At present, the neighborhood is predominantly industrial, with about 20% of the building space vacant, according to the Department of City Planning. The industrial sector would be protected under the new zoning, but the city also hopes to encourage the development of market-rate and affordable housing to accommodate the South Bronx's increasing residential population. Current zoning in the so-called Lower Concourse district does not allow residential development.

DCP says the rezoning would mark the first use of inclusionary zoning in the Bronx by encouraging the development of 600 units of permanently affordable housing. Developers would only be able to build the maximum allowable residential floor area if they provide permanently affordable housing either on-site or off-site in new or existing buildings, according to DCP. Tax abatements and public financing will be available through the inclusionary housing program.

Another goal of the rezoning is to promote a wider range of uses in an area that is well served by mass transit. It would open up the Lower Concourse to retail and hotel development along with eliminating the 10,000-square-foot size limit on grocery stores. Additionally, DCP plans to map a 2.2-acre public park along the Harlem River at 144th Street to complement a nine-acre waterfront park currently under development just north of the Lower Concourse district.