3 BRONX WEEKLY September 22, 2019 www.BXTimes.com
Hutch Metro unveils expansion
plans for newly acquired parcel
Rendings of the proposed expansion for the Hutchinson Metro Center. Empire State Development
BY ALEX MITCHELL
The new plans released for
the Hutchinson Metro Center’s
nearly three million square foot
expansion proposal would more
than double the property’s current
footprint.
The 33-acre parcel was transferred
by the Dormitory Authority
of New York State to the Empire
State Development as excess
land when Bronx Psychiatric Hospital
reduced the size of its campus
from 73 to 40 acres.
Simone Development Companies
purchased the property for
$14,959,154.92 from the ESD.
During phase I of the development,
a 133-room hotel, a bio tech
research facility and a nursing
school with housing are the key
elements that will replace the
moth-balled former Bronx Psychiatric
Center buildings situated
between the newly built Bronx
Psychiatric Center campus and
the currrent Hutch Metro Center
structures.
The hotel is rumored to be a
Hilton-branded facility, according
to sources.
The Simone Development
Companies proposal calls for demolition
of the existing two-story
Bronx Children’s Psychiatric
Building while repurposing the
existing 13- and six-story Thompson
and Parker buildings respectively.
The four surrounding little
league ball fi elds would be consolidated
into two new larger facilities
along the Hutchinson River
Parkway.
Another six buildings would
be added to the property, including
one building set aside for retail
space by 2028. An additional
4,029 garage and fi eld parking
spots would be created to serve the
site’s anticipated soaring number
of daily visitors.
The plan was well received by
those attending the information
session at nearby Albert Einstein
School of Medicine on Monday,
September 16.
“This will bring together what
the area needs,” said Bronx Chamber
of Commerce president Lisa
Sorin, who testifi ed in favor of the
major revamp at the meeting.
She explained that hundreds
of jobs would be available in the
medical and research fi eld. The
nursing college would provide
housing for students and staff
as a result of the expansion, she
added.
Sorin detailed that the fi rst
phase of the project will be completed
by 2023, to coincide with the
anticipated opening of the Morris
Park Metro North Station.
“The plan was to sync the two
projects,” Sorin explained.
Sorin said the Chamber will
meet with the NYC Department
of City Planning as well as the
Metropolitan Transportation Authority
to discuss the necessary
infrastructure improvements
that are required to make this development
a boon to the Bronx.
“A major part of making this
plan work will be new roads and
easier access to the Hutchinson
River Parkway to alleviate potential
traffi c problems,” she added,
stating that it’s up to NYC and
the state to keep up with the project
and complete the current construction
projects that surround
the Hutch Metro Center.
“It’s up to these agencies to
keep up with the rapid changes
that the Bronx is going through,
especially something like the
Hutch Metro Center proposal,”
she continued.
Another part of the project
that appealed to residents is its
proposal to add 3.9 acres of open,
public community space.
Construction is anticipated to
begin next summer.
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