The nationwide housing crunch is prompting developers to get creative, and Jersey City officials recently signed off on a plan to create new residences in a waterfront high-rise that had previously been exclusively office space.
Jersey City’s Planning Board recently greenlit an application to revamp 480 Washington Boulevard in the city’s Newport neighborhood. The existing 29-story office building at the site was first approved way back in 2004 and includes an attached 6-story parking garage.
Owner LeFrak obtained approvals to convert the top nine stories of the structure from office use to residential use. The redesign of the property was drawn up by MHS Architecture and won’t expand the building upwards, but will make some changes to the exterior.
A total of 288 units, plus amenities, are included in the plan, broken down as 108 one-bedroom, 162 two-bedroom, and 18 three-bedroom apartments. No affordable housing component is included in the plan, as none is required under the area’s current zoning.
The changes will occur on floors 23 through 31 of the building, with slight modifications to the upper exterior façade. A new residential lobby will be built off the tower’s northern plaza while maintaining other existing ground-floor retail areas fronting on Washington Boulevard.
212 bicycle parking spaces will be created by the conversion, while the existing driveway at the property will be converted to permeable pavers. A new outdoor residential amenity area will be created on the northeast corner of the plaza as part of the work, while landscape improvements will be added to the existing northern plaza and driveway.
LeFrak has not announced a timeline for the property’s revamp, but the company remains busy in Jersey City. Construction is humming along at 20 Long Slip, a new 47-story tower that will become Newport’s tallest structure when it’s completed. The company also has another high-rise at 44 Park Lane in the works, along with a sprawling proposal for Pier 6 that could add 1,700 residences within four towers.
