Hunts Point Produce Market to get $110M federal grant for ‘critical modernization’

NEW YORK — The market that supplies 25% of New York City’s fresh produce is getting another financial shot in the arm toward solving the challenge of redeveloping the hub’s outdated infrastructure.

Hunts Point Produce Market, which distributes more than 8.5 billion pounds of fresh fruits and vegetables a year to the city and surrounding metropolitan areas, will receive a $110 million federal grant to upgrade and improve its facilities, according to a news release.

The money will come from a U.S. Department of Transportation Infrastructure for Rebuilding America grant and will be used to strengthen critical freight movement and improve the environment, public health and quality of life for the Hunts Point community.

This step — with some of the $140 million promised by Mayor Eric Adams in his “Hunts Point Forward” and “Rebuild, Renew, Reinvent: A Blueprint for New York City’s Economic Recovery” plans — will make a good dent in the large investment needed to get the job done, market CEO Phillip Grant said in the release.

“Revitalizing the Hunts Point Produce Market will have a direct economic and environmental impact — not only nationally but especially locally right here in the Bronx,” Grant said. “We are hopeful that with the outstanding support we have received from our federal and city leadership that we will be able to secure the additional public support needed to truly revitalize our market and, as a result, significantly improve our regions food infrastructure for generations to come.”

The new produce market will be an about 1 million square feet, with a modern intermodal freight facility with more than 800,000 square feet of refrigerated warehouse space and 200,00 square feet of ancillary space, according to the release. The new facility will be compliant with the FDA’s Food Safety Modernization Act and will expand much-needed refrigerated warehouse space and pallet capacity — eliminating 1,000 diesel-powered refrigerated trailer units that idle onsite as additional storage and greatly reducing emissions in the surrounding community.

The redevelopment will also improve site circulation and coordination of inbound and outbound traffic, and it will facilitate increased rail usage.

Related: NYC's Hunts Point Produce Market central to mayor's initial $40 million investment

The grant application was prepared by the New York City Economic Development Corporation, the New York City Department of Transportation and the New York City Department of Small Business Services.

The $110 million grant is part of the Biden-Harris Administration’s $1.5 billion Infrastructure for Rebuilding America competitive grant program for highway, multimodal freight and rail projects.

“Hunts Point Market is extremely vital to New York City’s food supply chain, but it needs a critical modernization and redevelopment to sustain the community and chart an even better future. Now, with $110 million in federal funds, revitalization of the market is one giant step closer,” said U.S. Senator Chuck Schumer. “These funds will help increase food security, meet growing food demands, maintain and produce new good-paying jobs, reduce diesel emissions in an area with a sky-high asthma rate and so much more.”

The produce market is one of the key areas of redevelopment outlined in Mayor Adams’ “Rebuild, Renew, Reinvent: A Blueprint for New York City’s Economic Recovery” and his “Hunts Point Forward” plan announced earlier this year.

The mayor’s report says redeveloping the produce market will:

• Protect and strengthen the food supply chain on the city, regional and national levels;
• Keep and grow the 2,000 quality jobs at the produce market;
• Reduce emissions on city-owned land in Hunts Point, where residents face a disproportionate burden of environmental hazards relative to the rest of New York City;
• Support market business growth and use the produce market space more efficiently; and
• Create a global model for 21st-century urban food distribution.

“I look forward to continuing to work with [the U.S. Department of Transportation and other government and nongovernment partners] to deliver the rest of the funding we need to get this critical project done,” Adams said.

Related news: Hunts Point Produce Market, community to get $140 million from NYC