Seven Year Extension Will Keep one of the World’s Largest Wholesale Produce Markets and Approximately 3,000 Jobs in the Bronx
Deputy Mayor Robert K. Steel and New York City Economic Development Corporation President Kyle Kimball today announced that the Hunts Point Terminal Produce Market has exercised a seven year lease renewal option, which commits the market to stay in the Hunts Point section of the Bronx until June of 2021. The Terminal Produce Market is among the largest wholesale produce markets in the world, sitting on 105 acres of property and comprising one million square feet of interior space, of which 660,000 square feet is refrigerated. This lease renewal will keep the approximately 3,000 direct jobs at the Terminal Produce Market in the Bronx for at least the next seven years, providing a significant economic impact and ensuring this important piece of the food distribution infrastructure of New York City and the region remains in the borough. The agreement also preserves the Terminal Produce Market’s existing 10 year renewal option which can be exercised in June 2021 in order to continue to operate on the site into the future. The Hunts Point Terminal Produce Market and the City will also partner for repair work to the existing buildings and site to ensure the market is operating in a more modernized facility.
“Thousands of New York City businesses, workers, and residents rely on the Hunts Point Terminal Produce Market, which has been a critical part of the City’s industrial sector and the Bronx economy for a generation,” said Deputy Mayor Steel. “For the last several years, the City has worked closely with the Market, along with our partners in government and the community, to ensure the facility remains in the Bronx where it will continue to generate billions of dollars in revenue, create thousands of well-paying jobs, and provide the neighborhood with critical economic activity. I would like to offer thanks to the local elected officials, especially Borough President Ruben Diaz Jr., for their shared commitment to these efforts, as well as our federal partners – Senators Schumer and Gillibrand, and Representatives Serrano and Crowley – without whom this important achievement would not have been possible.”
“The Hunts Point Terminal Produce Market has been an integral part of New York City’s economy for nearly 50 years, creating jobs for thousands of people and providing fresh produce to millions of New Yorkers,” said NYCEDC President Kyle Kimball. “Today’s announcement that the Market will remain in Hunts Point until 2021 ensures that these jobs remain in the Bronx, strengthening the industrial sector within the outer boroughs and building a stronger and more diverse New York City for years to come.”
“The Hunts Point Produce Market is pleased to have reached agreement on a lease extension with the Bloomberg Administration,” said Joe Palumbo and Jeffrey Hass, Co-Presidents of the Hunts Point Produce Market. “Under the terms of the agreement, we will continue to generate more than $2 billion in annual sales and 10,000 local jobs in the Bronx while we explore with the City our long range needs.”
“The Hunts Point Terminal Produce Market is one of the largest economic engines in the entire region, and this new agreement will keep thousands of jobs right where they belong: in the Bronx,” said Bronx Borough President Ruben Diaz Jr. “I’m happy to have worked with the Bloomberg administration, Deputy Mayor Steel, the NYCEDC and the Bronx Overall Economic Development Corporation over the past year to help make this agreement a reality.”
Opened in 1967, the Terminal Produce Market occupies 105 acres, and consists of four primary warehouse structures, two adjunct warehouses, and various administrative and maintenance structures, making it the largest produce market in the country. The market is home to 47 merchants ranging from small firms with three employees to large firms with approximately 400 employees for an aggregate total of roughly 3,000 employees. The market captures an estimated $2.3 billion in revenue per year, or 22 percent of regional wholesale produce sales, as well as approximately 60 percent of the produce sales within New York City.
The Hunts Point Peninsula is home to approximately 800 businesses and over 13,000 employees. Approximately half of the Peninsula is occupied by the City’s primary food distribution facility, the 329-acre Food Distribution Center, the largest in North America, which serves over 23 million customers in the greater metropolitan region. The Food Distribution Center is one of the largest such centers in the world, comprised of over 115 private wholesalers operating from the Hunts Point Terminal Produce Market, the Cooperative Meat Market, and the New Fulton Fish Market, who generate more than $3 billion in combined sales annually. The Food Distribution Center is also comprised of parcels leased to other major food and beverage distribution companies like Anheuser-Busch, Baldor Specialty Foods, Krasdale Foods, and Dairyland, a subsidiary of Chef’s Warehouse.