Simone in contract for Verizon building

Simone in contract for Verizon building

A well-respected developer is currently under contract to purchase a piece of Westchester Square real estate whose new incarnation could signal a rebirth of the busy commercial area.

Simone Development, the builder of the highly regarded and ever-expanding Hutchinson Metro Center at 1200-50 Waters Place, is making preparations to purchase the former Verizon Building which was a customer service call-center located at 2510 Westchester Avenue.

Joseph Simone, president of Simone Development, confirmed that the company is in the process of purchasing the 60,000 square-foot two-story building, which increase to three stories as it progresses back from Westchester Avenue. Simone’s firm has once again put its money where its mouth is in showing it is bullish on the Bronx.

“We would like to transform the building into something beautiful for the area,” Simone said. “We want to make it into a centerpiece for the square. It is well located, across the street from the Westchester Square train station.”

Simone Development prides itself on visionary development of quality properties in the Bronx, Westchester, Manhattan, and Long Island City. The company develops everything from class-A office space, like that found at the Hutchinson Metro Center, to luxury housing.

Simone said that the first and second floors of the building’s frontage on Westchester Avenue would be used for retail space, while the rear of the building would house office space.

“We plan on putting a brand new ‘face’ on the front of the building with a glass storefront,” Simone said of the tentative plans. “We want to make a mixed use building out of it with quality office, medical, and retail space.”

Simone said that work would commence as soon as the sale is complete.

“I am really excited about it and happy to be purchasing it,” Simone stated. “I think it is something the area will enjoy and be proud of.”

In the Westchester Square business community, many of the merchants are breathing a sigh of relief about the pending sale of the property, which they worried could become a burden if left vacant and hamper revitalization efforts that are currently sweeping through the Westchester Square area.

“I am very happy to hear about this,” said Westchester Square Merchants Association President John Bonizio of Metro Optics Eyewear. “Simone Development is an organization that has put their money where their mouth is when it comes to this part of the Bronx. The Hutchinson Metro Center has made zip code 10461 the greatest for new job development in the Bronx.”

Bonizio is currently in the process of forming a Business Improvement District with the city, and said that Simone Development’s further investment into the area will be a major accomplishment for those advocating for the economic resurgence of the busy commercial and transportation hub.