A historic former courthouse in the South Bronx, abandoned since the 1970s, is on the market for the first time in years, raising hopes that the space may finally be put to use after several false starts.
The landmarked Bronx Borough Courthouse takes up a full block at the intersection of E. 161st St. between Third and Brook Aves. in Melrose and has been vacant for nearly 50 years. It was listed for sale in March with an asking price of $40 million, which was recently cut to $35 million.
“It’s gorgeous, it’s a piece of history,” said broker Shlomi Bagdadi of Tri State Commercial Realty.
Today, the 121,000-square-foot Beaux-Arts building boasts a grand lobby, intricate stonework and new electric and mechanical systems. The granite structure was nicknamed “the Gray Lady,” supposedly in honor of a famous marble statue on the facade depicting Lady Justice without a blindfold.
Built between 1905 and 1915, the Courthouse was once a civic hub for the borough. It housed three courts, a coroner’s office and a jail until 1934, when most city services relocated to the newly built courthouse on Grand Concourse. It served as a criminal court until 1977 and was vacated a year later as the South Bronx fell into decline.
Over the years, community organizations tried and failed to acquire the Courthouse, and the city put it up for auction twice before it was bought by Liberty Square Realty in 1998. It has remained empty aside from a brief stint hosting an art exhibition in 2015.
In 2017, the charter school operator Success Academy announced plans to transform the property into a high school, but the deal collapsed amid litigation that remains ongoing, according to court records.
Bagdadi said zoning prohibits the building from turning residential, but he voiced hope that the city might be interested in reacquiring it.
“The only fitting buyer, in my opinion, is someone that either works with the government, a government contract or a government agency that is going to actually restore this into the use of the local community,” he said.
The Courthouse isn’t the only borough landmark up for sale. The Bronx General Post Office on Grand Concourse was recently listed for $70 million, five years after a previous deal fell through.
