The century-old Bronx General Post Office on the Grand Concourse is getting a second life as Hostos Community College’s new Allied Health and Natural Sciences hub, with its grand marble lobby and historic murals slated to stay while the upper floors are rebuilt for labs and classrooms. Hostos officials say the project will pull multiple health care programs under one roof in a single, modern facility just steps from the main campus, and visible work at the block-long site has college leaders talking about a major shift in training options for the South Bronx.
The plan is powered by a mix of city dollars and private investment. Mayor Eric Adams and CUNY have committed $12.3 million in baselined funding to lease space in the building, while developer BPO Owner LLC is taking on an approximately $70 million renovation. According to the NYC Mayor's Office, about 190,000 square feet will be used by Hostos and roughly 10,000 square feet will remain in postal service operations. Earlier coverage of the announcement appeared under the headline City Invests $12.3M, highlighting the scale of the commitment.
Preliminary renderings and a campus presentation this spring show modern wet labs, mock surgical suites and a new central stair threaded through the historic shell, while leaving the New Deal-era mural cycle in place. As reported by News12 Bronx, Esther Rodríguez Chardavoyne, Hostos’ senior vice president for administration and finance, said, “We feel that we will be able to attract a lot more students.” Detailed designs and a project timeline were shared with faculty and staff in May, according to Hostos Community College.
The site changed hands in mid-2025, and CUNY has signed a 35-year lease for the property. Commercial reporting puts the initial rent at about $15.5 million in the first year with 3 percent annual escalations and an early option to buy. Commercial Observer reviewed the deal terms, and industry coverage has framed the long-term rent stream as a major private investment in the South Bronx. Bisnow described the agreement as a multi-hundred-million-dollar commitment to the borough.
What the new hub will include
The revamped building is slated to bring together Hostos’ allied health and natural sciences programs in one specialized hub that includes instructional labs, lab support zones, faculty offices, general classrooms and student services. Per CUNY, the center is designed to serve thousands of students and could support programs such as nursing, radiologic technology, surgical technology and occupational therapy, while giving the college more room to expand its clinical training capacity.
Preserving a landmark and its murals
Developers say they intend to respect the building’s protected architectural features, including artist Ben Shahn’s murals and the soaring double-height marble lobby that helped secure interior landmark status. The lobby was formally designated an interior city landmark in 2013, according to a filing from the City Planning Commission, and the renovation team has said the design will have to carefully balance state-of-the-art lab needs with those preservation requirements.
Timeline and what’s next
The schedule depends on which update you look at. In a September 3, 2025 announcement, the mayor’s office projected that construction would start in fall 2026 and wrap in time for a fall 2028 opening. More recent Hostos updates this spring, along with a June 25, 2026 report from News12 Bronx, say work is already underway and the college is now aiming to occupy the building by the end of 2027. According to the NYC Mayor's Office, construction had originally been expected to begin in fall 2026, while Hostos’ internal presentation and the News12 Bronx update indicate the timeline has moved up, with a projected move in by late 2027. Before students can start classes in the new facility, the developer and CUNY still need to navigate permitting, secure the necessary panel approvals and complete phased build-outs inside the landmark shell.
