The northern fringe of Downtown near the Hoboken border is home to several new developments and another one looks like it’s on the way, as a New York-based company will soon be pitching a plan for one of the neighborhood’s remaining empty lots.
On March 24, Jersey City’s planning board was scheduled to hear an application for a 1.83-acre parcel at 286 Coles Street and 258-285 16th Street. While that meeting was canceled due to COVID-19, the project will likely be heard in the near future when the planning board starts holding meetings again.
The block-long property is owned by ACEF-Albanese Coles Street LLC, a subsidiary of Albanese Development Group. The land was previously included in Hoboken Brownstone Company’s 305 Coles Street project, but that development has now been split into two parts with Albanese overseeing the 286 Coles Street parcel and Hoboken Brownstone Company having the rights to develop a two-tower development across the way.
Albanese’s proposed development is drawn up by Hoboken-based Marchetto Higgins Stieve and would rise in the shadow of the David Bowie mural on the Cast Iron Lofts. The project would see construction of one tiered-style building of varying heights set to include 670 market-rate residential units featuring black and gray brick and stone exterior plus large glass components.
The easternmost portion of the development would be the tallest section at 21 stories, while a second high-rise section along Coles Street would top out at 14 stories. Seven and five-story sections would make up the rest of the project, which would include 355 parking spaces and 350 bicycle parking spots.
The 670 total units break down as 67 studios, 400 one-bedrooms, 189 two-bedrooms, and 14 three-bedroom spaces. The ground floor of the development would feature three retail storefronts; the first would be at the corner of Coles and 16th streets and run 2,200-square feet, while a 1,170-square foot space is set to be located just south at the intersection of Coles and 17th streets.
The largest of the three storefronts would span the entire block of Jersey Avenue and include two floors, with the first floor consisting of 9,778-square feet plus an additional 3,630-square feet on the second floor.
Amenities at the proposed building are plentiful and would include an 8,500-square foot “amenity courtyard” that would be entered along 16th Street’s ground floor. Plans on the sixth floor are devoted to outdoor facilities like a pool, a play area, game area, fire pit lounge, barbeque and biergarten area, bar and tv lounge.
The sixth floor would also include a few indoor amenity areas like a playroom, simulator room, fitness center, lounge, and party areas. The development’s eighth floor would sport another amenity deck facing 17th Street that includes a custom-designed structural sculpture with LED lighting.
Additionally, 286 Coles Street would include a “sky lounge” on the roof of the 21-story section of the building consisting of 6,800-square feet of outdoor roof space. An additional 3,600-square feet of indoor space on that part of roof would include a sunset lounge plus a kitchen and dining area.
The latest proposal to hit the neighborhood is across the street from the future Coles Street Park, which is being built as part of the Emerson Lofts redevelopment that’s currently underway down the block. 286 Coles Street falls within the Jersey Avenue Park Redevelopment Plan and will be requesting nine variances to move forward.
Specifically, Albanese will be requesting two variances relating to the height of the towers, four related to the average square footage of the units in the building, one for glass facade use, one for three residential signs where only one is allowed, and one for minimum sidewalk width. A new date to hear the application hasn’t officially been set just yet.
