JERSEY CITY | Projects and Construction thread

[citybooster]

Rather than Nimbyism, I'd aim to limit parking in all major developments especially because we're congested enough already at peak hours in the morning and late afternoon...emphasize transit already. Not going for a total parking ban but it's not the frakking suburbs here... let's not have a congested city traffic wise worse than we have now. Improve bus, light rail, train options...even trolleys and those commuter buses over the next decade or so, let's improve our transit infrastructure capacity and make it easier to get around and enjoy the neighborhoods and communities developing city wide. In other words, let's move into 21st century thinking when developing and growing our city. Hopefully Fulop will start the ball rolling that way in his second administration instead of working with those goofy NIMBYS regarding downsizing the Journal Square plan and other idiotic stuff like those selective chain bans when more should be done to make it easier for smaller businesses to get established and prosper first.

[Hamilton]

^^^That point about parking is an important one to make, and one that lots of drivers don't realize...the city and planners are HELPING you by limiting congestion by not requiring parking in these developments! The fewer cars on the streets, the better life will be for the motorheads as well as everyone else.

[Hamilton]

As far as St Peter's, I know two people very close to the board of St Peter's. That project is dead and buried, according to them. Stick a fork in it! It couldn't get financing. Between the parking, the movie theater, the workforce housing, the distance from the PATH, etc it was way too ambitious. They would need huge rents to make it worthwhile.

[citybooster]

Originally Posted by Hamilton

As far as St Peter's, I know two people very close to the board of St Peter's. That project is dead and buried, according to them. Stick a fork in it! It couldn't get financing. Between the parking, the movie theater, the workforce housing, the distance from the PATH, etc it was way too ambitious. They would need huge rents to make it worthwhile.

Sorry to hear that, but wish officials could just admit it instead of hushing up or getting agitated when it gets publicly brought up. We DO need more housing options for college students, and maybe a trolley or something like that to serve areas of the Montgomery Street corridor going up to Journal Square would be a viable option as more development goes up. Hopefully those two other nice midsize projects CIA was posting about have better outcomes.

[C.]

If anyone can make it there will be two presentations before the Jersey City Redevelopment Agency tomorrow at 6pm during their monthly board meeting, located at 30 Montgomery St in the planning department's conference room.

Bates Redevelopment, LLC propose the construction of a mixed use
project to containresidential andretail componentsin the Bates Street
Redevelopment Area.

Ash Street Property, LLC will present a mixed use residential building
at 17-19 Ash Street. 15% of the units are targeted to be affordable.
The developer is the owner of the property in question

I believe these are both mid-rise buildings.

[C.]

From apophenic at YIMBY
http://www.yimbyforums.com/t/jersey-...32-floors/4052


88 Regent, 32 floors, approved by the planning board at their last meeting... (which I'm pretty sure was held in violation of public notice meeting requirements The guys at PADNA are complaining about the lack of notice, too.)

[C.]

From the Tuesday, November 14, 2017 planning board meeting. The one with questionable noticing.

3. Review and discussion of amendments to the Journal Square 2060 RDP for the Central Avenue Connector.
Formal action may be taken.
Decision: Approved

Anyone know what these changes are?

[Hamilton]

CIA, yes, that's part of the same proposal as the Homestead Assemblage (the agenda from last months ago that mentioned the Central Avenue Extension as approved was incorrect; only the Homestead Assemblage was actually on the agenda and approved back then.)


Also, look what appeared on the Nov 28 agenda...19 Perrine Avenue! The court has remanded the case back to the Planning Board, and ordered them to approve it on the 28th or face contempt of court.

http://data.jerseycitynj.gov/dataset...1-2b3b6defa851

I agree with citybooster that the design for 19 Perrine is kinda ugly. But instead of working constructively with the developer to change the design, Boggiano and the Hilltop crew ignored the law, attacked the completely as-of-right aspects of the project, and now have lost any leverage to get the developer to improve the design.

[Hamilton]

Also you'll notice on the Nov 28th agenda also lists a change to allow houses of worship in Zone 3 of the Journal Sq 2060 plan as a permitted. I believe that's the first step to allowing the United Methodist Church on JFK to build the addition to their property that we previously discussed. This change won't allow that yet, however. They'd need another amendment after this.

I don't know what changes are being considered for the Grand Jersey and Chapel Ave Industrial plans.

Not on this agenda, but a developer is also seeking changes to the Jersey Ave Park plan to allow residential construction on a plot north of 14th st and west of Jersey Ave (to the west of the Garden Center). Currently that area is only zoned for gas stations, greenhouses, etc.

[C.]

Originally Posted by Hamilton

Also you'll notice on the Nov 28th agenda also lists a change to allow houses of worship in Zone 3 of the Journal Sq 2060 plan as a permitted. I believe that's the first step to allowing the United Methodist Church on JFK to build the addition to their property that we previously discussed. This change won't allow that yet, however. They'd need another amendment after this.

Interesting. I believe the Methodist Church is currently in Zone 6: preservation. I guess the plan is to modify 3 to allow churches and then reclassify the church from Zone 6 to Zone 3.

I don't know what changes are being considered for the Grand Jersey and Chapel Ave Industrial plans.

Not on this agenda, but a developer is also seeking changes to the Jersey Ave Park plan to allow residential construction on a plot north of 14th st and west of Jersey Ave (to the west of the Garden Center). Currently that area is only zoned for gas stations, greenhouses, etc.

I found a new one. The Brunswick Triangle Redevelopment Plan
Draft provided courtesy of the Hamilton Park NA

[C.]

Originally Posted by Hamilton

Also, look what appeared on the Nov 28 agenda...19 Perrine Avenue! The court has remanded the case back to the Planning Board, and ordered them to approve it on the 28th or face contempt of court.

http://data.jerseycitynj.gov/dataset...1-2b3b6defa851

haha! Sweet! To Jersey City's legal counsel and the planning board members, what the hell where you guys thinking when you denied this?? Michael Sims did his responsibility this day.

Planning Board member Michael Sims voted in favor of approving the plan. Sims said he understands neighbors' complaints about the size of the building compared to their two- and three-story homes, but he noted that the project met the requirements of the area's redevelopment plan.

The developer "did everything to the standard codes," Sims said. "I don't like it. They did all their homework."

http://www.nj.com/hudson/index.ssf/2...ject_near.html

[Hamilton]

^^^That redevelopment plan is now known as the Enos Jones RDP and was presented at the Hamilton Park Neighborhood Association meeting on the 20th. It basically jsut formalizes variances that the ZBA has been granting to properties in that area anyway. If this RDP passes, they can go up to the heights they've been requesting as-of-right, but they'll have to pay into a fund for improvements to Enos Jones Park.

Originally Posted by CIA

haha! Sweet! To Jersey City's legal counsel and the planning board members, what the hell where you guys thinking when you denied this?? Michael Sims did his responsibility this day.

Here's my guess: the Planning Board is appointed by the mayor. The mayor pressured them to vote against it because he was courting Boggiano to be on his ticket at the time.

Bob Antonicello is also quoted in the article, correctly predicting how this case would end.

[Hamilton]

Ah, now I know what the changes to the Grand Jersey Redevelopment Plan are about: the city will get a bigger park as well as sewer and stormwater management improvements in exchange for allowing smaller unit sizes (to allow rentals instead of condos) at this site:

https://www.quadrumglobal.com/portfo...jersey-city-nj

Basically they' re already entitled to build buildings of that size as-of-right, but the amendments would allow them to build smaller apartments within the same building envelopes. A total of 2,265 units.

I wouldn't count on this project happening anytime soon, as they would have to build tons of sewer, street, and electrical infrastucture to enable this development. Look how long it's taken for Liberty Harbor North to gain momentum. Maybe when LHN is built out this could happen.

Also, this developer's track record for actually getting things built isn't great. They also own the stalled Muller's Pasta Factory development on Baldwin. That hasn't seen any movement in over a year.

Separately, the amendments to the plan will also allow JCMC to build a parking deck (I think CIA mentioned that project earlier in this thread).

[C.]

Originally Posted by Hamilton

CIA, yes, that's part of the same proposal as the Homestead Assemblage (the agenda from last months ago that mentioned the Central Avenue Extension as approved was incorrect; only the Homestead Assemblage was actually on the agenda and approved back then.)

Thanks Hamilton. I haven't seen the text of the amendment published yet. It will be interesting to see the maximum density allowed for homestead. I remember the new buildings were about 25 floors or so.

[C.]

Crescent Park said they would receive rezoning for 2,250 units in 2017. And they did!

http://data.jerseycitynj.gov/dataset...velopment-plan

There is a maximum floor plate size and no height limit for the buildings. There is a pretty substantial podium that high-rise buildings will sit on. I say anywhere from 60 to 80 floors could rise here.

[C.]

A few small updates...

16 Perrine Ave has finally been approved by the planning board.

808 Pavonia is on the market for sale to another developer. I always thought Harwood's proposal was too timid given the incredible amount of flexibility in the redevelopment plan. I say there's better than a 50/50 chance another developer buys the land and submits a more ambitious proposal.

Speaking of former Harwood properties, One Journal Square is planned to begin construction this month, but let's just say that's less than 50/50 at this point. I don't see how they proceed with the final problems of the current developer, not to mention the federal probes... But maybe I'll be proven wrong.

[limak116]

3D google maps has updated the Jersey City skyline. Bunch of new buildings have been added that haven't existed for several years!

[chris08876]

16-Story Project Revealed At 711 Montgomery Street, Jersey City

711 Montgomery Street in Jersey City has sold to Sequoia Development Group for an undisclosed amount. The sellers, Florida-based Rescore Montgomery LLC, had purchased the site in April 2015 for $4.5 million. Sequoia Development Group joined a partnership with Grid Real Estate to work on the development. The 16-story project is expected to yield 309 apartments, and today YIMBY has the first look at renderings.

It is located a half mile from the Journal Square transport center, serviced by the PATH, connecting the city with Manhattan. Proposed mixed-use functions for the site include a hotel, movie theater, affordable housing, educational facilities, and student dormitories.

Renderings reveal a modernist design, balancing the design with darker grey masonry on the base of the structure, with lighter grey panels and white column-like masonry elements. Marchetto Higgins, Stieve Architects is responsible for the design.

That building will see roughly 19 percent of apartments sold at affordable rates, and Marchetto Higgins, Stieve Architects is also responsible for the design, and it will rise 16 stories and yield 282 apartments.

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NYY

[chris08876]

Project: 121 Garabrant Street

One street that could be home to many of these newcomers is Garabrant Street, a small dead-end block off of Johnston Avenue. A legal notice shows that a Jersey City developer named Garabrant, LLC will construct a 75-unit rental project on and around 121 Garabrant Street. When completed, this six-story development is also slated to include 27 parking spaces for residents.

Point Capital Development, which developed the neighborhood’s transformative Baker Building, is behind this project. According to company founder John Fio Rito, the units will be a mixture of one-bedrooms, two-bedrooms, and studios. Fio Rito told Jersey Digs that the development will be built by Fields Construction and designed by Avoid Obvious Architects and Palermo Edwards Architecture. Construction is expected to begin on March 1st and be completed by May 2019.

The Jersey City Municipal Council is scheduled to vote on whether to grant final passage to the tax exemption proposal during its meeting this Wednesday, February 14th at 6:00 p.m. The Council already passed the ordinance on first reading during its Jan. 24 meeting.

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JC Digs

[chris08876]

Project: 622 Summit Avenue

622 Summit is set to contain 34 residential units and bring a somewhat different look to the area, as much of the landscape is dominated by older housing. Large windows and angled front façades are featured in the development, and certain units in the building will sport balconies.

The development was granted variances by the board for overall height, number of stories, and floor-to-floor height in connection with the proposed structure. Because it falls within the aforementioned redevelopment plan, no affordable housing units are included in the project. A timeline for a groundbreaking or buildout has yet to be announced.

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JC Digs