The housing lottery is open for 494 affordable units in Buildings A & B of La Central in The Bronx. The Hudson Companies, BRP Companies, Kretchmer Companies, ELH-TKC LLC, Comunilife, and Breaking Ground together with the City’s departments of housing preservation & development, housing development corporation and local leaders made the announcement on Monday, Jun. 15, 2020.

Located at 556 and 600 Bergen Avenue, the two buildings will bring 494 units of affordable housing to the Melrose section of the borough, all of which are available for lease through this lottery. Apartments at La Central range from studios to four-bedrooms and are affordable to residents earning between 30 percent and 130 percent of Area Median Income (AMI).

Aaron Koffman, Principal of The Hudson Companies said he was excited to invest in The Bronx, and to bring high-quality affordable housing to families who truly need it. “As we recover from the COVID-19 pandemic, it is critical that we invest in modern housing that can support families of all sizes,” he said. “We look forward to serving the people of The Bronx while preserving affordability and providing homes for our neighbors.”

Larry Hirschfield, President & CEO, ELH Mgmt echoed Koffman’s sentiments. “We’re very excited to open the lottery for La Central and welcome new families to this innovative, modern housing in the heart of the South Bronx,” he said. “At ELH Mgmt., we pride ourselves on service, and we look forward to being an integral part of both the Melrose community and The Bronx as a whole.”

Half of all apartments are earmarked for residents of Bronx Community Board 1, which includes the South Bronx neighborhoods of Mott Haven, Melrose and Port Morris. Additional apartments are set aside for municipal employees as well as disabled applicants.

All units include stainless steel appliances and dishwashers. Building A & B amenities include a rooftop terrace, a GrowNYC-operated resident garden program, bicycle storage, an on-site superintendent and community rooms. Laundry and car parking are also available for an additional cost.

This phase of the development will also include a 50,000-square-foot state-of-the-art YMCA located in Building A and a BronxNet television studio in Building B. Conveniently situated, the buildings are served by numerous public transit options, including the 2 and 5 trains as well as the Bx4, Bx19, Bx21 and Bx41—SBS bus routes.

Together the three phases of La Central comprise five individual buildings, which will include 992 affordable residences; a fully programmed interior landscaped courtyard; 80,000 square feet of community facility space; a public park, 45,0000 square feet of retail; and a roof-mounted telescope to be controlled by the Bronx High School of Science.

The first building completed at La Central and developed by Breaking Ground and Comunilife at 626 Bergen Avenue opened in the summer of 2019 and created 161 apartments for formerly homeless veterans and New Yorkers with special needs as well as low-income residents. The final phase is expected to be completed in 2023 and will contain approximately 350 affordable apartments at a range of income levels.

To apply online, visit nyc.gov/housingconnect. More information can also be found on the attached flyer or by visiting www.LaCentralBronx.com.

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Welcome to the Norwood News, a bi-weekly community newspaper that primarily serves the northwest Bronx communities of Norwood, Bedford Park, Fordham and University Heights. Through our Breaking Bronx blog, we focus on news and information for those neighborhoods, but aim to cover as much Bronx-related news as possible. Founded in 1988 by Mosholu Preservation Corporation, a not-for-profit affiliate of Montefiore Medical Center, the Norwood News began as a monthly and grew to a bi-weekly in 1994. In September 2003 the paper expanded to cover University Heights and now covers all the neighborhoods of Community District 7. The Norwood News exists to foster communication among citizens and organizations and to be a tool for neighborhood development efforts. The Norwood News runs the Bronx Youth Journalism Heard, a journalism training program for Bronx high school students. As you navigate this website, please let us know if you discover any glitches or if you have any suggestions. We’d love to hear from you. You can send e-mails to norwoodnews@norwoodnews.org or call us anytime (718) 324-4998.