Bronx juvenile center’s affordable housing replacement gets new renders

Renderings new to Curbed have appeared for the major affordable housing and mixed-use development that will transform the site of Hunts Point’s now-shuttered Spofford Juvenile Detention Center. NYCEDC announced in October that it had chosen Gilbane Development Company, the Hudson Companies, and Mutual Housing Association of New York’s proposal for the site, called The Peninsula.

Under their plan, and with the design services of WXY architecture + urban design and Body Lawson Associates, the five-acre site will give way to 740 units of affordable housing, 52,000 square feet of open and recreational space, 49,000 square feet of light industrial space, 48,000 square for community facilities, and 21,000 square feet of retail space.

WXY notes that many of the anticipated retail, commercial, and industrial tenants are Bronx-based and include Hunts Point Brewing Company, Il Forno Bakery, and Lightbox NY film studio. The development will also bring in a supermarket, job training facilities, space for a school, and a community health center.

The community is looking forward to putting Spofford behind it. “In many ways, it was not just a symbol of how juvenile justice from a policy point of view was performed throughout the decades, but also the historic, negative stigma and perception of the area that was embodied in that building, Maria Torres-Springer, former president of the NYCEDC, told the Journal when the winning bid was announced in October. James Patchett has since picked up the torch as president and CEO of the organization.

The whole project will be comprised of five different buildings, built out throughout three phases. The $300 million development is expected to wrap by 2024.

• Notorious Bronx juvenile center will transform into affordable housing, community space [Curbed]