New York City Mayor Eric Adams has announced the completion of the first phase of a five-acre redevelopment project called The Peninsula. The project will bring hundreds of affordable homes and community amenities to the former site of the Spofford Juvenile Detention Center in the Bronx’s Hunts Point neighborhood. It is the site where Adams was held at 15 years old. 

In 2011 the detention center was closed after 54 years in operation, and was notorious for its poor conditions. Today, the initial $121 million phase of the mixed-use development has been completed, including 183 affordable units for New Yorkers earning between 30 and 80 percent of the area median income, with 18 homes specifically reserved for individuals who previously experienced homelessness. In addition, the building features a range of amenities, including a community room, a children’s playroom, a fitness room, and bike storage space. 

The development includes a cultural arts center with a state-of-the-art black box theater, an art gallery, dance studio, coworking space, and 26 artist studios. Bronx-based nonprofit Inspiration Point Center for the Arts will operate the space and serve as a community space for local events. The ground floor will feature 5,000 square feet of retail space. 

“Today is a new day for Hunts Point and so many young people who were traumatized at Spofford,” said Mayor Adams. “I went from being a detainee here to becoming the mayor who is working to transform it. And now, we are taking a major step forward in that transformation and bringing this community the affordable homes, good-paying jobs, and public space they deserve.”

Completion of The Peninsula will feature six distinct buildings containing approximately 740 units of 100 percent affordable housing units, an early childhood education center, additional recreational and community facilities, a wellness center, a supermarket, and a one-acre landscaped public plaza. 

In addition to The Peninsula, a nearby light industrial building completed last year offers affordable space for small businesses to grow and create jobs for the Hunts Point community. The space is expected to create up to 100 jobs over the next five years. 

“Building on the first phase of this project — which created light manufacturing space that several Bronx-based small businesses are already planning to call home — we are celebrating today both the first residential building completed at this new campus, as well as the completion of affordable rehearsal spaces and performing space for local artists,” said Deputy Mayor for Economic and Workforce Development Maria Torres-Springer. “I thank all involved on this project and look forward to working with them all to bring the rest of the vision for the campus to life in the coming years.”

The project team behind The Peninsula includes Gilbane Development Company, The Hudson Companies, and MHANY Management. Its design was carried out by WXY Architecture + Urban Design and Body Lawson Associates Architects and Planners.