Largest and most sustainable multi-storey distribution hubs in New York City unveiled

Bronx Logistics Center (BLC), the largest and most sustainable multi-storey distribution hub in New York City has been unveiled. This comes approximately 4 years since the construction of the facility began in 2021 on a 14.2-acre site along East 149th Street near the East River.

ARCO Design/Build (ARCO) built and developed the multi-story distribution hub in partnership with Turnbridge Equities, Dune Real Estate Partners, and Sterling Project Development (SPD).

ARCO is a national design/build firm that specializes in cold storage warehouses, light industrial distribution and manufacturing while Turnbridge is a privately held, SEC-registered, vertically integrated real estate investment and development firm.

Dune Real Estate on the other hand is a New York-based real estate firm, focusing on the acquisition, development, and redevelopment of real estate assets while SPD is a real estate advisory firm that provides project/development management services for developers as well as end users, and due diligence/strategic advisory services for investors.

An overview of the Bronx Logistics Center

The largest and most sustainable multi-story distribution hubs in New York City spans a total of 1.3 million square feet and it features 32-foot ceiling spans, 585,000 square feet of Class A warehouse space and dedicated entrances for flatbed trucks.

Additionally, the Bronx Logistics Center includes a five-story garage for truck fleet parking and 1,500 surface-level parking spaces. It reportedly boasts one of NYC’s largest parking facilities in a distribution centre.

The facility is also in close proximity to Manhattan and Hunts Point Cooperative Market. As a result, it offers easy access to major transportation hubs, including interstates, the barge-filled East River, freight rail, and subway stops.

Sustainable features of the largest and most sustainable multi-storey distribution hubs in New York City

To improve the building’s overall efficiency, the project team installed an on-site Con Edison electrical substation. The latter will provide power to all the 500 featured electric vehicle charging stations for standard passenger cars and tractor-trailers.

There is also an onsite 2.9-megawatt solar system with over 6,600 panels on the building’s rooftop. The solar system makes the building one of New York City’s largest private sources of renewable energy and contributes to the city and state’s ambitious climate goals.

Additional green-design features at the largest and most sustainable multi-storey distribution hubs in New York City include smart water meters, high-efficiency light fixtures, and MERV-13 indoor air filters. There is also a designated area for bike storage that is meant to encourage the use of bicycles to and from the logistics centre.

Thanks to these features, in 2023 the facility achieved a LEED v4 Platinum rating, the highest LEED certification granted by the U.S. Green Building Council. As a result, it became the East Coast’s first distribution centre to achieve this distinction.

The property’s possible tenants and leasing agent

The Bronx Logistics Center aims to serve retail, e-commerce inventory, delivery logistics operations, entertainment soundstages, and cold storage.

Jones Lang LaSalle (JLL), a world leader in real estate services, managing over four billion square feet of property worldwide, is the exclusive leasing agent for the Bronx Logistics Centre.