Plans by a Florida company to bring an eight-story development alongside a major thoroughfare in Jersey City’s Ward A can now move forward.
The Jersey City Planning Board unanimously approved Fort Lauderdale-based Leontarakis JC-440 Real Estate, LLC’s application with conditions during its meeting on October 13.
As Jersey Digs first reported last month, the developer sought approval to tear down the vacant building at 405 Route 440 that previously contained La Mexicana, the Route 440 Diner and Sports Bar, the Jersey City Diner, and the Colonette Restaurant in order to construct a complex with 158 residential units and 108 parking spaces.
Located diagonally across Route 440 from The Home Depot near the Bayfront site, the property is situated on what a recent Jersey City Division of City Planning staff report described as an “island lot” surrounded by the highway, Kellogg Street, and an access road.
If the building ultimately ends up being constructed as approved, it would include 119 one-bedroom units, 35 two-bedroom units, and four three-bedroom units, but the application shows that there would not be any “affordable housing.”
Project director Ahmed Emara of Jorge Mastropietro Architects Atelier said that there are plans for a rain garden, seating areas, and a dog run along Route 440, while the building’s 4,200-square-foot fourth floor courtyard would include features such as a playground. Newly released renderings show that the roof deck would include green space and an outdoor pool.
The design phase of the project is still expected to take another 18 months, according to Emara, who added that construction would begin subsequently and take approximately two years.
