Grand Concourse

Melting pot of styles

By Shira Levine | Special to amNewYork

September 21, 2006

Between the building of the new Yankee Stadium, a soon-to-be renovated Bronx Museum and Edgar Allan Poe Park, there is a lot of history on the brink of reflourishing along the Grand Concourse.

But history isn't the only thing that makes the boulevard special.

The four-mile long and 180-foot-across stretch of curving and hilly pavement was modeled on France's Champs Elysées.

During its heyday the Grand Concourse was regarded as the borough's very own Park Avenue. Today, the neighborhood is also home to some of the city's best pizza, as well as shopping bargains.

Visually, what makes the Grand Concourse so remarkable is juxtaposition of the 1920s neo-classical and Art Deco architecture with the reality of urban life. The ornate facades and gilded columns are curious backdrops for fast food restaurants, car insurance billboards and liquidation advertisements.

Once inhabited exclusively by former Lower East Side Jews, Italians and other newly middle class immigrants, it isn't surprising now to meet people across the five boroughs and the nation who still have some connection to the neighborhood.

Today's settlers are largely Dominican, Puerto Rican and African American families.

Babe Ruth used to live just blocks away from Yankee Stadium in the Grand Concourse Hotel. Regis Philbin, Grand Master Flash, James Caan, Jennifer Lopez, Cuba Gooding Jr., Al Pacino and the Dapper Don also have roots here. And like most people who grew up in the Bronx, they share an intense nostalgia for their old neighborhood.

Real estate
The Grand Concourse neighborhood offers multi-family homes and townhouses and Art Deco apartment buildings that are both rental and co-op. The city sponsors low-interest loans for some pre-war rental buildings.

"There are large enough spaces to raise a family on the Grand Concourse," said Borough President Adolfo Carrion. "Our job as a community is to make sure it is safe and has good schools. The middle class is moving into the lower Concourse."

Adrian Thompkins, a real estate agent for Corcoran in the Bronx and Harlem said, "The prices affordable, perhaps even lagging. There are many large apartments with great pre-war detail that are going for a fraction of prices than found in other boroughs."

What's renting
-$600-$800 a month for a 400 square-foot studio
$800-$1,100 a month for a 700 square-foot one-bedroom
$1,100-$1,600 a month for a 1,000 square-foot two-bedroom

What's selling
1220 Grand Concourse: Entire building sold for $1,797,500 and includes 23 units.
1020 Grand Concourse: One bedroom in desirable building, The Executive Towers, sold for $75,000.00.
Two-bedroom at executive towers sold for $165,000.00