New York is one step closer to calling the much-anticipated Universal Hip Hop Museum its own: just a few days ago, A-listers headed to the Bronx to celebrate the groundbreaking of the new cultural destination.
Bronx borough President Ruben Diaz Jr. was the master of ceremonies and the likes of hip hop legends Grandmaster Flash, LL Cool J, Fat Joe, Lil Kim and Nas were also present.
Although still slated to welcome guests in 2023, the museum hosted a 3D tour of its interior back in February to the delight of all music fans. New Yorkers can expect a 60,000-square-foot space to take over South Bronx—the birthplace of hip hop—as part of a grander $349 million mixed-use development dubbed Bronx Point that will include the construction of 500 permanent affordable housing units (across a million square feet of space!), a playground, a green public-use area and an esplanade along the Harlem River.
The museum itself, designed by S9 Architecture, will be 22 stories tall.
Taking the stage during the groundbreaking event, Grandmaster Flash harked back to the 1970s, when hip hop first took over the town. “This is a really special time,” he said. “There was a time when nobody [cared] about the Bronx. This thing we were doing was anti-everything.”
“The groundbreaking for the first phase of Bronx Point is a tremendous step forward for our borough,” Diaz Jr. said during the occasion. “Not only will this project create much-needed affordable housing units, but it will also activate underutilized space, open up more waterfront to public access, create new public spaces and retail amenities for community use. This development will combine two of my favorite things, history and hip hop, bringing the Universal Hip Hop Museum to its rightful location in the birthplace of hip hop, the Bronx.”
Check out some more renderings of the new development below:
