JERSEY CITY | Pier 6 Redevelopment | FT | 51 + 39 + 33 + 33 + 33 FLOORS (1,723 units)

[chris08876]

LeFrak Planning Five Towers, Almost 2,000 Units on Jersey City Pier

One of the most prominent developers along the Hudson River waterfront appears to have quietly changed their vision for a vacant pier they own near Newport’s southern border, as plans are in motion that could bring five new buildings, parking facilities, and open space to the land.

For many years, LeFrak has been pitching their Pier Six project for an 8.5-acre site at 2 Sixth Street. The company developed a customizable scheme looking to build Class-A office space on the land consisting of either one or two buildings that would rise between 10 and 17 stories.

All that changed back in February when LeFrak submitted a preliminary application to Jersey City’s planning department that outlines what the future of the property could look like. The company will be requesting approvals to build five residential towers including a total of 1,998 residential units plus two parking podiums sporting 1,009 parking spaces.

Building heights are simply listed as “varies” on the application, but the residential component would include a mix of studio, one-, two-, and three-bedroom units. A total of 139,990 square feet of public open space is included in the project and as part of the work, an existing heliport at the site would be relocated.


New York based-Arquitectonica, who also designed the Ellipse building, is listed as the architect of record on the application. No renderings have been released for the project and the plans, although preliminary, do not have any listed retail space. No affordable housing units are included in the proposal, as none are required under current regulations.

The 2 Sixth Street property is unique in that it falls within both the Newport Redevelopment Plan and the Harsimus Cove Redevelopment Plan. The only variance the current proposal would need relates to open space requirements within the Harsimus Cove portion, as it adheres to the Newport plan.

Details of LeFrak’s skyline-changing proposal could be modified in the coming months, and the city’s planning board would need to approve any final application before the development moves forward.

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Jersey Digs

[chris08876]

Jersey City Rejects LeFrak’s Plan for Mostly Private Waterfront Park

A scheme that would have added greenery to a vacant pier in Newport was derailed earlier this week after members of the public and local officials voiced concerns about a large portion of the park being set side for tenants at private properties.

Plans for Newport Pier Park, located at 15 Park Lane South just east of LeFrak’s Ellipse development, have been quietly advancing behind the scenes for some time. We broke the news on the project back in March and were the first news outlet to reveal specifics about what was coming to the 3.47 acre parcel earlier this month.

That component proved to be the plan’s downfall, as Jersey City’s planning board voted unanimously to reject LeFrak’s application for Newport Pier Park during their June 23 virtual meeting. Many residents who spoke during the proceedings objected to a large section of the park being off-limits to most Jersey City residents, and several board members echoed those concerns.

The planning board ended up voting 9-0 to reject the application, which is a rarity in it of itself. LeFrak’s plan was the first denial issued by the board during this calendar year, a span that includes nine meetings where at least four different applications were heard.

It’s unclear what the future holds for the pier but expanding access for the public might be key to getting any park plan approved. Under regulations established in 1988 by New Jersey’s Coastal Zone Management, properties that are developed along the Hudson River spanning from the George Washington Bridge to the Bayonne Bridge are required to construct a 30-foot wide pathway at the water’s edge.

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Jersey Digs

[Oron Zchut]

That rejected park was for the pier in front of Ellipse. This proposal for Pier 6 is a different animal entirely, replacing the original plan for 1-2 office buildings.

Here are some of the renderings of the previous plan (from the Pier 6 website)

[chris08876]

51-Story, 39-Story, and 33-Story Towers Envisioned for Jersey City’s Pier 6

New information about plans for a development project on a pier in Jersey City has been revealed.

In a May 4 letter to New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection (NJDEP) Urban Growth and Redevelopment Bureau Chief Christopher Jones, Riker Danzig attorney Jaan Haus described a proposed 1,998-unit “Newport Sixth Street Redevelopment Project” with three high-rise buildings.

Haus wrote that “the westerly building will have two … 33-story towers, the central building will have two towers (one 33-story and one 39-story tower), and the easternmost building will have a single 51-story tower,” adding that “several townhouse units will wrap around the integrated parking garage spaces.”

The latest proposal also involves adding over half a mile to the Hudson River Waterfront Walkway “around the three waterward sides of the project site,” according to the letter.

This document was included in an upland waterfront development individual permit application, a copy of which was obtained by Jersey Digs from the NJDEP. The application for the property was prepared by Dredsner Robin for the Newport Associates Development Company.

he property in question is 2 Sixth Street, which is located just east of the high-rise office tower at 480 Washington Boulevard near Avalon Cove. The application’s introduction mentioned that “1,009 enclosed vehicle parking spaces” are envisioned for the premises.

Jersey Digs first reported earlier this year that an application has been filed with the municipal government showing that five residential towers were in the works for this site along the Hudson River, which is referred to as Pier 6 in a view corridor diagram from Arquitectonica.

In his letter to the NJDEP, Haus noted that “the project site was originally constructed as a pier with a low water timber relieving platform by the Pennsylvania Railroad well over a century ago.”

Haus stated that in 2007, the NJDEP issued a permit for a development with open space, 17 townhouses, two 10-story office buildings, and two 48-story residential buildings, each with 409 units. However, those plans have not come to fruition.

Municipal tax filings show that 2 Sixth Street is owned by Newport Centre, which is registered out of the same address on West 57th Street in Midtown Manhattan as LeFrak. Additionally, Arquitectonica’s Pier 6 diagram listed that it had been prepared for the LeFrak Organization while the applicant in the NJDEP application provided a LeFrak email address.

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Jersey Digs

[Oron Zchut]

Some site work going on

[Oron Zchut]

There's a piling rig here, but I'm not sure it's for any specific building or just the pier itself - probably the latter.

[chris08876]

LeFrak’s Four Tower, 1,700-Unit Project in Jersey City Gains Preliminary Approval

One of the most prominent developers in the Newport neighborhood of Jersey City has been given the initial green light to revitalize a pier along the Hudson River despite concerns raised by several members of the public over the proposal.


During a March 15 special meeting, Jersey City’s planning board granted preliminary approval to revitalize about 8.5 acres of land at 2 Sixth Street. Jersey Digs first broke the news about the LeFrak-owned project back in September 2020, which has been dubbed Pier 6.

Images of the original five-tower proposal emerged just about a year ago, sparking a petition in opposition from residents at the nearby Mandalay on the Hudson. Counsel for LeFrak stated during the special meeting that they met with the community to discuss their concerns last April and scaled their plans back this time around.

The latest version calls for four towers along the pier with garage parking for 897 cars and a total of 1,723 residential units. The residences in the development would consist of 154 studios, 780 one-bedrooms, 641 two-bedrooms, and 148 three-bedroom spaces, but the development does not trigger the city’s inclusionary zoning ordinance and no affordable housing is included.


Designed by Miami-based firm Arquitectonica, the two taller towers on the western portion of the pier are set to rise 42 stories and be connected via a six-story parking structure. Ground floor townhomes will be included in the design of the parking podium’s northern and southern sides and the entirety of the western portion would include 887 units and 449 parking spaces.

The eastern portion of the property would mirror the western area with two 39-story towers also connected by a six-story parking deck with ground-floor townhomes and 448 parking spaces. 836 units would be included in this phase, as would a 4,000 square-foot ground-floor retail space set to overlook the Hudson River.

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Jersey Digs

[Busy Bee]

Good deal. Maybe this will be another step towards un-disastering Newport.