Mayor Bloomberg unveils South Bronx Initiative for 3 seperate areas

Mayor Michael Bloomberg recently unveiled the South Bronx Initiative, a comprehensive plan to sustain and strengthen the ongoing revitalization of the South Bronx. Developed by the mayor's office and an interagency team in coordination with local elected officials and community groups, the initiative identifies three focus areas - Melrose Commons/Third Ave., the Bronx Civic Center and the Lower Grand Concourse. For each area, the initiative outlines specific action items that will be implemented to achieve goals related to office, retail and residential development, affordable housing, transportation and open space. New developments in the initiative area will provide more than 8,000 housing units, about 800,000 s/f of commercial and retail space, 160,000 s/f of hotel and conference space and new and enhanced parks and green spaces. The action items are: Melrose Commons / Third Ave. *Develop the last remaining city-owned sites to create affordable housing and ground-floor retail space; *Market Melrose Commons to major retailers to support local businesses; *Upgrade Roberto Clemente Plaza and reconfigure the East 161st St. and Elton Ave. intersection; *Evaluate the feasibility of providing bus-rapid transit service on Webster Ave. or Third Ave.; and, *Pursue funding to develop new parks, while upgrading and preserving existing parks, open spaces, and community gardens. Bronx Civic Center *Rezone to encourage high-density commercial and residential development; *Make targeted transportation improvements such as signal timing and pedestrian crossings; *Extend BX13 bus service further south to 149th St.; *Make targeted streetscape improvements along East 161st St. and River Ave.; and, *Facilitate the planning and development of city-owned sites along River Ave.. Lower Grand Concourse *Rezone to allow a mix of uses including industrial, residential and retail, and provide a zoning incentive for affordable housing; *Make streetscape and lighting improvements; *Improve the appearance, ADA accessibility, and structural condition of subway stations at 149th St. and 138th St./Grand Concourse; *Map a new public park along the Harlem River and leverage private development to create continuous public waterfront access; and, *Evaluate the feasibility of an adaptive reuse of P.S. 31.