The Bronx Hub was named the recipient of a prominent development award.
Governor Cuomo announced on Wednesday, September 20, that the Bronx Civic Center neighborhood will receive $10 million in funding and investments as the New York City winner of the second round of the Downtown Revitalization Initiative.
As in the first round of the DRI, one downtown from each of the state’s 10 regional economic development regions is selected as that region’s DRI winner and will benefit from $10 million in state investment to revitalize the area, according to Cuomo’s office.
The state goal targets $100 million in funding and investments to help communities identify catalytic downtown projects to boost the local economy.
“Downtown revitalization is critical to strengthening our communities, driving business growth, and attracting and retaining the next generation of leaders in New York,” Cuomo said.
These investments in the Bronx will establish a foundation for growth throughout the region and provide stronger communities for generations, according to Cuomo.
The Bronx Civic Center neighborhood includes the area bounded by 144th Street on the south, 165th Street on the north, the Harlem River on the west and St. Ann’s Avenue/East-Third Avenue on the east.
Weighing the award’s eight criteria, the New York City Regional Economic Development Council reviewed the Bronx proposal for downtown revitalization, together with the proposals from other participant communities from the New York City region, before recommending the Bronx Civic Center neighborhood as its nominee for winner:
• The downtown should be compact, with well-defined boundaries;
• The municipality, or the downtown’s catchment area, should be of sufficient size to support a vibrant, year-round downtown;
• The downtown is able to capitalize on prior or catalyze future private and public investment in the neighborhood and its surrounding areas;
• There should be recent or impending job growth within, or in close proximity to the downtown that can attract workers to the downtown, support redevelopment and make growth sustainable;
• The downtown must be an attractive and livable community for diverse populations of all ages, including existing residents, millennials and skilled workers;
• The municipality should already embrace or have the ability to create and implement policies that increase livability and quality of life, including the use of local land banks, modern zoning codes and parking standards, complete streets plans, energy efficient projects, green jobs, and transit-oriented development;
• The municipality should have conducted an open and robust community engagement process resulting in a vision for downtown revitalization and a preliminary list of projects and initiatives that may be included in a DRI strategic investment plan;
• The municipality has identified transformative projects that will be ready for implementation with an infusion of DRI funds within the first one to two years.
The Bronx Civic Center neighborhood second-round DRI win entitles the area to benefit from $10 million in state funding and investments that will revitalize the area and generate new opportunities for long-term growth.
The Bronx Civic Center neighborhood now joins Jamaica, Queens, which was the New York City region’s winner in the first DRI round.
