NEW YORK CITY-Given high demand from tourists and need for job growth in Grand Concourse, Bronx officials are hoping to hit a grand slam for the local economy by attracting a new hotel and conference center next to Yankee Stadium. Bronx borough president Ruben Diaz Jr. announced that the Bronx Overall Economic Development Corp. is seeking proposals to develop River Ave. and E. 153rd St., a site that currently houses a parking garage managed by the Bronx Parking Development Co. near the ballpark.
“For years, my office and the BOEDC have heard from both developers and hotel operators expressing their desire to develop a new hotel and conference center in the vicinity of Yankee Stadium,” Diaz said in a statement on Tuesday afternoon.
The BOEDC released a request for expressions of interest (RFEI) that specifies that developers must include a LEED-certified hotel and conference center, at least one high-end penthouse level restaurant, a concierge or condo level for long-term stays and a retail component in their applications. The developers are also asked to consider including a Latino Baseball Hall of Fame on the property, which buffers Heritage Field. “This RFEI will show the city just how much interest there is in this site,” Diaz added.
However, the parking situation around the ballpark is not without controversy. According to the New York Daily News, the BPDC received state funding to construct additional garages around the new stadium and sold $237 million in tax-exempt bonds issued by the city. And with more fans taking the subway and Metro-North to the games, the NYDN noted that the garages--with some 9,000 parking stalls total--were only 63% full on an average game day. As a result, the BPDC owes the city $17 million in back taxes and have raised their parking rates in order to avoid bond default, the NYDN said.
In response, BPDC vice president Chuck Lesnick hopes that the hotel proposal can help “stabilize the financial situation” for the parking garages. “It is the hope we can ultimately meet our obligations to the bondholders and lower parking fees for those who park in the garages,” he says, in a statement.
The BOEDC estimates that the hotel has the potential to create 125 jobs and enhance tourism efforts near the stadium. The plan has received support from the Community Board 4, the 161st Street Business Improvement District and the Bronx Chamber of Commerce.
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