Case Study 2

Case Study 2

SoBRO Advances Development on the Port Morris Harlem Waterfront

Background:

SoBRO, a local development corporation based in the South Bronx, is conducting a state and city funded planning study for 200 acres of waterfront land along the Harlem River which was rezoned from manufacturing to mixed-use in 2009. Planning goals include attracting mixed use development to the area and expanding public access to the Harlem River. SoBRO, which began work in the South Bronx in 1972, has strong relationships with businesses, property owners, and community groups. One land owner it knows well is the Harlem River Yards Ventures, one of whose principals sits on SoBRO’s board of directors. In 2006, this individual introduced SoBRO to a property owner who had leased his property for several decades as a parking lot for school buses. SoBRO has maintained a relationship with this property owner ever since.

Strategy:

When SoBRO set out to study the development potential along the Harlem River through the BOA program in 2011, it contacted this property owner. The owner, in turn, introduced SoBRO to another owner who operates a paper manufacturing and storage plant.

SoBRO held multiple one-on-one meetings with these two owners, described the area’s redevelopment potential, offered to use state planning funds to explore design and development opportunities, and suggested that the property owners consider a joint venture development.

The two owners responded enthusiastically, and SoBRO then proceeded to send letters of interest to other waterfront property owners. SoBRO included the original two property owners as references in its letter of interest and asked them to make follow up calls to other property owners. Through these efforts SoBRO brought seven property owners to a meeting to learn about its state and city place-based community vacant land planning grant, the opportunity to create a vision for the waterfront, and perform high level design and development analyses for each property. This plan was well received, and SoBRO had established a network of property owners in the planning area.

Today, the group has benefitted from the New York State’s designation of the Port Morris Harlem Riverfront as a Brownfield Opportunity Area which provides developers with additional state tax credits if redevelopment projects enroll in the state Brownfield Cleanup Program and are eligible for tangible property credits. Furthermore, the two original property owners are considering a partnership to assemble and develop their properties jointly as one project. Other property owners have shared development plans and designs to create balanced and visually appealing development projects.

Conclusion:

In this instance, when presented with a comprehensive vision for growth of their area, property owners immediately saw the potential benefit of engaging their neighbors and participating in a broader effort. Through targeted site planning, SoBRO continues to solicit feedback from waterfront property owners to ensure that the end product is useful to them and they continue to participate in the planning effort. Related Development Strategy