Development coincides with other improvements at Hub in South Bronx

Development at the Hub intersection in the South Bronx will coincide with other improvements in the area, the Wall Street Journal reported, including more public space and improved traffic routes.

“Right now, we’re not the shopping area that we once were,” said Vincent Valentino, executive director of the Hub Third Avenue Business Improvement District centered at the intersection of East 149th Street and Third Avenue. “Hopefully it will bring people down here,” he said of the improvements.

Upgrades include the removal of a small building used as a bus dispatching facility and the addition of tables, seating and more greenery. A water fountain and a sculpture by artist Lewis DeSoto will also be added.

Triangle Equities is developing two under-utilized parcels of land bounded by Westchester Avenue, East 149th Street, and Brook and Bergen avenues. The larger of the two buildings, on a 58,000-square-foot lot, will house retail and office space as well as a supermarket and restaurant. The smaller building, on a 53,800-square-foot lot will be home to another restaurant and a school. Triangle is in contract to purchase the parcels from the city for around $6.2 million with the project set to begin in fall 2012, the Journal said.

One store owner in the area has mixed feelings about the development.

“I probably have to compete with them,” said Luis Vega, who owns the Butcher’s Choice Meat Market, which has two stores at the Hub. “I’m a little guy. They’re going to take customers away with better prices.” [WSJ]