The Sisters Servants of Mary convent in the Country Club neighborhood of the Bronx is in the process of being sold and redeveloped into a three-story apartment building with eighty-two units and eighty-two parking spaces.
While the city’s Automated City Register Information System has not listed documents indicating the sale has been finalized, the permit lists Steven Westreich, president of Westbridge Realty Group, as the new property owner of the 58,000-square-foot site.
The Bronx Times previously reported in 2023 that the convent closed due to a lack of new members joining the order, part of a broader decline in vocations nationwide.
Sister Elizabeth Miles from the Kansas City location of Servants of Mary, Ministers to the Sick — the national name for the Sisters Servants of Mary — confirmed that that the property is in the process of being sold and that most of the sisters had moved out of the convent, with the exception of a few sisters who oversee the property.
According to the city’s zoning map, the site is located in an R3-1 zoning district, which allows semi-attached and detached single- and two-family homes. R3-1 is the lowest-density residential zoning designation in New York City, raising questions about whether the proposed three-story development complies with current zoning regulations.
Matt Cruz, district manager for Community Board 10, which covers Co-op City, City Island, Throggs Neck, Zerega, Westchester Square, Pelham Bay and Waterbury Lasalle, said he first learned of the development through the city’s weekly permit filings and alerted residents.
“My concern is that 82 apartments could mean several hundred people. I deemed that significant enough for me to alert the community,” Cruz said.
Cruz said he has reached out to the Department of City Planning to confirm whether the permit complies with zoning requirements but has not yet received a response.
If the development requires a rezoning, the developer would be required by the Uniform Land Use Review Process to present its plans to the community board, which would vote to approve or reject the application. While the community board’s vote is advisory, its recommendation can influence decisions by the borough president and the Department of City Planning, the latter of which has final authority over zoning changes.
The permit currently lists the project as “as-of-right,” meaning it would not require community or city review. Regardless of whether a rezoning is required, Cruz said he has invited Westbridge Realty Group to voluntarily present its plans to Community Board 10 but has not heard back.
The Bronx Times contacted Westbridge Realty Group multiple times for comment prior to publication but was told that parties familiar with the project were out of the country.
It remains unclear whether the apartments would be offered at market-rate rents or if a portion of the units would be designated as affordable housing. Regardless, the scale of the development has raised concerns among Country Club residents and nearby institutions.
Karin O’Connor, who has served as chair of the Board of Trustees at Villa Maria Academy for the past two years, said she learned of the permit filing through a real estate website. The Catholic elementary school is located adjacent to the convent property.
“We want to be a good neighbor to whoever purchases the property, but we also want them to be a good neighbor to us,” O’Connor said. ”We feel that this development is out of character for the neighborhood and could cause congestion and strain existing infrastructure.”
O’Connor said she is particularly concerned that the scale of the project could affect traffic, sanitation, and safety around the school. She said Villa Maria Academy staff have already begun conversations with the developers and hopes to continue discussions to address those concerns.
“The safety and security of our children and our families at the Villa is our first priority,” O’Connor said.
Westbridge Realty Group is a Riverdale-based real estate investment firm that has bought or sold more than 300 properties since its inception in 2015, according to its website. The firm also operates Westorchard Management, a property management subsidiary.
Reach Marina Samuel at msamuel@schnepsmedia.com. For more coverage, subscribe to our newsletter and follow us on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram!
