Bedford Union Armory To Be Named For Major Robert Owens, Pols Say

CROWN HEIGHTS, BROOKLYN — Crown Heights' Bedford Union Army will soon be renamed for late Congressman Major Robert Owens, city officials announced on Friday.

The massive city-owned site — whose redevelopment has been hotly debated for years — will now be known as the The Major R. Owens Health and Wellness Community Center when it opens later this year.

Owens, who died in 2013, represented New York's 12th Congressional District for nearly a quarter century and was previously a librarian with the Brooklyn Public Library. The renaming will celebrate his tenure, as well as his accomplishments fighting for social justice, officials said.

“Major Owens left Brooklyn better than he found it, and New York City is proud to honor his legacy with this facility,” said Mayor Bill de Blasio. “Generations of New Yorkers will learn, grow, and play at this community center, and they will have a role model of strength and fairness as they do.”

The community center is set to house a 60,000 square-foot recreation center, with an indoor swimming pool, three hardwood basketball courts, an indoor soccer field, dance and performance studios, a fitness center and areas designated for boxing and archery.

It will also include 45,000 square feet of space for local community-based non-profits.

The residential components of the Armory project is set to open in 2022 and 2023. The project is slated to bring 415 homes, 250 of which will be set aside as affordable.

The renaming comes nearly a decade after city officials first began working on plans to redevelop the site, which was once a military building used for training and storage. Before his death, Owens had been looking into turning the space into a community center for the neighborhood, according to the city.

"Major Owens believed that institution-building was the key to community empowerment and the well-being of every community,” said his son, Chris Owens. “His vision for the Armory space emerged decades ago and he wanted community participation in the development of the ideas — which there was. This renaming is a fitting way to remember the Congressman."

Find out more about the project here.