Hunts Point merchants reach 10-year lease deal with the city, staving off move to N.J.

The merchants of the Hunts Point Terminal Produce Market in the Bronx are breathing a collective sigh of relief, after reaching a deal with the city that could have resulted in a move to New Jersey. According to Crain’s, the city has made a tentative deal with the 46 merchants who operate the Bronx market to extend their lease by 10 years, preserving some 4,000 New York city jobs that New Jersey had been courting.

Sources close to the negotiations told Crian’s that the agreement could be signed by Tuesday.

“We have a proposed deal and we have a board meeting today” to discuss it, said Matthew D’Arrigo, president of the merchant co-op, on Tuesday. The board of directors did not take a vote at their afternoon meeting.

While the agreement eases some of the urgency surrounding the 105-acre facilities future, it does not address the $320 million redevelopment plan the two sides have also been negotiating for more than a year. The city has promised to pay approximately half of the renovation cost, having already raised more than $150 million, but the merchants have expressed concern over their ability to raise the other half of the capital. [Crain’s] —Christopher Cameron