variety of populations, and 27,500 square feet of retail space.
The project site represents one of the last large city-owned tracts of land in the Melrose Commons North Urban Renewal Area (URA), the same neighborhood that became notorious for massive private-sector disinvestment and arson during the 1970s. Under the auspices of the City of New York’s Department of Housing Preservation and Development (HPD), 2,743 dwelling units have already been built or are currently under construction within the Melrose Commons URA. HPD Commissioner Rafael E. Cestero announced the selection of the developers late last month,
as well as development teams for two other sites in the URA. 
“Anyone who comes to the South Bronx can see the bricks and mortar evidence of our serious, ongoing commitment to the rebirth of this community and to the families who are most in need of quality affordable housing. With the development of the Melrose Commons North sites we are moving to complete the transformation of this area of the South Bronx and creating a thriving neighborhood of new affordable and mixed-income housing, new commercial enterprise, and new opportunities,”
said HPD Commissioner Rafael E. Cestero.

3 Blocks from Metro North Station, site of 775
Approved Rental units under development now.
(See above map/neighborhood overview....Click to enlarge)

For Leasing or other information, contact Fred Connolly
C: 917 693 5676        Email: connolly.fred@gmail.com

 

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