Historically, The Bronx’s stock of residential buildings has been well-equipped. By 1934, nearly all apartments had private bathrooms, central heat and hot water, according to the Bronx Community Historical Society.
Fast forward, and the real estate offerings available in the borough are certainly sweeter.
Roughly a dozen under-construction or soon-to-be-developed buildings are set to add thousands of affordable apartments to the Bronx’s inventory in the coming years — and will include a collection of upscale features that rival those of Manhattan buildings.
And speaking of upscale, activity is also afoot in the ritzy Riverdale market, which saw median sales prices rise in the third quarter of 2014 by nearly 6 percent over the same quarter last year — making The Bronx’s upper market a bit more luxurious these days.
“It’s a borough that’s on the move,” says former City Council Speaker Gifford Miller.
Gifford is now co-managing member of Signature Urban Properties, which is co-developing the 10-building Compass Residences affordable housing project, set in a 75-block rezoned swath of the East Tremont and West Farms area.
“We definitely think that we are replacing derelict industrial space with high-quality affordable housing that will add value — both social and financial — to the neighborhood,” he says.
The project’s 1,300 apartments will be a mix of studios to three-bedrooms that will boast stainless-steel appliances, granite counters and hardwood flooring.
Each building — two of which have broken ground so far and one of which topped out at 15 stories two weeks ago — will feature interior courtyards, indoor parking and bicycle storage.
The developers, which also include GTIS Partners and MBD Housing, aim to complete the project in five years. The first phase of apartments will be available around this time next year.
In terms of pricing, a family of four whose income hits roughly $30,000 will pay about $650 per month for a two-bedroom apartment.
Tremont Renaissance, another affordable housing development in this rezoned district, will break ground this coming year and also include extensive amenities for its residents.
The 330,200-square-foot, 256-apartment project will have a fitness center with yoga studio, indoor and outdoor children’s play areas, an Internet lounge and a landscaped roof deck.
Apartments will include dishwashers and private terraces. Here, the rent for a three-bedroom home will range from $745 for a family of four making roughly $33,560 to $1,902 for a family of four making $77,000 annually, according to the developers.
“With all the amenities here, this is going to redefine outer-borough living,” says Radame Perez, COO of Mastermind Development, which is spearheading Tremont Renaissance; it has an estimated completion date of mid-2017.
These will add to the high-quality affordable housing already available in the borough. The South Bronx affordable development Via Verde — a co-op and rental project — opened in 2012 and nabbed headlines for its standout features, a number of which are green-friendly.
The co-ops’ amenities, for example, include hardwood floors, in-unit laundry machines and balconies. The building has a fitness center, an attended lobby and seven tiers of terraced green space — including gardening beds and tree orchards.
Now fully occupied, Via Verde’s one-bedrooms start at $134,585 and two-bedrooms at $146,032, while rents for a family of four earning between $22,000 and nearly $33,000, for example, were $596 for a two-bedroom.
Meanwhile, on the condo front, luxe developments sprouted up in the Riverdale section of the Bronx over the past decade; they include The Shirley Woods, Solaria Riverdale and Latitude.
Condos in Riverdale saw sales prices grow in the third quarter of 2014, according to data from property appraisers Miller Samuel, and these are the unit types that buyers now want, brokers say.
Condos traded hands for a median of $607,500 — 6.4 percent above the median paid in the third quarter of 2013.
Miller Samuel president and CEO Jonathan Miller attributes this rise to an outward push to affordability — a trend he calls “borough creep” — in which people living in other boroughs get priced out, move to less expensive areas, but spend more for property than what’s traditionally been paid.
Another reason? “Buyers want everything new, modern and nice,” says Terhi Edwards, branch manager of Douglas Elliman’s Riverdale office, and condos offer that, while the area’s stock of older residences need some work, she notes.
Some buyers interested in the Riverdale market are indeed those who have lived in other boroughs and in need of more space, says Adam Solomon of Douglas Elliman, who, alongside three other agents, has a $1.29 million listing for a three-bedroom apartment in the luxury Solaria Riverdale.
The unit has floor-to-ceiling windows and a master bathroom with a spa bath. It last sold in 2008 for $1.2 million, public records show.
“Riverdale is a really great alternative for a family that wants a neighborhood feel that wants to be part of New York City,” says Solomon.
That’s the goal for Leif Ericksen, 45, district manager for dining services at NYU. He and his partner, who was born and raised in the neighborhood, want to leave their rent-stabilized unit in Riverdale to buy an apartment in the area, he says.
They’re working with Noah Kaplan of The Corcoran Group, himself a neighborhood native.
“There’s a nice balance between city living and having all the trees around you,” Ericksen says of the ’hood. The commute to Manhattan is easy from here, he adds, and the per-square-foot value for homes offer good bang for the buck.
Kaplan agrees that investing in Riverdale property is a great value play.
“Riverdale is undiscovered,” he says. “People don’t know as much about [it] as they should.”