Schools, Community Space, A YMCA And — Oh Yeah — A Multiplex

Plans for Kingsbridge Armory in the Bronx may be closer to Fine:

Ten years after winning control of the gigantic, castle-like Kingsbridge Armory, the city may be close to figuring out what to do with it.

Developer Peter Fine has pitched a plan — including schools, a YMCA, big and small retailers and a multiplex — to the local community board, and the process is inching forward.

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The city inherited the 408,000-square-foot state armory — covering four city blocks — in 1996. Since then, plans have come and gone — but none garnered the required combination of financial backing, local support and political will.

Fine, head of Atlantic Development Group, one of New York’s largest developers of affordable housing, may become the first to nail down all three.

“We worked closely with local residents, civic leaders, clergy, education advocates and elected officials to create a community-oriented plan that delivers schools, jobs, athletic facilities, entertainment, retail and community space,” said Fine.

Fine has cultivated good relationships with many of the elected officials on a city task force overseeing the approval process, making significant campaign contributions. Like the plans preferred by the community, Fine’s includes public schools for 2,000 students, a 57,200-square-foot YMCA, another 13,000-25,000 square feet of community space, a retail portion with a major department store, a cinema and a parking garage.

Location scout: Kingsbridge Armory.