Economy
NYC Wants to Convert a Former Youth Jail into Housing
The city is looking for backers to convert a former roach-infested youth jail into a mixed-use affordable housing complex.
A Bronx building once used for housing arrested teens—and a lot of roaches—could soon be converted into housing for low-income families. The New York City Economic Development Corporation recently issued a request for proposals to turn the former Spofford Juvenile Detention Center on the Bronx Hunts Point peninsula into a “live-work campus.”
Developers are “encouraged to consider a wide range of residential and non-residential uses for the site, including commercial, cultural, institutional and light manufacturing,” according to a NYCEDC press statement, with an emphasis on “affordable housing and high-quality, career-oriented jobs.”