An environmental remediation has begun at one of the largest development sites along the fringes of Downtown Jersey City.
Just across the Ethel Pesin Liberty Footbridge and overlooking Liberty State Park, 246 Johnston Street is a significant vacant plot of land in a neighborhood where those can be few and far between. The site was acquired in 2015 by Quadrum Global for $34.75 million and the company gained designation as redeveloper of the site in July 2016.
Quadrum then teamed up with New York-based Argent Ventures on a proposal that would truly transform the land. Dubbed Crescent Park, the companies envisioned upwards of 2,000 units, 860 parking spaces, and 50,000 square feet of retail space sporting protected views of the Statue of Liberty and Manhattan skyline.
Plans included a cleanup of the nearby Mill Creek Outfall and called for a new five-million-gallon grand storm tank to be built with a new public city park on top. The scheme never advanced much beyond the proposal phase, but Illinois-based Entact recently commenced remediation work at the property.
[UPDATE: A representative from Argent Ventures clarified that Quadrum Global sold their ownership percentage to Argent last year.] Quadrum Global’s website lists the property as sold. The company has not responded to an inquiry we placed into the matter.
Clay McPhail of Argent Ventures added, “We expect remediation to be completed by end of December. Construction start date has not yet been determined.”
The land falls within a neighborhood that’s starting to see quite a bit of revitalization. The area’s ongoing transformation includes a $10 million project to extend Jersey Avenue into Liberty State Park across Mill Creek. That work, being performed by New Jersey’s Department of Transportation, is slated to wrap in December 2021.
Other nearby construction includes an expansion at Jersey City Medical Center that will add 60,000 square feet of new space to the facility. In addition, Liberty Harbor’s 32-story 88 Regent Street is rising across the street and will add 392 rental apartments and over 9,000 square feet of retail space to the neighborhood sometime next year.
