New retail building planned for 101 Bruckner Boulevard
BY ALEX MITCHELL
The now bustling and exciting
Bruckner Boulevard
corridor in Port Morris is welcoming
another positive addition.
A vacant parcel at 101
Bruckner Boulevard, across
from the Willis Avenue
Bridge, is to be transformed
into a one-story state-of-theart
retail building.
Owned by 925 Capital, the
101 Bruckner Boulevard property
will offer 8,000 to 8,500
square feet of retail space with
an additional 4,000 square feet
dedicated to parking on the
building’s right side.
When it opens in September
of 2019, 101 Bruckner will
feature an open, rentable rooftop
with unobstructed views
of Manhattan and the south
Bronx.
That property is one of the
fi rst ‘new’ developments in the
area to come east of the Willis
Avenue Bridge, excluding
an offi ce building that’s rising
east of St. Anns Avenue.
In addition to its close proximity
to the Brook and 3rd Avenue
#6 IRT stops, 925 Capital
sees favorable marketability
for this project due to its close-
ness to Pulaski Park and the
Manhattan-connecting pedestrian
bridge.
“Right now we’re looking
for up to three tenants for this
space, but they have to be the
right ones,” said Jonathan Yunason,
president of 925 Capital.
“We want to keep this area as
‘organic’ as possible, so there
isn’t any interest in (leasing
space to) corporate tenants to
101 Bruckner,” the president
added.
Few developers have a commitment
BRONX TIMES REPORTER, D 18 ECEMBER 7-13, 2018 BTR
to the organic nature
of retail like Yunason does.
Six years ago, he along with
925 Capital were some of the
fi rst investors to see the hidden
gem that is now becoming
a vibrant south Bronx.
“When you realize that
midtown Manhattan is just
13 minutes away, that’s just
something that can’t be overlooked,”
Yunason said mentioning
that 925 Capital operates
primarily with Bronx
properties.
In that short time, he saw
the nature of the area re-invent
itself into creative workspaces
for the arts and restaurants
alike.
And just as importantly to
Yunason is his relationshipbuilding
activities with many
of the local businesses such as
Bronx Native clothing, while
even attending open-mic
nights at neighboring restaurant
hotspot, Beatstro.
“It’s become a real community,”
Yunason said while mentioning
his affi nity towards developing
the Port Morris area
comes from knowing that population
displacement is not an
issue in the area.
“It’s mainly industrial so
nobody will be pushed out by
this,” he added.
Inspired by what is already
developed, 925 Capital intends
to use its commercial properties
to support the area’s creative
cultural trends.
“The (new business pioneers)
have a vision for this
area and we want to be respectful
of that,” he said,
pointing out that the 18-foot
high ceilings of 101 Bruckner
should interest certain tenants,
potentially an art gallery.
Yunason also mentioned
a strong desire in luring a
unique and trendy restaurant
to 101 Bruckner, with the possibility
of a rooftop bar.
“We’ll see what happens,”
he said.
As far as marketing its inventory
of properties in the
area, 925 Capital is exploring
uses for a two-story, creative
space it owns on East 134th
Street, adjacent to the Third
Avenue Bridge and the Compound
art gallery.
Rendering of 101 Bruckner Boulevard. Courtesy of 925 Capital