For 18 years, Kingsbridge residents who’ve relied on the Social Security Administration office knew the nearest site was 2720 Jerome Ave.

But come Nov. 2, the SSA office will be relocated to 2501 Grand Concourse. Its more spacious office includes extra seating and interview windows for clients.

The two-story property on Jerome, covering 19,000 square-feet of rentable space, is now up for grabs. Steeped by a main road and plenty of mass transit, the Kingsbridge SSA office was centralized around a bustling corridor. But a more attractive point is the fact it lies across the Kingsbridge Armory, slated to be refashioned into the Kingsbridge National Ice Center, though dragging its feet on actual development.

Speculation has run rampant over whether the area will be gentrified, though real estate trends have indicated Kingsbridge and neighboring Norwood to be hot at the moment. The KNIC project, for instance, has drawn more real estate activity to the neighborhood than in previous years.

The SSA office opened in 1997, after the federal General Services Administration signed a lease with 2720 Jerome Avenue Inc., a limited liability corporation. The GSA paid a yearly rent of $497,000, according to the real estate website Property Shark. It has a market rate value of $2.4 million. The current lease ran through 2017, two years before the GSA relocated the Kingsbridge SSA. It’s unclear why the GSA reneged on their lease early.

A spokesperson for the SSA referred the matter to GSA. A spokesperson did not return a phone call over the circumstances behind the move.

The move by SSA adds to a growing list of real estate activity happening in Kingsbridge, though real estate analysts told the Norwood News it’s too early to tell whether credit should be given to the KNIC project.

In June, an anonymous buyer purchased 135-145 W. Kingsbridge Rd. for $15 million. Sitting across the street from the James J. Peters Veterans Hospital, the 67,000-square-foot property is home to a six-story walk-up complete with 10 occupied retail stores and 57 mostly rent-regulated apartments.

A year before, a Kingsbridge landlord imposed a rent increase on tenants occupying a site at the southeast corner of Jerome Avenue and Kingsbridge Road. The businesses-a diner and retail stores–faced a 200 percent rent increase that was later scaled back.

On a recent morning, SSA beneficiaries lined up outside the Kingsbridge office before opening, musing over what should occupy the site. “We don’t need more retail,” said Ed Nolan. “Maybe Lehman College can expand here.”

One Kingsbridge resident, who declined to give her name, suggested any project will go to the highest bidder. “It’s just about money, money, money,” she said.