The city has chosen a new development team that will once again try to transform the long-vacant Kingsbridge Armory in the Bronx.
Officials have tapped frequent real estate partners Joy Construction and Maddd Equities to spearhead the latest attempt at renovating the massive venue, according to the companies and a Tuesday morning announcement from the city. The project is dubbed El Centro Kingsbridge, and its first phase would bring amenities including an event venue, a sports fields for local schools, an educational facility geared toward workforce development and more than 25,000 square feet of community space to the armory. The second phase would bring roughly 450 units of affordable housing to the project site.
Construction should start in 2027 and finish by 2032, according to local news outlet The City, which first reported the news. The total estimated cost for the project is around $600 million, according to Joy Construction Principal Eli Weiss, although he stressed that this is a very rough approximation.
Public financing should help cover a solid portion of the total cost. Mayor Eric Adams and Gov. Kathy Hochul pledged $200 million in August 2023 to help redevelop the armory — $100 million each from the city and the state — and the effort will receive $12 million from local Councilwoman Pierina Sanchez’s office, $2 million from Bronx Borough President Vanessa Gibson’s office and about $1 million from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development as well. The city expects the project to generate more than 3,000 construction jobs, 360 permanent jobs and $2.6 billion in economic impact over the next 30 years.
The city has owned the Kingsbridge Armory since 1996, and the site has suffered through many failed redevelopment efforts over the years. The most high-profile one was likely an attempt by former New York Rangers star Mark Messier and former Deutsche Bank executive Kevin Parker to turn it into a nine-rink skating center, but they could not secure financing for the project, which ultimately fell apart.
Prior to the ice rink effort, the Bloomberg administration hoped to turn the armory into a shopping mall, but the proposal collapsed amid the Bronx City Council designation’s insistence that every job at the mall provide workers with a living wage.
The city’s Economic Development Corp. released its request for proposals for the armory in September. Requirements were very broad overall, but it did specify that projects needed to include at least 25,000 square feet of space for community groups, preserve the building’s landmarked exterior and be environmentally friendly.
Maddd Equities, run by Jorge Madruga, and Joy Construction have partnered on several projects in the city over the years, including many in the Bronx. These include a relatively new one at 1959 Jerome Ave. that will include about 320 affordable housing units and a Food Bazaar supermarket, along with the recently completed River Crest project by Yankee Stadium, a 750-unit affordable and supportive housing development. They are working on a more than 600-unit affordable housing project on West 207th Street in Inwood as well.
