Planned Development Can Spruce Up East Tremont Avenue

February 19, 2010

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A LOCAL DEVELOPER WANTS TO BUILD A HIGH-RISE BUILDING ON EAST TREMONT AVENUE, BETWEEN WEBSTER AND PARK AVENUES.

By JEANMARIE EVELLY

Plans are in the works for a large commercial and residential building on a block of East Tremont Avenue, between Webster and Park avenues. Mastermind Management, the real estate company that owns the current properties, is calling the proposed building the Tremont Renaissance.

The building would take up the entire northern side of East Tremont Avenue, according to Mastermind Vice President Radame Perez, and would extend partially onto both Webster and Park.

Previously reported plans for the site described an 18-story building with commercial space and 112 rental units. But the possibility that the city could approve a rezoning of East Tremont Avenue has Mastermind reworking their proposal, according to Perez.

Perez said the rezoning could be approved by this summer. If it is, it will allow Mastermind to double the number of apartments from what was originally planned—from 112 to well over 200, he said.

The building will most likely be shorter than the originally planned 18-stories, he added, but will be “bulkier” and “more dense” to accommodate the larger number of units inside, with the first three floors made up of commercial space. One floor could possibly house a bowling alley.

“Everyone is excited,” Perez said of the project. “City Planning [the department of] has very aggressive plans to upzone Tremont.”

Those rezoning plans were presented to Community Board 6 in November, and if approved, would allow for mixed commercial and residential buildings on East Tremont Avenue between Webster Avenue and Southern Boulevard. It would also mean that a building could have several floors of commercial space where currently only one is allowed.

The Tremont Renaissance would offer tenants a laundry, a gym, a landscaped terrace, and a public courtyard for community use, according to Perez. Discussions with bowling alley chain Lucky Strike Lanes are in the works.

Mastermind is hoping for funds from the city to feature “100 percent” affordable apartments, according to Perez.  A one-bedroom would run from $637 to about $1,200 per month, he said.

Perez said the community board, which he presented his plan to in November, has been nothing but supportive.

“We welcome the fact that someone wants to invest in that particular area,” said Ivine Galarza, district manager for Community Board 6. “For years, it’s been an eyesore.”

Right now, Mastermind’s properties in the area house a grocer, a refrigeration supply company, an awning manufacturer and an auto parts store.

Most of the buildings on the corner of Webster and East Tremont will have to be torn down to make way for the project, Perez said, and the current tenants will have to be moved when construction starts, but will have “the first opportunity to return” to the building once it’s completed. Perez says they hope to break ground in December.

The old Bronx Savings Bank, a 1930s building on East Tremont and Park, will not be torn down but will be incorporated into the development, according to Perez.

“We’re really excited,” Galarza continued. “It promises to be a state of the art building, with a bowling alley—can you imagine?”

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