While areas of Secaucus that lie near the Hackensack River are often in the headlines for chronic flooding, one property near the water in this Hudson County town could soon be home to hundreds of new residents as part of a new plan by a developer.
Currently, the property at 1631 Paterson Plank Road still has an industrial presence, leftover from when a cement plant run by Eastern Concrete Materials and Schmitt Builders Supply used to operate on the premises. However, as part of Secaucus Riverside Urban Renewal, LLC’s proposal, the remaining structures at the site could be replaced with a multi-family housing development, according to a legal notice issued at the end of February. The planned development, which is described in the notice as “inclusionary,” is slated to include 116 units along with 163 parking spaces. 23 of the units, roughly 20 percent, are expected to be reserved for “low and moderate income households.”
The site, which currently is largely fenced off, sits at the northern end of the Hudson County portion of Paterson Plank Road just a stone’s throw away from the Hackensack River. Documents posted by the former New Jersey Meadowlands Commission included this property in a six-foot storm surge flood zone while a 2013 report posted by the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection included this tract on a list of sites with MTBE contamination at the time. State records also show that last year, Secaucus Riverside Urban Renewal was formed and that the company applied in December for a zoning certificate for a new residential project from the New Jersey Sports and Exposition Authority.
As part of the developer’s proposal, a public walkway would be installed to connect with the current footpath along the riverfront. There are additional plans for “common and amenity space” inside the proposed complex.
The property also sits adjacent to the municipality’s Trolley Park. While no trolleys operate in front of the site today, this block is the outer terminus of New Jersey Transit’s rush hour 122 bus to the Port Authority Bus Terminal in Manhattan.
Secaucus Riverside Urban Renewal’s application is scheduled to be heard by the Secaucus Zoning Board of Adjustment during its meeting on Monday, March 11, at 7:00 p.m.
Note to readers: The dates that applications are scheduled to be heard by the Secaucus Zoning Board of Adjustment and other commissions are subject to change.
