Two significant policy developments are reshaping how housing gets built in the Bronx — and both are moving into active implementation in 2026. The Bronx Metro-North Station Area Plan, approved by the City Council in 2024, is approaching the milestone of new station openings expected by 2027. And a brand-new fast-track land use process called ELURP (Expedited Land Use Review Procedure) just recorded its first approval in the borough, at a site in Mott Haven.
Here’s what both developments mean for Bronx residents, what neighborhoods are most affected, and how to stay engaged as these plans take shape on the ground.
The Metro-North Station Area Plan: 7,000 Homes Around Four New Stations
The Bronx Metro-North Station Area Plan was approved by the NYC City Council in August 2024 and rezoned 46 blocks around four future Metro-North commuter rail stations: Co-op City, Hunts Point, Morris Park, and Parkchester/Van Nest. Those stations are currently under construction and are expected to open by 2027, creating direct rail connections to Midtown Manhattan from parts of the East Bronx that have long been underserved by transit.
The rezoning tied to those stations is designed to create approximately 7,000 new homes in the surrounding areas, with a quarter of those units targeted at households earning below 60% of the Area Median Income — roughly $76,000 for a family of three. The theory is straightforward: put new transit first, then enable the density that transit can support.
Alongside the housing, the City Council secured $498.5 million in community investment commitments, negotiated as a condition of the plan’s passage. That investment package includes nearly $119 million for renovations of local parks and playgrounds, $12 million for upgrades to local schools, street and sewer improvements to address flooding that has long plagued parts of the East Bronx, and redesign of the streets and sidewalks immediately around the four new station areas.
Parkchester Getting a $149 Million Boost
Of the four station neighborhoods, Parkchester has attracted some of the most focused investment attention. The neighborhood — a large planned community in the East Bronx originally built in the 1940s — is slated to receive approximately $149 million in direct investment as part of the Metro-North Station Area Plan commitments. That funding is expected to go toward infrastructure upgrades, open space improvements, and neighborhood services in the corridor surrounding the new Parkchester/Van Nest station.
For longtime Parkchester residents, the arrival of Metro-North service will represent a genuinely new transportation option — something residents there have been pushing for over many years.
First ELURP Approval: 351 Powers Avenue in Mott Haven
On a different front, the Bronx made history in early 2026 as the site of the city’s first-ever approval under the new ELURP — Expedited Land Use Review Procedure. This is a fast-track process that didn’t exist six months ago, created to speed the approval of affordable housing projects that meet specific criteria.
The first ELURP approval went to a project at 351 Powers Avenue in Mott Haven, in the South Bronx. The project will deliver 84 units of affordable housing, along with a community theater and a workforce training facility — amenities that the neighborhood has been pushing for alongside any new housing development. The ELURP pathway allowed this project to move through the land use review process faster than the standard ULURP track, which can take over a year.
The ELURP precedent matters beyond this single project: it signals that the city has a new tool for clearing the pipeline of affordable housing approvals that have often been delayed by lengthy review timelines. Whether it gets used more broadly across the Bronx — and what types of projects qualify — will be worth watching in the months ahead.
What Comes Next
With the Metro-North stations expected to open in 2027, the next 18 months are critical. Developers who have been waiting on zoning clarity are now beginning to file applications in the Co-op City, Hunts Point, Morris Park, and Parkchester/Van Nest corridors. Community boards in those areas — CB2 (Hunts Point/Mott Haven), CB9 (Morris Park/Parkchester), and CB10 (Co-op City) — will be central to the public review of those applications.
Residents who want to shape what gets built in their neighborhoods need to be at those community board meetings before applications are certified — not after construction has started.
What You Need to Know
- The Bronx Metro-North Station Area Plan rezones 46 blocks around four new rail stations: Co-op City, Hunts Point, Morris Park, and Parkchester/Van Nest.
- The stations are expected to open by 2027, bringing direct Metro-North service to the East Bronx for the first time.
- The rezoning targets approximately 7,000 new homes, with a quarter affordable below 60% AMI.
- $498.5 million in community investments was negotiated as part of the plan — including parks, school upgrades, and street redesigns around the station areas.
- Parkchester is set to receive approximately $149 million of that investment.
- The city’s first-ever ELURP approval was granted in the Bronx, at 351 Powers Avenue in Mott Haven — 84 affordable units plus a community theater and workforce training facility.
- Watch Bronx Community Boards 2, 9, and 10 for upcoming land use hearings as development applications come in.
For earlier coverage of community board activity in the Bronx, see our report on what Bronx CB4 and Queens CB7 are deciding this spring. And for background on the East Fordham Road building activity that’s been accompanying the Bronx’s broader development surge, see our Bronx development watch on the 13-story buildings planned for East Fordham Road.
