City unveils ‘Fordham Landing South’ Bronx development with 900+ homes on the Harlem River

New York City has unveiled plans for a vibrant mixed-use community with nearly 1,000 affordable homes along the Bronx waterfront. On Friday, Mayor Eric Adams announced that the city will move forward with “Fordham Landing South,” a major affordable housing project that will bring roughly 927 homes to an underutilized stretch of the Harlem River just south of the University Heights Bridge. The 100 percent affordable development would reserve 15 percent of its units for formerly homeless households and span two mixed-use buildings, with public waterfront space, parking, and convenient access to the Metro-North Railroad.

Developed by Dynamic Star and Lettire and designed by Perkins Eastman, the project will be funded in part by the city’s Department of Housing Preservation and Development and a $55 million state award, administered by Empire State Development, to support site infrastructure.

A key component of the project is a 350,000-square-foot community facility space for local institutions. According to the project’s website, the building will be an ideal space to host essential services such as medical offices, as well as academic institutions and religious, cultural, and social organizations.

In October, Dynamic Star announced a partnership with Carlo Schiattarella, founder and CEO of Schoolhouse Project, to build a charter school within Fordham Landing South, located inside the community facility building, as reported by Connectcre.

Fordham Landing South will also be one of the first Bronx developments to use geothermal heat pumps, according to Multi-Housing News. The heat pumps will cover 60 percent of the building’s energy needs, with the remainder served by high-efficiency boilers.

The development will feature View Smart Windows, which use artificial intelligence to adjust to sunlight, creating cooler internal temperatures and improving energy efficiency. All lighting fixtures will be Energy Star-rated, and exterior fixtures will meet Dark Sky standards to reduce light pollution.

The project includes upgrades to the nearby Metro-North University Heights station, with an expanded platform and a new pedestrian bridge connecting it to the development. The planned waterfront space will feature a mix of passive and active recreation, including a bike and pedestrian path integrated into the Harlem River Greenway.

“I applaud the steadfast commitment to create safe and affordable housing for Bronx residents through the Fordham Landing South project, securing nearly 1,000 new homes to our community,” U.S. Representative Adriano Espaillat said.

“Investing in affordable housing is an investment in a more vibrant, inclusive future along our borough’s waterfront. I look forward to continuing our work to ensure every New Yorker has a place to call home.”

In January, Dynamic Star first announced it would be working on the project, initially saying it would include 405 multi-family units, 153 of them affordable, with construction starting in the spring, as reported by Multi-Housing News.

Fordham Landing South builds upon the Adams administration’s efforts to boost housing production across the five boroughs. Last week, the mayor announced that his administration has created, preserved, or planned roughly 426,800 new homes to date, achieved record-breaking production of permanently affordable homes for homeless New Yorkers, and placed record numbers of homeless residents into housing.

“This stretch of the Bronx waterfront has led many lives but will soon be home to over 900 families,” Adams said. “Our vision for Fordham Landing South will create nearly a thousand 100-percent affordable units along with a vibrant mixed-use community and new access to the Metro North transit hub.”

He continued: “When we took office three years ago, our housing situation was at a breaking point: too many families were being pushed out of the housing market and too many plots of land like this one lay empty. So, our administration turned inaction into initiative, shattering affordable housing records year after year after year and passing the first citywide rezoning in six decades to unlock new housing across every neighborhood.”

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