The vacant Kingsbridge Armory in The Bronx is getting a new lease on life.
Mayor Bloomberg plans to announce in his State of the City speech tomorrow that the city will be issuing another set of requests for proposals to develop the enormous building, said to be the largest facility of its type in the world.
A previous RFP issued in 2006 fell apart in late 2009, when advocates demanded that businesses opening in a $300 million retail complex on the site planned by the Related Cos. pay a “living wage” of $10 an hour, plus $1.50 in benefits.
The federal minimum wage is $7.25 an hour.
Bronx Borough President Ruben Diaz Jr., a leader in the fight for the living wage, said at the time that no job was better than a minimum wage job.
Two years later, with unemployment in the Bronx reaching 12.6 percent in November, he’s changed his tune.
Diaz now says he’ll allow the debate over the living wage to play out in the City Council, where a bill is under discussion to impose it citywide for projects that receive government subsidies.
“We are launching a new effort to bring jobs to the most talked-about empty building in The Bronx: the Kingsbridge Armory,” the mayor said in prepared remarks.
“We’ve heard from a variety of interested parties and we are putting aside our differences to do what’s best for the city. That’s what leadership is about. It’s not about a series of running arguments– it’s about getting things done.”
A task force appointed by Diaz had recommended a second RFP after receiving several development proposals, including for a mega-church, a minor league hockey rink and a bicycle racing facility.
Responses to the RFP are due back March 22.