The Paramus Planning Board recently approved a revised site plan for the redevelopment of a site across the street from the Garden State Plaza. Officials approved the revised site plan six years after the board approved a plan for the site at 10 Route 17.
Documents shared with Jersey Digs by the Paramus Planning Board show that the owner of the property intends to build a fully affordable apartment building at the site. The decision is a significant departure from the plans submitted to the board in 2020, when the developer intended to build 104 units.
The application documents say the new building will span four stories and include several on-site amenities, including on-site management, a community room, laundry facilities, outdoor space, and on-site parking. The building has been designed to meet Energy Star and Enterprise Green Communities standards and will provide housing for low- and moderate-income households.
It will include 11 one-bedroom units, 34 two-bedroom units, 19 three-bedroom units and one two-bedroom unit for the building’s superintendent. The unit sizes will range from 665 square feet for a one-bedroom to 1,155 square feet for a three-bedroom. Each floor will span 21,245 square feet, while the entire building will consist of 85,415 square feet.
The developer, known as Genesis Paramus Urban Renewal, is also adding 113 parking spaces — far more than the 65 spaces required by the borough.
The property sits at one of the busiest intersections in Bergen County. U.S. Route 4 runs to the north of the site, while the Garden State Plaza sits across from Route 17. A BJ’s Wholesale Club is just south of the property, and Maple Street sits just east of the site. IKEA and the recently opened RH Outlet Paramus are located near the Route 17 and Route 4 interchange.
While this part of Paramus has largely served as a commercial corridor for decades, borough officials and landlords in the area have made significant strides toward changing the overall feel of the neighborhood.
The owner of the Garden State Plaza, France-based Unibail-Rodamco-Westfield, and developer Mill Creek broke ground on a 575-unit luxury apartment complex that will replace several underutilized parking lots at the mall. It will feature a main street-style outdoor district with restaurants and essential services while also increasing access to public transportation, retail, and entertainment.
Just a few blocks from that site, along West Passaic Street in Rochelle Park, the 160-unit Delford apartment complex opened in 2024. Another developer is also looking to build an apartment complex up the road from the Genesis site at 615 Winters Avenue. That complex is being erected by Fair Lawn-based Rock Solid Builders and includes 136 apartments just off Route 17.
