Jorge Madruga’s Maddd Equities is working on a pair of South Bronx developments that would bring about 750 new housing units to the neighborhood, according to sources familiar with the projects.
The two projects would be located across the street from each other in the borough’s Concourse neighborhood at 1159 and 1184 River Avenue, close to Yankee Stadium. Maddd is partnering with the affordable housing nonprofit Community Access at the 1159 site and developing the 1184 site on its own.
The mixed-use project at 1159 River Avenue would span about 200,000 square feet and include space for retail and parking. It would contain about 250 residential units, split between affordable housing and supportive housing, according to Community Access CEO Steve Coe. The development team hopes to close on construction financing by the end of the year.
Community Access and Maddd Equities are still finalizing the terms of their partnership and are close to signing a contract, Coe said.
“Basically, Maddd Equities is going to take the retail space below because that’s not our business,” he said, “and we want to get the residential units above.”
The project at 1184 River Avenue, dubbed the River Crest, is expected to span about 548,000 square feet across a pair of 17-story buildings and include 500 residential units primarily geared toward low-income tenants. The residential component is slated to take up 386,000 square feet, and the project will also include retail space, community space and 354 parking spots.
Maddd Equities plans to finance the River Crest with bonds from the city’s Housing Development Corporation and loans from the Department of Housing Preservation and Development. They hope to close on construction financing later this year.
Maddd Equities did not respond to a request for comment.
The sites currently contain two parking lots with attendants, one commercial building used for private parking and six one-story commercial buildings with 89 units. They are part of the area in the Bronx that the City Council rezoned in March, which Coe said gave the project a boost.
“It makes the site more valuable, and it gives us a few more units,” he said.
The Chetrit Group and Somerset Partners recently sold the site of their planned mixed-use development in the South Bronx to Brookfield Property Partners for about $165 million, and L+M Development is working on a project called Bronx Point by Mill Pond Park and the 145th Street Bridge that will include 1,045 housings units and the Universal Hip Hop Museum.