Third time’s the charm? Bronx pols have a plan to finally fill the Kingsbridge Armory

Eight stops north of Yankee Stadium on the No. 4 train, another monument looms over the Bronx. The Kingsbridge Armory is enormous, a brick castle – including a moat – built around a drill hall big enough to almost fit four football fields. But it has been sitting empty and effectively unused, except for the occasional film shoot, for three decades.

Now, after two previous redevelopment plans fell through, Bronx political leaders are cautiously optimistic that the armory will be opened to the public again.

“The third time’s a charm!” said Bronx Borough President Vanessa Gibson. “I think what’s different now is that there’s more buy-in. There’s a real appetite to reimagine the armory from all levels of government.”

A proposal for a shopping mall championed by then-Mayor Mike Bloomberg was killed in 2009 by New York City Council members who thought the site warranted more than minimum wage retail jobs. A plan to fill the armory with ice skating rinks emerged from Bloomberg’s second redevelopment push, but investors could never secure financing, and the project was officially killed in 2021 in the last days of then-Mayor Bill de Blasio’s administration. And those were only the more recent plans. Then-Mayor Rudy Giuliani’s idea to fill the armory with stores was also killed by community activists who wanted classroom space.

The current idea, as Curbed has detailed, is to turn the main space into an event venue for concerts. But the space is big enough that it can give a little bit to everyone. There are plans for light manufacturing space, offices for local nonprofits and an International Salsa Museum. There will be 500 affordable apartments built on the lot. And Gibson is seeking a health center with an indoor swimming pool. “This is a once-in-a-lifetime project,” she said, “and I want to make sure that it recognizes a lot of priorities of the community.”

Gov. Kathy Hochul and Rep. Adriano Espaillat are on board with the plan, which was driven forward by then-Mayor Eric Adams’ administration and the City Council. The development team, led by Maddd Equities, is working on financing and finding tenants, with hopes of opening in 2030.

“Our vision for the Kingsbridge Armory will transform this iconic structure into a true engine of opportunity for the Bronx,” Madd’s Jorge Madruga said in a statement. “At the heart of this plan is the community and their input has been instrumental every step of the way to deliver real, lasting benefits. The future of the Armory has never looked brighter and we look forward to bringing this project to life.”

But given the history of the site, nothing is guaranteed. A losing bidder sued the city alleging political corruption in the contracting process – though the suit hasn’t gone anywhere yet. The potential anchor tenant of the site, Live Nation, isn’t the most politically popular company, subject to grumbles from concertgoers about high ticket prices and accusations of anticompetitive business practices. And there’s a new mayor, who has yet to name a new leader for the New York City Economic Development Corp., which owns the site.

But Mayor Zohran Mamdani went to high school up the street from the armory. And City Council Member Pierina Sanchez, whose western Bronx district includes the site, said she has been talking with him since October to get him on board.

“From then until now, every conversation that I’ve had with him, I always raise Kingsbridge Armory,” she said. “And he’s always said that he is fully committed to seeing that through for the community.”