Vanessa Gibson backs $650M Kingsbridge Armory plan with community conditions

Bronx Borough President Vanessa Gibson announced her conditional support for the sweeping redevelopment of the Kingsbridge Armory, bringing the historic project one step closer to fruition.

The $650 million proposal is moving through the city’s Uniform Land Use Review Procedure, a months-long public process governing major land-use decisions. In a formal recommendation, Gibson urged the project to advance, with key measures aimed at ensuring community accountability and long-term affordability.

“My conditional support of the development team’s proposal is based on my belief that with proper oversight and community-centered execution, the redevelopment plan for the Armory will prioritize the key pillars outlined in the Together for Kingsbridge Vision Plan,” Gibson said in her recommendation.

That vision plan, created through years of organizing by the Northwest Bronx Community and Clergy Coalition (NWBCCC) and other local groups, emphasizes four core priorities: permanently affordable housing, living-wage jobs, public access to space and protections against displacement.

The proposal, led by development firm,  8th Regiment Partners in collaboration with NWBCCC, recently cleared a significant hurdle with unanimous approval from the city’s Landmarks Preservation Commission. This partnership is the first time a city-owned development will be partly nonprofit owned. 

However, the plan must still win approval from the City Planning Commission and City Council before reaching the mayor’s desk.

If greenlit, the plan would adaptively reuse the 108-year-old Romanesque armory as a mixed-use complex featuring a 17,000-seat events venue.

The five-acre site would also host a 16-story affordable housing building, light manufacturing space, cultural and community facilities, and new public open areas.

The Kingsbridge Armory, located along West Kingsbridge Road, was built in 1917 to house the National Guard’s Eighth Regiment. Designed by architect Lewis Pilcher, the monumental red-brick building played a military role during World War II and was briefly offered to the United Nations as a temporary headquarters. Two annexes were later added in 1957.

It was landmarked in 1974 and added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1982. Ownership was transferred to New York City in 1996, prompting urgent structural repairs and a $31 million roof replacement.

Since then, the building has sat mostly idle for the past three decades. It has seen occasional use for film shoots and as a facility for a National Guard unit stationed in the annex.

“This redevelopment proposal represents a once-in-a-generation opportunity to deliver transformative and community-driven economic investment that will finally activate the untapped potential of this landmarked treasure,” Gibson said in her recommendation.

Under the current plan, developers would add two interior floors within the drill hall, creating space for performances, exhibitions and large events. Plans also include a central plaza, retail, a music museum, workforce development center and a rooftop terrace.

A residential component along West 195th Street would be nonprofit owned, offering 500 permanently affordable units. Units serving households earning between 30 and 80 percent of the Area Median Income would make up 25 percent of the building.

Gibson also urged developers to reserve at least half the apartments for families and focus on affordability in line with the neighborhood’s median income of about $40,000.

The armory project would help address the deepening housing challenges facing the Bronx. 

Rents have surged more than 40 percent since 2020, with the average now topping $3,000 per month. At the same time, the borough’s median household income remains below $50,000 – nearly 40 percent lower than the citywide average. Her endorsement includes further conditions, commitments to union labor and local hiring.

Gibson’s recommendation reflects ongoing resident unrest over those past failures and emphasizes a need for enforceable commitments.

“The concerns I have heard regarding this proposal… include anti-displacement concerns, equitable economic opportunities, local environmental challenges, transportation impacts, youth development [and] housing affordability,” she said in her recommendation.

Gibson called for a community advisory council to monitor the project’s progress to ensure those concerns remain at the forefront.

Developers have also emphasized that the Armory’s retail and commercial uses are designed to complement, not compete with, nearby small businesses. According to project documents, the site’s size and configuration will allow for specialized commercial spaces not readily accommodated elsewhere in the neighborhood.

In June, Bronx Community Board 7 voted overwhelmingly in favor of the proposal. Then, on July 17, at a public hearing hosted by Gibson, all speakers expressed support or conditional support.

“This project will create thousands of jobs, hundreds of new affordable apartments, accessible community space, and invest in workforce development and small businesses, all while becoming an economic engine for the borough,” Jorge Madruga of 8th Regiment Partners told The Press. “After sitting vacant for nearly 30 years, the reimagined Kingsbridge Armory is one that the people of the Bronx deserve and have long fought for.”

The renewal plan is projected to generate over 3,400 jobs — 2,800 in construction and 600 permanent roles. Over $215 million in public funding from city, state and federal sources has already been secured. Gibson has committed $3 million in capital and said she will continue to advocate for further investment.

The City Planning Commission is expected to hold a hearing and vote in the coming weeks. The project will proceed to the City Council for final consideration if approved. Construction could be completed by 2032.