231st Street Builds Its Future

Kingsbridge has long been home to an ethnically diverse cross section of middle- and working-class residents. Now developers of two new condo buildings are trying to attract more affluent families to the area from northern Manhattan and beyond. One selling point for West Kingsbridge is its proximity to Riverdale, a wealthier Bronx community on the Hudson River.

While West 231st is just two subway stops from Manhattan on the No. 1 train, getting potential residents to cross the border into the Bronx has always been difficult. But developers say that affordable prices—along with quiet streets and an abundance of private, parochial and charter schools—is helping them overcome the negative perceptions of the Bronx.

"We're trying to tell people that if they stay on the subway for another 10 minutes, they can save hundreds of thousands of dollars and have lower taxes and live in a doorman building," said Rutherford Thompson, a managing director at Jackson Capital Partners Corp., the sales and leasing agent for Sycamore Court, a 63-unit building that opened recently at the corner of 231st and Corlear Avenue.

Watch the Bronx change before your eyes.