The long-awaited redevelopment of the Kingsbridge Armory has some community members excited about the future of the Bronx neighborhood.

After three decades of sitting empty, the Armory is one step closer to getting a major overhaul. The official public review process began with a hearing at the local community board meeting on Tuesday night.


What You Need To Know

  • After three decades of sitting empty, the Kingsbridge Armory in the Bronx is one step closer to getting a major overhaul, as the official public review process began with a hearing at the local community board meeting on Tuesday night

  • Ahead of the hearing, an agreement was announced between the Northwest Bronx Community and Clergy Coalition — a nonprofit organization that’s been pushing for the redevelopment — and the developers picked by the city, which gives the community group 20% ownership of the landmark

  • Phase one of the project includes a mixed-use development of sports fields for local youth academies, cultural and commercial space. Phase two includes 450 units of permanently affordable rental housing adjacent to the armory

  • The project still has to go through more steps, including a City Council review, but developers hope construction can begin in 2027

Ahead of the hearing, an agreement was announced between the Bronx nonprofit organization that’s been pushing for the redevelopment for decades and the developers picked by the city.

With chants like, “Whose Bronx? Our Bronx,” community members, including local workers, took to the steps of the Kingsbridge Armory to voice their support.

It gives the Northwest Bronx Community and Clergy Coalition 20% ownership of the landmark. The group will now own 125,000 of the 570,000-square-foot space.

Most will go to Bronx-based small businesses, and some of it will be used as a hub for workforce development and entrepreneurship programs.

“This agreement affirms what we’ve always known to be true. The people who live here, the people who work here, who raise their families here, who have rebuilt this borough time and again have the right to shape its future and to benefit from the growth that comes with it,” Sandra Lobo, executive director of the Northwest Bronx Community and Clergy Coalition, said.

Phase one of the project includes a mixed-use development of sports fields for local youth academies, cultural and commercial space. Phase two includes 450 units of permanently affordable rental housing adjacent to the armory.

“It feels fantastic. It feels awesome. Do you see all that? Do you hear all that? It’s awesome. And it’s power. This is called [people's] power,” D’Andre Penn, a volunteer with the Northwest Bronx Community and Clergy Coalition, said.

Officials say the project, dubbed “El Centro Kingsbridge,” is expected to create 3,000 construction jobs and 360 permanent jobs — and over the next 30 years, generate nearly $2.6 billion in economic impact.

Tafadar Sourov is a construction worker who was raised in the neighborhood.

“It’s exciting. People are seeing the future in front of them. It’s right there, it’s within reach and we’re so happy to get this over the finish line. We’re gonna go in there and testify today. And we’re gonna create these opportunities for our neighbors and our communities over here,” Sourov, who is with Laborers Local 79, said.

The city, state and federal governments are putting up $215 million for the project. The project still has to go through more steps, including a City Council review, but developers hope construction can begin in 2027, with the goal of finishing by 2032.