Multiple properties on Jersey City’s West Side could soon become the site of a large new religious institution.
According to City records, the St. George and St. Shenouda Coptic Orthodox Church is planning to open in the Sip Avenue Gateway Zone at 371-373, 383-391, and 411-425 Sip Avenue, 1-5 and 2-10 Field Avenue, and 344-348, 352, and 399 Freeman Avenue. All of the lots in question are located in Ward B. The church is seeking to construct both a house of worship and a community center, and plans to include off-street surface parking. It has applied for Preliminary and Final Major Site Plan approval with deviations for minimum sidewalk and planting buffer.
The properties, which are currently vacant lots, are located adjacent to the Holy Name Cemetery at the border of a residential neighborhood and a largely industrial and commercial section of the city. According to NJ Parcels records, they are owned by Nashed F. Nashed and Nashed Construction, LLC.
The church is currently based on Bergen Avenue between Journal Square and McGinley Square. According to the organization’s website, it received approval for the project by the City Council back in July, and states that “over the past 43 years, there has been a significant growth in our community, and we are desperately in need of a new center to accommodate the needs of our growing community.”
The Jersey City Planning Board is scheduled to hear the proposal during its meeting on December 5.
