L+M to build hip-hop museum, giant affordable housing complex in South Bronx

Company tapped by city to construct 1,000-unit complex called Bronx Point

Ron Moelis and a rendering of Bronx Point (Credit: S9 Architecture)
Ron Moelis and a rendering of Bronx Point (Credit: S9 Architecture)

UPDATED, 4:16 p.m. September 25: L+M Development Partners won the bid to turn a vacant waterfront site in the South Bronx into a massive mixed-use development featuring 1,045 units of housing and the borough’s long-awaited “Universal Hip-Hop Museum.”

The development, called Bronx Point, Will Be Located Right By Mill Pond Park And The 145th Street Bridge connecting the Bronx to Manhattan. L+M, led by Ron Moelis, will develop it in partnership with Type A Projects, a woman-owned-and-led development company that focuses on building educational spaces and public schools in New York.

The New York City Economic Development Corporation issued a request for proposals at the site last July.  L+M has previously worked on projects including the transformation of Seward Park and the conversion of a former Navy prison into an affordable housing project in Brooklyn. Earlier this month, the company partnered with the National Black Theatre to redevelop its home at the corner of 125th Street and Fifth Avenue,  and they recently secured $126.5 million in financing to develop a 15-story, 400-unit rental building in East Harlem as well.

In addition to the housing units and a hip-hop museum in the birthplace of rap, Bronx Point will also house a multiplex theater, education space, and a food and beverage hall curated by Anna Castellani of the Dekalb Market Hall in Brooklyn. Organizations like City Science are expected to provide the educational programming, and the team is also looking into a partnership with the Bronx Children’s Museum, according to a joint release by the developers and the city.

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Bronx Point will move forward in two phases, according to the city. Phase one, with an anticipated completion date of 2022, will include about 600 units of affordable housing for extremely low income to moderate income tenants, the hip-hop museum and the food hall. It will also include the construction of a waterfront esplanade that will connect to and expand Mill Pond Park, an outdoor performance space, A Public Plaza Along Exterior Street and space for the community service provider BronxWorks. Phase two will consist of the remaining residential units, along with additional commercial and community space.

The project is located near several major Bronx institutions including the Bronx General Post Office, which is being redeveloped by Youngwoo and Associates. The site is located north of where Somerset Partners and the Chetrit Group are planning their massive waterfront project.

This story was updated to include the latest information about the project’s educational partners and clarify its location relative to the Somerset Partners project.