The Jersey City Planning Board approved a 47-story mixed-use tower with 1,049 units near Courthouse Park, which includes 105 affordable housing units in Journal Square, at last night’s meeting.
By Daniel Ulloa/Hudson County View
The Namdar Group is redeveloping 8-16 Lott St. and 625-639 Newark Avenue with a residential skyscraper that also would have a hotel with 26 rooms and 2,392 square feet of ground floor retail.
Attorney Chuck Harrington said it would be near the long-planned Courthouse Park.
“We’re calling it Park Tower,” he noted.
Engineer Ian Burton indicated that there would be no space for cars, but ample space for bikes.
“It looks like it doesn’t have a basement. Can you talk about the foundation?” Commissioner Andy Kaplan, also the city’s Department of Infrastructure Director, asked.
Architect Christina Attiyeh said the building sits on a very strong rock foundation, which is why there is no basement.
“We have incorporated the historic-themed façade. We will preserve part of the façade on Newark [Avenue],” she said.
Attiyeh also explained that the residential units would begin on the fourth floor, which includes a gym, a game room, and a lounge, among other amenities.
“Do we have a location for the affordable units?” Board Chair Vidya Gangadin asked.
“They will be spread throughout the building,” Harrington replied.
He further explained there would be 105 affordable housing units, which include 21 one-bedrooms, 60 two-bedrooms, and 24 three-bedroom units.
That’s in addition to 764 studios, 179 one-bedrooms, 82 two-bedrooms, and 24 three-bedrooms units for a total of 1,049 units.
“Of the 105, we have 53 that would be low income and very low income units,” Harrington added.
“All these units are built out the same?” Gangadin questioned, to which Harrington said yes, since that is what is required by ordinance.
Kaplan then asked if residents would have access to the hotel amenities.
Attiyeh said they would not, since there would be different elevators for the hotel and for the apartments.
Commissioner Eleana Little, also the Ward E councilwoman, noted that the council passed a bird-friendly ordinance in March and asked if that would apply here.
“This application was deemed complete before the bird safe glass law went into effect … It’s not a requirement this project is bound by,” answered Senior Planner Matthew da Silva.
“We are trying to address the issue,” Harrington interjected.
“I’m glad to hear that For the tenants and guests of the hotel, it’s not pleasant to see dead birds,” Little expressed.
Kaplan was also curious if the project was supporting or contributing to the Courthouse Park project in any way.
“We’re in talks with the JCRA (Jersey City Redevelopment Agency),” Harrington answered, adding that there’s a distinct possibility they contribute up to $100,000 towards the build out.
Planning consultant John McDonough said that utilities interfere with planting more trees, so as a result, they would contribute to a municipal tree fund.
“We all see the Namdar Group has played a major role in reshaping Journal Square, and honestly, it’s not in a way that befits long-term residents like me … It’s getting harder and harder for residents to find affordable decent two- and three-bedroom homes in Jersey City,” LIUNA member and city naitve Curease Oliver said.
“Everybody says building more housing will solve the crisis. But we need to pay very close attention to what kind of housing is getting built. Because if we keep building mostly small luxury units … families like mine are going to continue to get pushed out of the city we helped build and love.”
He said Namdar has worked with the contractor AJD, which had issues with securing permits and labor that led to stop-work orders.
“Commercial really should be a priority for this project … I think this project falls short and is a land grab … This building is over 600,000 square feet! I find it hard to believe there is no space to add retail,” Laura Mistretta, also of LIUNA, declared.
“This project is receiving 20 extra floors for setting aside just 10 percent of the units for affordable housing … Why does this development deserve 20 extra floors?”
Gangadin then asked if the applicant would like to address any of the concerns raised by the union members.
“The hotel is commercial retail and a permitted use … The redevelopment plan was actually amended to provide that use,” Harrington stated.
He reiterated that there would be 24 three-bedroom apartments and 60 two-bedroom apartments among the 105 affordable housing units, also pointing out that laborers were hired for two projects for his clients that are still being built right now.
Harrington also said he also spoke with Hudson County Building Trades Council President Pat Kelleher to address issues.
“Is there a plan in place to ensure that doesn’t happen again?” Little asked about stop-work orders.
“You have contractors, you have owners … Sometimes they get ahead of themselves,” Harrington said, adding it that lost time “is very harmful on a project.”
Little asked about the percentage that is being built by union labor, which he replied that it depends what the bids are. Kaplan subsequently, asked if that was relevant for the application.
“This is not the right forum for that,” Board attorney Santo Alampi declared.
Commissioner Irene Barnaby then noted that she’d like to see more commercial space for the project.
“The transformer rooms have to be a minimum size … We maximized the potential space for retail on the ground floor,” Harrington argued.
Attiyeh said the hotel bar counts as commercial. Harrington said hard bedrock forced them to put transformers on the first floor.
At that point, da Silva said planning staff recommended moving forward with conditions.
“I’m happy to see, in particular, the affordable two- and three-bedroom units,” Little said during the vote.
“Something that stands out for me is affordable units. I wish there were more …I’m going to vote aye,” Gangadin stated.
The Jersey City Planning Board approved the proposal unanimously (6-0).
