A 16-story mixed-use complex will replace most of the historic Salvation Army building at Erie and 15th Streets after recent approval from the Jersey City Planning Board. Officials voted unanimously to approve a final site plan for the project, which includes over 3,000 square feet of retail, a 150-room hotel and 264 apartments, on September 8.
The approval for the final site plan comes nearly two years after the planning board approved a preliminary site plan for the project.
Professionals working on behalf of the applicant, 248 Erie Street Owner LLC, told the board the proposal will preserve a portion of the former Salvation Army building’s façade and span the three parcels at 248 Erie Street and 209-215 15th Street.
The preserved portion of the façade fronts 14th Street and part of Erie Street and will serve as the entrance to the hotel and retail portion of the building, while the residential portion of the proposed building will be located on the side of the site that fronts Erie and 15th Streets.
The interior of the former Salvation Army building will be demolished, while the new façade for the residential portion and the hotel — from the fourth story up to the 16th — will consist of a blend of gray brick veneer, glass window paneling, stucco, and black anodized and alabaster aluminum paneling.
The project had already secured several variances when the preliminary site plan was approved in October 2024, but the final site plan includes 10 variances for maximum height, setbacks, sidewalk width, loading space, rooftop mechanical systems coverage, signage, and tower coverage.
Richard Garber, the architect of the proposed building, told the board the entire project has an estimated area of 346,813 square feet.
The residential portion of the building will include 80 studios, 121 one-bedrooms, 53 two-bedrooms and 10 three-bedroom apartments. The developer set aside 40 units for affordable housing. It is also providing a myriad of amenities on the second floor, including a 669-square-foot theater, a 2,218-square-foot amenity lounge, over 1,700 square feet of coworking space, and a sports simulator room.
The rooftop of the building will include a green roof that spans 5,924 square feet, an 882-square-foot sports court, an amenity space spanning 1,244 square feet, a pool, and a dog area. The hotel and the residential portion of the building will share that portion of the amenity package.
The hotel portion of the building, on the other hand, will share frontage along 14th Street with a retail pad spanning 2,019 square feet. It will include 138 suites and two two-bedrooms, Garber explained. The hotel’s fourth floor will include a 772-square-foot spa and a 2,756-square-foot fitness center.
The plan also includes a 50-car garage with an entrance located on the eastern side of the site on 15th Street and a bicycle storage room on the first floor that can accommodate up to 122 bikes.
While final site plan approval and approval from the city’s historic preservation committee would allow demolition of the 60,000-square-foot building that has stood in downtown Jersey City for over 115 years, approval could mark a turning point for the property, which has been vacant for the last five years. Jersey Digs reported in February 2021 that the Salvation Army listed the building for $15 million after consolidating operations across its New Jersey portfolio.
The project site itself is located in “SoHo West” — also known as South of Hoboken, West of New York — which has seen substantial redevelopment in the last decade. Jersey Digs reported in July 2025 that construction was underway at 305 Coles Street, where developer Hoboken Brownstone Company intends to deliver 511 residential units next to Coles Street Park. That project is just down the street from The Albanese Organization, BXP and CrossHarbor Capital Partners’ 670-unit mixed-use complex at 290 Coles Street, which broke ground in June of that year.
The Cast Iron Lofts and Soho Lofts luxury apartment projects opened a few blocks from the former Salvation Army building in 2016 and 2017, respectively.
