Nearly two years after we first reported that a three-story brick building along a busy Jersey City street was expected to undergo an adaptive reuse into a mixed-use development, it appears that major changes are in store for the project.
The building at 660 Grand Street between State Street and Westervelt Place in Bergen-Lafayette is now expected to be converted into over two dozen residential units. A legal notice issued in February shows that 660 Grand Street, LLC of Fort Lee has applied to the Jersey City Zoning Board of Adjustment (ZBA) for Preliminary and Final Site Plan approval with variances such as use and parking in order to adaptively reuse the structure into 27 units. 14 parking spaces would be provided on the premises.
In 2017, Jersey Digs revealed that the building’s Florham Park-based owner had applied to the ZBA for approvals as part of their plan to turn this three-story structure into a four-story development. The proposal, which called for nine live/work units, four commercial spaces, and a gallery inside the expanded building, was approved by the board later that year.
However, it appears that in the time since, the building has come under new ownership. City tax records show that the building is now in the hands of a company called 660 Grand Street JT, LLC. The firm, which was incorporated last summer out of Rutherford, is currently registered out of a Fort Lee office building.
Built nearly a century ago, 660 Grand Street was originally a warehouse for the Max Sash & Door Co., according to news reports from the early 1920s. In more recent years, the building has contained a venue for local artists called 660 Studios. The website for 660 Studios describes the space as an “arts enclave” serving Jersey City’s arts community since 2002 “as both a physical space for artists to create and as a venue for art exhibitions and performances.”
A hearing on 660 Grand Street, LLC’s application has been scheduled during the ZBA meeting on Thursday, March 7, at 6:30 p.m.
Note to readers: The dates that applications are scheduled to be heard by the Jersey City Zoning Board of Adjustment and other commissions are subject to change.
