The skyline of the South Bronx has changed drastically over the last five years.
“The pieces here in the South Bronx are better than they have been in my lifetime,” Rob Walsh, an adjunct professor at Columbia University, said.
What You Need To Know
In Mott Haven, thousands of apartments have been built in the neighborhood. Many of those apartments are in luxury high-rise buildings
New York City’s Department of Buildings issued permits for 24 new developments in the areas of Mott Haven and Port Morris from 2021 through 2025, with a total of more than 3,200 apartments
In the last 10 years, the city issued permits for more than 6,200 apartments in the area
In Mott Haven, thousands of apartments have been built in the neighborhood. Many of those apartments are in luxury high-rise buildings.
New York City’s Department of Buildings issued permits for 24 new developments in the areas of Mott Haven and Port Morris from 2021 through 2025, with a total of more than 3,200 apartments.
In the last 10 years, the city issued permits for more than 6,200 apartments in the area.
Among these are 11 luxury towers built by four developers that have sprouted up in what has long been one of the poorest neighborhoods in the city.
They were constructed on empty or industrial lots near the Third Avenue Bridge, overlooking the Harlem River and Manhattan.
“It’s been pretty good,” Rong Wang said. “I lived in Brooklyn before, then I moved to L.A. for two years then I moved back here. The building is really nice and the people are nice.”
Wang and her dog Alex have been in the area for half a year at the Bankside buildings.
She’s paying $3,100 a month for a one-bedroom and says that’s about $1,000 less than her studio in Brooklyn would cost.
Some of the three-bedroom apartments in these luxury towers go for as much as $7,000 a month. They include doormen, gyms, event rooms and rooftop spaces.
About 70% of the units are market-rate and 30% are affordable.
Jarrod Whitaker is a senior vice president with RXR, the developer of a building called Maven. He said he believes the South Bronx is booming.
“The opportunity to outreach and convince someone who might be looking in Greenpoint, Brooklyn, Williamsburg, LIC, other emerging sub-markets that sit on the periphery of Manhattan, that the Bronx is just as good, if not a better locale and destination for them to live,” Whitaker said.
Alex Holguin expressed that it wasn’t a hard choice for him and his wife to rent in a luxury building in a community they were already living in.
“There’s nothing like the South Bronx. I mean, we’re both Latino. Whether it’s the culture, the food, just the jobs, you know, everything was here,” Holguin said.