A modern residential building with over 16,000-square feet of ground floor commercial space could be coming soon to Jersey City’s Newport neighborhood, as LeFrak went before the Planning Board Tuesday night to pitch their latest project.
The company, currently finishing up work on their Ellipse development just a stone’s throw away, actually had three separate applications go before the Board at Tuesday night’s meeting. But a two-tower project at 700 Washington Boulevard is the headliner. It would bring 338 residential units and 16,490-square feet of commercial space to what is known as Newport’s Northeast Quadrant, one of the last undeveloped parcels along Jersey City’s waterfront.
Designed by New York-based HLW International Architecture and Engineering, the two taller components will rise 24 and 12 stories respectively, while a five-story middle section will connect them and feature a 3,324-square foot rooftop amenity space. The building will sit directly along the Hudson River Waterfront Walkway with an exterior that will utilize insulated glass window walls, metal VTAC louvres, and light gray stucco.
The proposed breakdown of the units in the latest building is 38 studios, 134 1-bedrooms, 129 2-bedrooms, 35 3-bedrooms and two 4+ bedroom units. Select apartments would have private terraces according to the building plans. Because the project falls within the Newport Redevelopment Plan, no units will be set aside as affordable housing.
The project would also create an extension of 18th Street from its current end at Washington Boulevard that would run towards the Hudson River before dead-ending. Some additional auxiliary roads would additionally be built on the property, which is currently closed off to the public and not accessible by car.
A 40-story, 790-unit project that was also approved for the 700 Washington address in 2010 appears to still be on the table and sounds like it will eventually be built behind the latest proposal’s property. But in the short term, LeFrak requested permission from the Planning Board to use the old 700 Washington property for the interim parking of cars and bicycles related to the new project, also seeking to extend the 2010 approvals for another ten years.
The third application LeFrak presented to the Planning Board involved the splitting up of the Northeast Quadrant into seven lots, which appears to suggest the company foresees seven separate projects will eventually be built on the land.
700 Washington’s location is tough to beat, as it’s right next to the Newport Green and will have permanently unobstructed Manhattan views. NJ Transit has also begun filling in the Long Slip along the Hoboken border near the proposed development, which should help alleviate some of the flooding issues the neighborhood has at times struggled with.
LeFrak has a company practice of self-financing their developments, so an exact timetable for the project is unknown and the company declined comment to Jersey Digs when asked about the new proposal.
