Will New Mall Stem Bronx Depression?

By Michael Horowitz

BRONX, NEW YORK, May 17- With unemployment in the Bronx reaching 14.1 percent in February, Bay Plaza's new mall promises to be a big economic boon for Co-op City and the rest of the Bronx.

All told, the new mall is expected to generate 3,700 new jobs, 2,000 temporary positions relating to construction of the mall and another 1,700 permanent jobs.

At a time of deep economic retrenchment on a wide variety of fronts, Prestige Properties is planning to spend $270 million on construction of the new enclosed mall.

The new mall at Bay Plaza, in addition to providing greatly expanded opportunities for shopping, is expected to spur a variety of ancillary economic activities and commerce in the area.

Renovations at the existing portion of Bay Plaza have already started. Ultimately, Prestige Properties plans to spend $5 million on renovations of the existing portion of Bay Plaza, which opened in the mid-1980s.

Ultimately, the current and new portion of Bay Plaza will be connected into one enclosed mall.

Joseph Comparetto, senior vice president of Prestige, stressed, in a recent interview, “It is important that a shopping center not look outdated or faded. That's why we're spending an estimated $5 million on renovations of the existing portion of the shopping center.”

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