by Kasia Romanowska 

On Aug. 27, city officials gathered at Fordham Plaza, the heart of the borough, to break ground on the second phase of a multi-million dollar revitalization project on the plaza.

Located on Fordham Road between Third and Webster avenues, the plaza is pegged as “truly a reflection of what’s great about the Bronx; the energy, the vibrancy and the culture of diversity,” according to city Department of Transportation Commissioner Polly Trottenberg.

The project is federally funded, with Trottenberg remembering when the project applied for funds from the United States Department of Transportation, where she served as the agency’s under secretary. Upgrades include roadway repair, sidewalk reconstruction, tree plantings and construction of a brand new café-style seating area with a canopy intended for the nearly 80,000 pedestrians who hustle along the area daily.

Several factors contribute to the high volume of traffic. One of those factors includes its surroundings. Fordham Road makes up the bulk of the Fordham Road Business Improvement District, the largest BID in the Bronx. It’s also home to Fordham University and One Fordham Plaza, housing thousands of students and office workers respectively.

According to the city Department of Design and Construction Commissioner Dr. Feniosky Peña-Mora, the redesign “will help to make this major transit hub a more welcoming gateway to the borough.”

The BID is the third largest pedestrian district in the city, an active pathway for commuters daily. Fordham Road is also a major transit and commercial thoroughfare connecting Manhattan to Westchester County. It is a primary crossroad of the MTA’s Special Bus Service 12. It also boasts a Metro-North train station, the third busiest station in the system.

The winning project had to overcome fierce competition, eventually chosen over 1,000 applications. Considering that the BID is the largest shopping strip in the Bronx and the third largest in the city, reimagining public space has remained pivotal for the economic aspect. The developments also come just in time as the Fordham BID is slated to begin managing the large plaza, taking a different approach from these past few years when ABC Properties oversaw the lot.

“Improved and beautified plazas make our communities more livable, safe and accessible, providing a boost to local businesses and encouraging job creation,” said Borough President Ruben Diaz Jr.

Nevertheless, some merchants worry about the chaos created by the reconstruction. There may be limited street access, though Peña-Mora told the Norwood News his crew will keep the work inside the plaza without creating too many problems to commuters.

For now, concerns can be directed to Jonathan Conte, acting as the DDC’s community liaison. His email is FordhamPlazaCCL@gmail.com.

The project will be conducted in several phases and is expected to be completed by fall 2015.