An apartment building in Jersey City could be torn down in order to make way for a new high-rise.
Jersey City’s municipal government has received plans calling for a 27-story tower to be constructed at 21-23 and 29 Van Reipen Avenue in Journal Square.
The proposal calls for tearing down the existing three-story apartment building and removing the current surface parking lot in order to develop 612 residential units and three floors of commercial space, according to an October 1 report from the Division of City Planning.
The report notes that there would be 144 studios, 252 alcove studios, 204 one-bedroom units, 12 three-bedroom units, an outdoor terrace for office tenants, and “rooftop indoor and outdoor amenity areas.”
An application regarding this project from 29 Van Reipen, LLC, a firm with ties to the Long Island-based Namdar Group, calls for preliminary and final major site plan approval with four variances. The document indicates that “affordable housing units” and parking would not be provided on the premises.
Joel and Ephraim “Effy” Namdar each own 50 percent of 29 Van Reipen, LLC, according to an ownership disclosure statement.
The existing apartment building, which is also known as 25 Van Reipen Avenue, sold for $4.4 million earlier this year and contains 31 residential units.
Plans for a 27-story development at this location first surfaced in June 2020 when Homestead Assemblage, LLC went before the Jersey City Redevelopment Agency. At the time, the project was slated to include 744 residential units, 10,538 square feet of retail space, and 30,877 square feet of office space.
This development is one of multiple high-rise towers to be proposed around Journal Square by firms associated with the Namdar Group over the last several years. Most of the projects are expected to be concentrated near the upcoming Homestead Walkway.
A Jersey City Planning Board hearing regarding the current plans for 21-23 and 29 Van Reipen Avenue is scheduled to take place during the virtual meeting on Tuesday, October 5, at 5:30 p.m.
Note to readers: The dates that applications are scheduled to be heard by the Jersey City Planning Board and other commissions are subject to change.
