No date for new Arthur Avenue hotel
BY ROBBIE SEQUEIRA
No timeline has been set
for construction of a hotel
and affordable housing project
in Belmont — which will
see a 145-room hotel on 188th
Street and Arthur Avenue and
a 7-story, 56-unit residential
building on 188th Street and
Hughes Avenue — despite the
proposal’s rezoning request
receiving the green light from
various city boards and offi -
cials.
According to city documents,
construction is expected
to be completed in a
single phase, however an offi
cial completion date has not
been confi rmed.
Developer Harry Bajraktari
of Bajraktari Management
Corporation applied to
rezone the proposed development
area from residential to
mixed residential and commercial,
which was approved
by Community Board 6 and
New York City Planning Commission
in January and April,
respectively.
The planning board’s motion
of approval was adopted
by New York City Council in
May, and it successfully made
it past the Mayor’s Offi ce last
month.
“We don’t have any updates
on construction or when that’s
going to start for this project
right now,” Gani Bajraktari,
construction and energy
manager of Bajraktari Management
Corporation told the
Bronx Times.
The site is currently home
to low-density residential and
commercial buildings and a
funeral home, which will be
demolished to pave the way for
the project. According to city
documents, neither of the residential
units are currently
rent stabilized, and the commercial
tenants are being assisted
in relocating.
The fi rst building in the
plans is the 13-story hotel on
the corner of Arthur Avenue
and E. 188th Street. The hotel
would have 146 hotel rooms,
outdoor amenity space and
128 accessory parking spaces.
There will also be retail space
on the ground fl oor.
In addition to an undetermined
timeline for construction
and completion, a
hotel operator has not been
contracted for the hotel site.
25%OFF
BRONX TIMES REPORTER, J 2 ULY 16-22, 2021 BTR
Additionally, approximately
156 total parking
spaces would be added to 2450
Arthur Ave.
The second building, adjacent
to the hotel is a 56-unit
complex, with 17 units permanently
affordable under Mandatory
Inclusionary Housing
(MIH) Workforce Option 4,
which requires a building to
set aside 30% of its units for affordable
housing.
Rent pricing for the building
could be between 70%-
130% of the average median
income, with studios ranging
from $1,307 to $2,501 and up
to three-bedroom apartments
ranging from $1,923 to $3,697.
The building will also feature
six studios, 24 one-bedroom
apartments, 20 twobedroom
apartments and six
three-bedroom apartments.
Developers and local business
leaders have touted the hotel
as a tourist attraction that
will generate revenue for Bronx
staples such as Little Italy, the
New York Botanical Garden
and would fi ll a need for “highquality”
Bronx hotel and lodging.
The development area is located
near landmarks such as
the Bronx Zoo, the Botanical
Garden, Fordham University,
St. Barnabas Hospital, Montefi
ore Medical Center and Arthur
Avenue, the Bronx’s “Little
Italy.”
“There’s a lack of quality
of full-service hotels throughout
the Bronx and extremely
limited hotel options near the
Belmont neighborhood,” said
Aaron Bouska, vice president
of the New York Botanical
Garden, during the March 3
NYC Planning Commission
meeting. “Arthur Avenue,
however, is a strategic location
for a hotel given its location at
the heart of Little Italy … in
proximity to the academic and
cultural attractions that welcome
people from around the
corner and across the globe as
one of these neighborhood institution.”
The project has recieved
pushback from Belmont residents,
who raised issues over
transparency at the Community
Board 6’s Jan. 6 ULURP
public hearing.
Rendering of the affordable housing and hotel project slated for Arthur
Avenue. Courtesy of Bajraktari Management Corporation
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