Bronx Terminal Market

History

Early history

Bronx Terminal Market is just south of Yankee Stadium under the Major Deegan Expressway, on a wide road named Exterior Street. As early as 1914, Cyrus C. Miller, the former Bronx Borough President, had advocated the creation of a terminal market in New York City. Construction on the market started, but not completed until Fiorello La Guardia took office as mayor. During his tenure, he enacted a program constructing various markets to provide a home for the city's numerous pushcart vendors. Between October 1, 1934, and May 1, 1935, the city built a new complex just south of the existing unfinished structure. Bronx Terminal Market consisted of small two-story concrete buildings of simple design. Designed by Samuel A. Oxhandler with John D. Churchill and Albert W. Lewis, the buildings were originally painted light yellow. In 1936, the market's flagship structure went up, a small, cubist-style polygon at 149th Street with "Bronx Terminal Market" in large relief in the concrete. This building was designed to serve as a bank and, upstairs, a hotel for farmers. A car float brought in rail cars by barge to the market.

On December 21, 1935, La Guardia appeared at the market to proclaim a citywide ban on the sale, display, and possession of artichokes. The ban was instituted to combat the inflation of artichokes set by mobsters, namely Ciro Terranova. The ban was lifted within a year.

The market eventually grew to become the nation's largest wholesale market for Hispanic foods. The market went into steady decline and became a financial burden for the City in the late 1960s. When City began demolishing the market, however, Bronx Terminal Market Merchants Association approached developer David Buntzman for help to save it. Buntzman obtained a 99-year lease to the market in 1972 and operated it until 2004. In the market's heyday, it contained nearly 100 tenants and more than 1,000 employees. After a series of protracted legal battles with the City, Buntzman sold his interest to the Related Companies for $42.5 million in 2004.

As a mall

The nearby 350-cell Bronx County Jail, designed by Joseph Freedlander was built as a Works Progress Administration project and opened in 1937. Later known as the Bronx House of Detention, it was known for its elaborate art deco architectural details. It closed in 2000 and was later acquired by the Related Companies, who demolished it to make way for the new Bronx Terminal Market; some architectural details of the building were saved.

On August 14, 2006, construction began on Bronx Terminal Market, then known as Gateway Center at Bronx Terminal Market, which demolished all buildings on the acquired properties with the exception of the Prow Building, a 20,500 sqft building at the corner of East 149th Street, Exterior Street, and River Avenue. The center was approved after a Community Benefits Agreement was signed. The Home Depot was the first tenant/anchor to move in on April 23, 2009, the second tenant (and anchor) was BJ's which opened on August 1, and then the rest of the mall opened on September 12. The original tenants at the mall included several restaurants, a Chase bank, many stores taking up the third floor, and more anchor stores including Bed Bath & Beyond (its first and only store in the Bronx), Best Buy, BJ's, Marshalls, Raymour & Flanigan, Toys "R" Us (the first "R" Superstore in New York), Staples, and Target.

In September 2012, Staples announced that it would close 30 stores in the United States, including the Bronx Terminal Market location. It closed a year later. A StubHub location, at the Bronx Terminal Market, opened in July 2013 following a lawsuit that prevented them from opening a location near the Yankee Stadium due to the state's anti-scalping law.

Toys "R" Us closed as a part of the chain's liquidation in June 2018. In October 2018, it was announced that Food Bazaar was moving into the former Toys "R" Us at the Bronx Terminal Market. It was originally scheduled to open in Spring 2019, but instead opened in January 2020. It is the largest supermarket in the Bronx. In December 2019, a new universal hip hop museum, the Revolution of Hip Hop, opened at the Bronx Terminal Market. In January 2020, it was announced that Bed Bath & Beyond at the Bronx Terminal Market would be closing at the end of March 2020. The Related Companies refinanced the mall for $380 million in 2024.

Anchors

Current

North building

• Target (190,000 sqft)
• Burlington (74,329 sqft)
• The Home Depot (131,000 sqft)
• Dollar Discount (16,000 sqft)

South building

• Lidl (40,000 sqft)
• BJ's Wholesale Club (135,000 sqft)
• Food Bazaar (77,000 sqft)
• Raymour & Flanigan (50,000 sqft)
• Vacant space (40,000 sqft)
• Best Buy (55,000 sqft)

Former

North Building

• Staples (16,000 sqft), closed in 2013. Replaced by Dollar Discount in June 2015.
• Rainbow (74,329 sqft, closed and replaced by Burlington in 2012.

South Building

• Bed Bath & Beyond (40,000 sqft), closed in March 2020.
• Toys "R" Us (77,000 sqft), closed in June 2018. Replaced by Food Bazaar in January 2020.

Transportation

Bronx Terminal Market is close to the New York City Subway's 149th Street–Grand Concourse station, served by the , and to the 161st Street–Yankee Stadium station, served by the . The 145th Street station, served by the , is located in Manhattan just across the Harlem River. It is very close to the Metro-North Railroad's Yankees–East 153rd Street station, served by the Hudson Line. The buses also stop nearby. The center is also accessible by car via exits 4, 5, and 6 on the Major Deegan Expressway.

References

References

1. Levere, Jane L.. (September 1, 2009). "Retailers Take a Chance on a Mall in the Bronx". The New York Times.
2. (June 22, 2010). "Chains of Silver: Gateway Center At Bronx Terminal Market Earns LEED Silver Bona Fides". Green Buildings NYC.
3. (1914-10-18). "Terminal Markets Help Farm Values; Cyrus C. Miller Tells Realty Men How Producer and Consumer Will Be Benefited". The New York Times.
4. Gray, Christopher. (May 8, 1994). "Streetscapes/Bronx Terminal Market; Trying to Duplicate the Little Flower's Success". The New York Times.
5. (December 22, 1935). "Mayor Puts a Ban on Artichoke Sale to Curb Rackets; With Trumpet Fanfare at Dawn in Bronx He Proclaims an Emergency in City Markets.". The New York Times.
6. Kilkelly, Mary Beth. (June 8, 2017). "Behold the Baby Artichoke, or, Power to the Punies".
7. (September 29, 2009). "Gateway Center at Bronx Terminal Market". Plan NYC.
8. Bleyer, Jennifer. (January 28, 2007). "A Jail Break, but Not to Fear". The New York Times.
9. Smith, Aaron. (September 25, 2012). "Staples to close 30 stores".
10. Wall, Patrick. (July 31, 2013). "Yankees Could Take Over StubHub Site Near the Stadium".
11. (June 29, 2018). "Toys R Us Posts Touching Final Message on Last Day of Business: 'Play On!'".
12. (October 18, 2018). "Food Bazaar expected to open at Bronx Terminal Market in 2019".
13. Yensi, Amy. (February 7, 2020). "The Largest Supermarket in the Bronx is Now Open".
14. (December 3, 2019). "Team behind Universal Hip Hop Museum opens exhibit at Bronx Terminal Market".
15. Peterson, Hayley. (January 16, 2020). "Bed Bath & Beyond is closing stores in at least 8 states. See if your local store is on the list.".
16. (August 21, 2024). "Related bags $380M Bronx Terminal Market refi".
17. Cunningham, Cathy. (August 20, 2024). "Related Companies Lands $380M CMBS Refi for Bronx Terminal Market".
18. "Bronx Terminal Market".
19. (August 8, 2011). "Burlington Coat Factory to open 74,000 s/f store at Related Cos. Gateway Center at Bronx Terminal Market".
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21. {{cite NYC bus map. Bx