Demolition has commenced at 235 Grand Street in Jersey City’s Liberty Harbor neighborhood, and a new rental building plus some added green space will be coming to the site before you know it.
The property, at Grove Street’s southern terminus, was home to the Boys and Girls Club of Hudson County for over 30 years. The modest building, which was first built as a storage facility in 1912, became outdated, inefficient and costly to maintain over the years, so the club signed on to a redevelopment agreement with Ironstate Development and KRE Group that would help them obtain a more modern space.
That deal led to the construction of 18 Park and a brand new, state-of-the-art facility for the Boys and Girls Club on the development’s ground floor that opened in 2014. Now that the club has a new home, the old one is in the process of being torn down to make way for a new piece of Jersey City’s skyline.
Ironstate Development will also be partnering with KRE on this project, which will rise 45 stories and feature 549 luxury rental residences. A 6,380-square foot retail space and a 347-spot parking garage are also being included in the project, which features a modern glass look designed by HLW International.
235 Grand will also feature a podium base that will provide green space for residents that includes a pool and several recreational areas. The color scheme of the building has been changed since the project was first announced, with Ironstate going with a brown and white exterior in the final version.
As part of the project, the neighborhood will also be getting some revitalized green space. Ironstate will be extending Grove Street one block south under the plan so that it dead ends at Sussex Street right in front of Morris Square Park. The little known and well-hidden park, which abuts the Hudson-Bergen Light Rail tracks, will be completely reconstructed and expanded as part of the project to include components like a children’s play area and a merry-go-round.
Another Ironstate residential project that’s smaller in scale and includes 131 rental units in 10 stories is slated for 101 Grove Street, but the company won’t build that property out until the high-rise is complete. Ironstate says construction on 235 Grand is expected to begin shortly after demolition at the property is completed, with an eye on completing the project in late 2019.
