In 2002, Carnegie Management converted a former piano factory on the main commercial drag at 112 Lincoln Avenue into a 90-unit rental with features seen in trendier locales, such as a rooftop deck and chic restaurant.
Since the Clock Tower opened, real estate investment in the South Bronx area has exploded — rising from about $1.9 million in 2003 to about $111 million in 2016. Over the same period, the average sale price has spiked from roughly $265,000 to roughly $3.1 million, and the total number of properties sold per year has more than quadrupled, rising from 10 to 46 — according to analysis by The Real Deal. And according to StreetEasy analysis, rents at the Clock Tower building between 2011 and 2017 ranged from $1,350 to $3,500, well above median asking rents in Mott Haven, which in 2016 checked in at $1,795. (Bronx median asking rent in 2016 overall was $1,529.) Similar to development activity, investment in the Bronx was up to $3.3 billion last year, up from about $1.8 billion in 2009, according to the Bronx Borough President’s office.
In the last few years, developers and entrepreneurs have debuted a range of higher-end businesses like the sushi restaurant Ceetay and the combination fashion gallery/art boutique 9J. Major nearby projects including a 25-story residential tower at 198 East 135th Street and the roughly $43 million redevelopment of the Bronx General Post Office are also underway.