One of the city’s fastest-growing neighborhoods looks like it will be adding another high-rise to its ranks as a plan to redevelop a long-vacant car dealership has been greenlit by officials.
During their May 18 meeting, Jersey City’s planning board approved a scheme to revitalize a 29,000-square-foot property at 3085 John F. Kennedy Boulevard. Situated at the road’s intersection with Route 139, the one-story building currently on the land has not been in use for at least a decade despite the surrounding area seeing significant development.
A local company dubbed Journal Square Estates LLC is looking to change all that by constructing two 12-story buildings on the site that include a total of 373 residential units. The development, designed by Hoboken-based MVMK Architecture, would rise 130 feet at the tallest point and sport an exterior that utilizes a mix of aluminum composite, rust-colored laminate panels, and cast stone.
The living spaces in the development break down as 197 studios, 161 one-bedrooms, five two-bedrooms, and ten three-bedrooms. Select units will feature balconies, but the project will not set aside any affordable housing component.
The development would be built in two phases and the property has been subdivided to facilitate the phasing of the project. The first portion is set to include 183 units while the second phase would bring the remaining 190 residential units.
The future Journal Square Estates includes 72 basement parking spaces, with 36 to be built during each phase of the project. The entire development includes bicycle storage for 97 bikes between the two properties and each phase of the project is slated to feature a 678-square-foot storefront that faces Kennedy Boulevard.
Amenities at the development include a children’s room in each building set to span about 1,300 square feet each. Other perks include a 2,300-square-foot recreational roof deck plus dog run area and both buildings have a rooftop pool planned plus a green roof. The development will additionally plant several trees and include bioswales on the sidewalk level.
The development falls within the Journal Square 2060 Redevelopment Plan and was granted minor variances related to the project’s green roof elements, the minimum first-floor ceiling height, and the width of the drive of the parking entrance. A timeline for the groundbreaking of the project’s first phase has not been announced.
