6
BRONX TIMES REPORTER, APRIL 1-7, 2022 BXR
BY ROBBIE SEQUEIRA
Mott Haven is one of the Bronx’s poorest
and environmentally compromised
communities, but its status as one of
NYC’s last untapped waterfront communities
has led to a development boom in
the area.
As a result, the neighborhood is now
teeming with large-scale residential developments,
with more on the way as 20
residential projects and more than 5,000
combined apartments are expected to be
constructed over the next few years.
Director of B6 Real Estate Advisors
Mitchel Flaherty, one of the most active
brokers in the Bronx real estate who has a
$10.9 million listing at 338-344 Grand Concourse,
said that investment in Mott Haven
is becoming a goldmine opportunity
for new affordable housing ventures.
Flaherty told the Bronx Times that
prospective tenants can take advantage
of the site’s proximity to the MTA’s 4 and
5 lines, the uptick in commercial activity
in the area and having a chance to “plant
their flag” on one of the last high-scale
development projects available in Mott
Haven. Flaherty estimates it will take
roughly 2 to 3 years for the project to be
fully developed and that the city’s 421a option
incentivizes a developer to construct
a building with 80% market-rate units
and 20% income-restricted units.
Affordable housing is a need boroughwide,
particularly for the Mott Haven section.
But the influx of new apartments does
lead to fear of rising rents and gentrification.
In 2019, the district that includes Mott
Haven had a 37% poverty rate, tied with
Hunts Point for third-poorest in the NYC.
The median rent in the neighborhood at
the time was $1,000 per month. Studies suggest
although many of the new incoming
housing units will be income-restricted
via mandatory inclusionary housing, residential
development does not push up local
rents.
Thirty-somethings Samia Taylor and
Rochez Nueves have both lived in Mott Haven
since they were young children running
around on Alexander Avenue, but
have noticed that with high-scale development
comes more questions.
“Will we be priced out of here in a few
years or will that new development trickle
down to the community,” said Taylor, who
works at a pharmacy in the area. “You always
wonder who’s going to be able to afford
these properties in a few years and if
you gotta start looking over your shoulder
for who’s changing the neighborhood.”
New rezoning strategies that emphasized
residential buildings in addition to
parks and riverfront walks began in the
late 1990s but became a staple of development
Mott Haven is classified as one of the last developable waterfront areas in NYC, which has led to an
influx of attention and fears of gentrification. Photo courtesy B6 Real Estate Advisors
under mayors Michael Bloomberg
and Bill de Blasio which fueled Mott Haven’s
development over the last few years.
Last year was a strong year for Mott
Haven development as NYCHA signed a
$60 million deal for a project at the corner
of East 146th Street and Willis Avenue;
Simon Kaufman’s YS Developers
landed a $63 million construction loan
for a 151-unit development at 322 Grand
Concourse; and Brookfield Properties in
March scored a $190 million loan from
Goldman Sachs for a waterfront housing
project.
NYCHA is also inviting residents to
take a community visioning survey for a
new affordable housing project on 351 Powers
Ave.
One of NYC’s last developable waterfronts,
investment in Mott Haven continues
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