A Place with Something for Everyone!

A request for proposals (RFP) was issued by the NYCEDC in early 2012 to develop the Kingsbridge Armory. We feel that Youngwoo & Associates' redevelopment concept, "Mercado Mirabo," is the best fit for the Armory as it's the project that best celebrates the community's unique history, diverse culture and long-term desires for the space.  We believe this community-centered development proposal will serve as a hub not only for the immediate neighborhood but for the greater Bronx, residents throughout New York City and tourists visiting from worldwide. Their plan will create hundreds of permanent and living-wage jobs for local residents and also serve as an incubator for the next generation of entrepreneurs by offering affordable creative market booths and retail space, co-working areas and small business professional resources. In addition, Mercado Mirabo’s mixed-use facility will celebrate the diverse cultures of the Bronx with creative opportunities for local businesses and aspiring entrepreneurs, cultural programming and recreational/athletic space appropriate to what the community wants.

The project to date calls for the following uses: the city's first affordable Crunch Gym; Brooklyn Boulder's rock-climbing gym; basketball, soccer and baseball clinics and youth programming; a 6 screen cineplex with the country's first 4D movie theatre; an international hip hop museum endorsed by and created in collaboration with Afrika Bambaataa, along with a Hip Hop Federation composed of other pioneers in the genre; a business incubator, co-working space and creative weekend market all for local entrepreneurs; two junior retailers; a pan-Latin restaurant "experience"; parking for approximately 300; and a town-square styled flexible space to host art galleries, concerts, sporting championships and other special events -- all designed for and by the community.

This proposal takes into account the redevelopment of not only an architectural masterpiece, but the development of the local community from the inside out.