The 20-acre Metro Center parcel, formerly the Bronx Psychiatric Center site, is located directly off the Hutchinson River Parkway in the Pelham Bay section of the Bronx. The land was purchased from the state through the Empire State Development Corp. last year by Hutch Realty Partners LLC. The initial phase of the class A office project will cost $50 million and is expected to create nearly 300 construction jobs. No details of the Visiting Nurse Service lease have been disclosed.

"The privatization of this property will help to ensure that this key piece of Bronx real estate is used to promote economic development, job creation and new investment in the local community," Pataki said at a press conference earlier today.

ESD plans to issue an Invitation to Bid this fall on an additional nine acres of property at the Bronx P.C., which is adjacent to the Metro Center's 20 acres.