$35 Million Lower Concourse Park in the Bronx

Long-Awaited 2.3-Acre Park to Be Developed along the Harlem River and Feature Living Shoreline, Playground Spaces, Overlook Area, Seating/Picnic Area and Flex-Use Lawn among Other Amenities

Today, New York City Economic Development Corporation (NYCEDC) & NYC Parks joined city and elected officials to officially break ground on the $35 million Lower Concourse Park, a 2.3-acre park that will be located along the Harlem River between 144th and 146th Street bringing infrastructure upgrades and much-needed open green space and waterfront access to South Bronx communities. The Park is one key part of the City’s $194 million Lower Concourse Infrastructure plan, which is a historic investment into this portion of the Bronx, all of which is being led by the NYCEDC, and will bring new infrastructure upgrades, make streets safer, and create new connections to the waterfront. The park is anticipated to be completed by the end of 2025 and open to the public in 2026.

NYCEDC conducted community outreach for the design in 2019 including a community board meeting and community survey, both which helped inform the design. Because this will be a newly constructed park, NYCEDC had to prepare the site for this development which involved the demolition of buildings and infrastructure work including electric, gas, watermain, sewer and road restoration upgrades throughout the Special Harlem River Waterfront District.

“Today’s groundbreaking of the Lower Concourse Park reinforces NYCEDC’s commitment to improving the city’s green space and bringing much-needed open space to the Bronx,” said NYCEDC President & CEO Andrew Kimball. “We thank NYC Parks for their continuous partnership and all of our development partners for the hard work in transforming this site into a park that the community will be able to enjoy for years to come.”

“We’re thrilled to join with NYCEDC to break ground on Lower Concourse Park, which will bring essential green space and recreational amenities to the South Bronx. A playground, picnic area, and multi-use lawn will serve as a destination for local residents and enhance access to the waterfront, while the living shoreline design will increase resiliency against erosion,” said NYC Parks Commissioner Sue Donoghue. “The park’s creation furthers this Administration’s goal of increasing park equity in the outer boroughs and ensuring all New Yorkers have access to high-quality, attractive outdoor spaces.”

Components of the Lower Concourse Park will include:

• A Welcome Plaza that will display signage about the history of the Bronx.
• Playground area that will feature swings for all age groups, stations for children ages 2-5 and 6-12 and a splash pad.
• Bench, cafe tables and seating and public restroom.
• Bike Rack, Hi-Lo drinking fountain
• Picnic tables and seating, BBQ grills, coal bins.
• Musical Play.
• Robust native trees and plants that will provide shade and green space for the neighborhood.
• Flex-use lawn, and;
• A living shoreline to help protect the land from erosion and trap greenhouse gases. The shoreline will also have plants and rain gardens to ease flooding by absorbing excess stormwater.

The Lower Concourse Park was funded by Mayoral City Capital and NYC Parks is working on a name for the park that will be revealed at a later date. For more information about the Lower Concourse development, please click here. For information about New York City parks, please click here.

About NYCEDC 
New York City Economic Development Corporation is a mission-driven, nonprofit organization that works for a vibrant, inclusive, and globally competitive economy for all New Yorkers. We take a comprehensive approach, through four main strategies: strengthen confidence in NYC as a great place to do business; grow innovative sectors with a focus on equity; build neighborhoods as places to live, learn, work, and play; and deliver sustainable infrastructure for communities and the city’s future economy. To learn more about what we do, visit us on Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, and Instagram.