The Jersey City Planning Board voted 5-2 in favor of a 56-story skyscraper in Journal Square known as the Imperial Tower about five weeks after the plan was carried.
By Daniel Ulloa/Hudson County View
The proposal calls for 542 residential units, with 11 percent as affordable housing, 154 hotel rooms, a garage, two restaurants, a banquet hall, and two retail stores. The roof will have many amenities, so it counts as the 56th story – making it over 600 feet tall.
Project attorney Chuck Harrington noted it was approved initially at 35 stories. He explained it was enlarged to take advantage of a newer law to create affordable housing in Journal Square by allowing larger towers.
“It would include … 11 percent affordable housing units at 63,” Harrington stated, noting it initially had none.
Commissioner Steve Lipski wanted to know how the integrity of the building can be ensured.
“We have a structural engineer for that,” Harrington explained. Structural Engineer Anthony Vandermark noted that a five-story podium was already built as part of the project.
Board Chair Christopher Langston was concerned about traffic jams.
“We do have a small valet office. We have room left for cars to queue … They’re typically not sitting in their car very long,” Vandermark noted.
He noted that tenants would be required to use an extensive valet elevator system that would park cars, allowing up to three cars at a time to line up in the garage.
Another structural engineer, Richard M. Christie, explained that the walls will be very thick to accommodate the building’s tallness and be a curtain wall style.
Langston indicated that he is experienced in high-rise construction and therefore skeptical of their design.
“I’ve never seen something like this. I’m having trouble with it,” he expressed.
Christie argued that skilled craftsmen would create a stable building.
“Is this the only way to build a building of this height?” Langston asked, to which Christie said it is the safest.
Traffic engineer Justine Fox said the cars would not create a problem after studying the area on what she called an average day.
“We don’t anticipate many residents using this garage for their daily commute,” Fox argued.
Commissioner Joey Torres thought traffic jams were still possible, to which Fox said 71 vehicles can go into the garage in just one hour.
“That’s a little more than a car a minute,” she declared.
“How is parking divided between the hotel, the businesses, and the residents?” Commissioner Vidya Desai asked.
“Residents can lease spaces,” Harrington responded.
“It’s proposed as a public garage, correct?” Langston asked.
“Yes,” Harrington answered.
He said there would be 212 overall spots: 40 would be residential and 50 would be for the hotel. The rest would be issued on a first-come, first-served basis.
Langston was concerned there would be traffic issues and thought the design was overall counterintuitive, especially for older residents.
On that point, Harrington acknowledged that additional signage might be needed.
“It seems this is a big concern to the Department of Infrastructure. It is confusing,” Torres said.
“We agree as a condition of approval to address those,” Harrington suggested.
During public comment, Chris Capers, a union member of the LIUNA Local 3, spoke in favor of the building.
“We desperately need guaranteed jobs,” he declared.
Despite their issues in the past, LIUNA has come to terms with controversial developer Sunny Kumar, who is spearheading this project. Jersey City officials praised him greatly when the project broke ground in October 2023.
“We reached an agreement with Euro [Concrete] and Sunny Kumar to perform work. It’s going to mean work for our skilled members,” added LIUNA member David Johnson.
Darío Gutiérrez said he lived in the neighborhood and liked the proposal as a prototype to increase affordable housing under the parameters of the redevelopment plan.
Not everyone was enthused about the project, such as Mike Kulowski, who mentioned pending OSHA violations and made other salacious allegations against Kumar.
“Sir, you cannot talk about other projects … Sir, this is a land use board. We are not here to talk about allegations of money laundering. I understand you don’t like the applicant,” Alampi stated.
Vice Chair Dr. Orlando Gonzalez said during the vote, it was a tough decision, though that had nothing to do with Kumar’s past.
Lipski commended Kumar for negotiating with LIUNA when they previously opposed this proposal.
“I’m a fan of affordable housing and parking. They have both things here,” Desai said, adding that there is currently no hotel in Journal Square.
Torres explained he is an expert in concrete construction and was skeptical of building on the existing concrete base.
“It’s not 100 percent convinced it can be done safely. I cannot vote for this project. Somebody wants to get a little greedy,” he declared.
“I completely 100 percent agree. There are too many what-ifs here. There are too many uses crammed into the building. The parking is a disaster waiting to happen,” Langston asserted.
He further stated that the Liberty House becomes very crowded and difficult to maneuver, therefore, a banquet hall in a skyscraper would be similarly difficult.
The Planning Board ultimately approved the application 5-2, with Torres and Langston voting no.
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