A large vacant parcel in Jersey City’s booming Journal Square neighborhood has changed hands and has a new plan in the works after development stalled at the site over the last half-decade.
GRID Real Estate recently announced the $26 million sale of Bergen Arch Plaza, a mixed-use development site at 414–432 Hoboken Avenue. The firm was the site’s exclusive marketer, and Namdar Group purchased it.
The properties, which span just under an acre, included an abandoned house and two vacant structures formerly home to a vehicle repair facility and Corte & Co. Sausage Manufacturers, which operated out of the property for almost 70 years. All the structures at the site have since been demolished.
A two-story tower development was approved for the property back in 2020 but never came to fruition. It called for a pair of 28-story residential towers connected by a breezeway, with a 5,500-square-foot public plaza between the two structures.
The development, which would have overlooked and provided access to the historic Bergen Arches at what’s known as the Erie Cut, totaled 524 residential units, split between a 367-unit west tower and a 157-unit east tower.
GRID’s Bob Antonicello led the transaction with Chris Vitiello and Bobby Antonicello Jr. The company says the property, which falls within the Journal Square 2060 Redevelopment Plan, is now going through Planning Board review.
“Now in its 16th year, the Journal Square 2060 Redevelopment Plan continues to show strength and growth in the CBD,” said Bob Antonicello, Principal of Grid Real Estate. “The Bergen Arch Plaza site represented a rare opportunity to acquire a high-quality site adjacent to the future Bergen Arch’s Park. This sale reflects the continued strength of developer demand for high-quality, transit-oriented development sites within the Journal Square 2060 Redevelopment Plan.”
Bergen Arch Plaza was one of the last fully entitled Journal Square sites that does not carry a mandatory affordable housing set-aside, as the original site plan was approved before Jersey City’s inclusionary housing ordinance was passed.
Namdar Group has a huge presence in Jersey City, developing many towers in the Journal Square area. Their latest endeavor, the 1,590-unit Park Tower, recently nabbed a $390 million loan for its construction.
