While the high-rises of Downtown and the building boom in Journal Square seem to get all the attention, Jersey City’s northernmost neighborhood has a ton of smaller scale development going on that is creating both modern housing and preserving some history.
The backbone of The Heights has always been Central Avenue, and there are a few notable revitalization efforts currently underway. A long-in-the-works project at 345 Central Avenue is starting to take shape and includes 27 residential units along with a ground-floor commercial space.
A supermarket has been rumored to occupy the space since plans emerged in 2019, although confirmation has yet to materialize. Work is nonetheless practically finished on the vertical expansion at the historic building.
Just down the road, work has begun at 421 Central Avenue at a lot formerly home to the Oaxaca Food Market. The eventual development will top out at 52 feet and include 2,755 square feet of retail on the ground floor.
Renderings show a Taco Bell outpost in the space along with 10 units in an elevator building. The apartments are slated to break down as two studios, six one-bedrooms, and a pair of two-bedroom units plus a 1,047 square foot roof deck.
Heading east, work is heating up at 262 New York Avenue. Local firm Academy Capital is building ten condominium units alongside a a 1,350-square-foot live/work space set to occupy the building’s ground floor.
The four-story development is slated to utilize modular brick on much of the exterior alongside dusty charcoal Trespa Meteon panels. No estimated completion date has been announced.
Palisade Avenue is probably the biggest hotspot for development in The Heights, starting with 335 Palisade Avenue. Work has begun on a four-story mixed-use building that will include four residential units plus ground floor storefront, part of an effort to turn to road into more of a retail corridor.
An interesting historic preservation project is well underway at 444 Palisade Avenue, which is looking to restore and expand a historic Victorian mansion. The building, which dates to the 1900s, is slated to feature nine new units.
The expansion portion of the project is mostly complete, with recent power washing work taking place at the site. An estimated completion date hasn’t been announced.
Just across from Riverview Park, work is heating up at 485 Palisade Avenue. The four-story development underway will include four residential units all sporting views of the recently renovated greenery.
The site of one of Jersey City’s quirkiest businesses of yesteryear is undergoing a transformation at the corner of Palisade Avenue and South Street. The former Moe’s Bait and Tackle is preserving and incorporating a rowhouse into a new project at the former store, which will consist of nine condos with garage parking spaces.
Another preservation effort can be found at 166 Hancock Avenue at St. Paul of the Cross. The church has partnered on the endeavor with a company called Valorev Construction to repurpose a former convent into 13 residential units.
The top floor will be converted into a “loft-like” residence under the plan, while the conversion will also repurpose a detached one-car garage next to the convent into a lounge for residents.
Heading further south and west, 158 Oakland Avenue began construction last year. Designed by Jersey City-based Mukti Architecture, the nine-unit complex will feature an arch roof on the corner of the property, complete with gray fiberglass and slate composite shingles.
Work on a larger project by The Heights standards has just begun at 84 Beacon Avenue. The property will soon house a five-story residential building with 24 units and 17 parking spaces, two of which will be set aside as affordable housing.
The rear-facing residences at the development will all sport balconies or private terraces, while the project also includes a 1,823-square foot common roof deck and green roofing.
Some might deride Ogden Avenue for the invasion of “Bayonne Boxes,” but there have been a few renovations of existing properties as well. Perhaps the busiest intersection along the road is its corner with Hobson Street, where two developments are rising across from one another.
Jones Development Group is currently overhauling a historic row house at 427 Ogden, expanding it northward to a former parking lot. The new structure will include one duplex residence and one simplex unit.
Across the way, 437 Ogden is completely revamping another older property to include larger windows and a cleaner exterior. The project perhaps best summarizes the neighborhood, as they seem to be popping up ever more frequently.
