A huge empty industrial building near the South Bronx waterfront is drawing interest from one of the largest warehouse companies in the country, and opposition from the neighborhood around it.
The nearly 400,000-square-foot facility at 900 E. 132nd St. served as the New York Post's printing plant until 2021 and has sat unused since the paper moved its operations to Queens, The City Reporter reported. Logistics real estate company Prologis, whose tenants include Amazon, FedEx and Home Depot, has been interested in the site for years, according to lobbying records, reports and locals who have spoken with the company.
No final plan, the company says
To be clear, no warehouse project has been announced. Through a spokesperson, Prologis said there is no "final project plan" for the site and that it is only "evaluating" it. The company also denied that it has acquired the building.
"We are evaluating the site, as we do other potential projects in the region," spokesperson Mattie Sorrentino said, adding there is no "customer or final project plan at this time." She called the community group's claims "inaccurate and outdated."
Community advocates came away from an Oct. 9 meeting with a different impression. Zoe Voss Lee, an urban planner consulting for South Bronx Unite, said Prologis "essentially confirmed their plan to move forward with building a warehouse site" during a conversation with her group and the Waterfront Alliance. She said the company suggested it might be part of Blue Highways, a city program to move freight from highways to waterways. Sorrentino said the site hasn't been selected for that program.
The City Reporter noted a 2022 report from The Real Deal that said Prologis was then in "late-stage talks" to acquire the property.
Lobbying and ownership
City and state records show Prologis began lobbying local elected officials about the site in 2021 and continued through this summer, spending at least $15,000 on related lobbying contracts in the past year alone, according to The City Reporter.
The ownership picture is complicated. Part of the site is owned by the state Department of Transportation, but private developer Galesi Group has controlled it through a 99-year lease since 1991. The rest is owned outright by a Galesi-controlled company, according to the outlet's review of an archived state comptroller report and property records. The site has been leased to the New York Post and FedEx in the past.
A neighborhood that says it has enough
South Bronx Unite rallied at the site Thursday. The area, surrounded by highways and filled with industrial depots, is known as "asthma alley" for having some of the highest childhood asthma rates in the country, the outlet reported.
"It's not okay that we're the place to bring facilities that contribute to our poor air quality," said Mychal Johnson, the group's co-founder, as passing trucks interrupted his speech.
In August, South Bronx Unite met with residents and Massachusetts Institute of Technology researchers to talk about other possible uses, such as a clean energy hub, community center or solar space. Lee said those ideas were preliminary.
Sorrentino said Prologis recognizes local concerns about traffic, air quality and waterfront access and wants to be a long-term partner in the community.
What comes next
For now, there is no filed plan, no announced tenant and no construction schedule. Contractors should treat this as a site to watch, not a job to bid.
Why it matters for contractors
A building of nearly 400,000 square feet in the Bronx is a significant piece of industrial real estate. If Prologis or another owner does move forward, converting or redeveloping a former printing plant into a modern logistics facility would involve demolition or heavy renovation, structural and slab work, roofing, loading docks and electrical upgrades.
But this story is also a lesson in risk. Last-mile warehouses in New York City face strong community opposition, and The City Reporter noted that Prologis has lobbied on proposed rules that would add scrutiny to some new warehouses and regulate their air pollution. Those rules, along with neighborhood pushback, can shape what gets built, how long approvals take and what environmental features are required.
Contractors who work on industrial projects in the five boroughs should follow both the site and the city's warehouse rules closely. The outcome at 900 E. 132nd St. could hint at how future logistics projects get treated across the city.