One of Downtown’s largest vacant properties made significant progress towards revitalization last year and additional work that will clear a path towards construction of new greenery, laboratory space, and possibly thousands of units is slated to begin in the coming months.
New Jersey-based land-use consultancy Dresdner Robin recently announced their completion of an initial $10 million environmental remediation at 18 acres of property along Jersey Avenue and Aetna Street. Located just south of Jersey City Medical Center and next to Liberty State Park, the land is being developed as a joint venture between Argent Ventures and H&R REIT.
Cleanup efforts ramped up during the middle of last year and the next phase of the project will focus on infrastructure improvement design and permitting. The work will be performed in coordination with the Jersey City Redevelopment Agency (JCRA) and the Jersey City Municipal Utilities Authority.
A series of land-use permits are expected to be submitted to New Jersey’s Department of Environmental Protection in the coming months as part of the next phase. Site elevation of approximately 10-12 feet as part of resiliency efforts will be undertaken as part of the construction, which Argent says should begin during mid-2021.
Dresdner Robin, who is providing environmental, civil engineering, surveying, and planning services on the development, highlighted sewer upgrades in a statement heralding the progress and noted that the endeavor includes a large subsurface overflow storage chamber that will be used to temporarily store discharges during heavy rain events.
“This is not a typical redevelopment project,” said Dresdner Robin’s Director of Environmental Services Doug Neumann. “It is without question the most complicated remedial project that I have been involved with.”
The development was initially called Crescent Park when it emerged during 2017 but has since been renamed The Cove after Quadrum Global sold its ownership stake in the project. Ennead Architects has been brought in to redesign the proposal.
Regulations at the combined properties permit up to 2,840 residential units and zoning allows for multiple uses including residential, office, retail, hotel, laboratory, and research facilities. Argent looks like they will be taking advantage of that flexibility as GenEdge news is reporting that The Cove includes 1.4 million square feet of laboratory and office space for life science and other tech users.
Preliminary renderings released by Argent show a slew of buildings at the sprawling property, but the first components of the development would fall along the portion of the parcel near Liberty Landing Marina. They include a planned two-acre public park consisting of an ecologically restored tidal salt marsh surrounded by two mixed-use towers.
The first tower would be slated for the area just north of the marina, while the second high-rise would be situated near the entrance to Liberty State Park. Images show extensive walkways and open space between the structures.
Argent Ventures was designated as redeveloper of the property back in 2017, but additional approvals will need to be obtained before construction of the towers begins. Approvals from Jersey City’s planning board are still needed and it appears as though Argent has yet to submit a formal application to officials.
The company has nonetheless announced they expect construction to commence on The Cove’s initial towers in 2022, which should closely coincide with work wrapping up at the nearby Jersey Avenue extension over Mill Creek.
