Maddd Equities, Joy Construction Land Kingsbridge Armory Dev

City and state officials have found their sergeants to lead the redevelopment of the long-vacant Kingsbridge Armory.

The city’s Economic Development Corporation tapped Jorge Madruga’s Maddd Equities and Eli Weiss’ Joy Construction — frequent partners — to develop the 570,000-square-foot site in the Bronx, The City reported. The decision comes after the launch of a bidding process last September.

A press release from the mayor ahead of the Request for Proposals claimed a project could generate more than 1,800 jobs and up to $10 billion in economic impact, including 1,100 construction jobs. The city acquired the building in 1996, five years after it was decommissioned for military use.

Maddd and Joy will be tasked with turning the century-old armory site into a 13,000-seat event venue with community space, a recreation center, an educational facility and culture and commercial spaces.

In a statement, EDC chief executive officer Andrew Kimball said the joint venture’s proposal “embraced the community’s vision plan” and would “deliver the economic engine and community amenities that the Bronx wants and deserves.”

Construction on the project is expected to begin in two years and wrap by 2032. Joy and Maddd are required to use union labor on the site after Mayor Eric Adams reached a project-labor agreement last year with the Building and Construction Trades Council of Greater New York.

The EDC estimated a $500 million price tag for the project back in June 2023. Joy and Maddd will be able to pull from $216 million in city and state funding, including $100 million each previously provided by the mayor and governor’s offices for a prior development push on the site.

Previous attempts to revamp the Kingsbridge Armory included an effort to turn it into a national ice rink. Legal battles killed that proposal by late 2021. Related Companies once planned a shopping complex, which collapsed over a fight about “living wage.”

— Holden Walter-Warner