Developers are planning a new project for 800 Harbor Boulevard and nearby properties within the Lincoln Harbor community in Weehawken, not far from the Hoboken border. According to a legal notice from the Township of Weehawken, Hartz Mountain Industries, of Secaucus, is moving forward with a four-phased proposal for the area.
Phase 1 calls for three new buildings to be constructed, which will contain a total of 596 market-rate residential units, while Phase II calls for a neighboring parking garage to be expanded and include a grocery store on its first floor. A nearby lot is slated to include both 180 new market-rate residential units and a new 232-room hotel as part of Phase 3 and Phase 4, and there are also plans for an additional office building or residential development on another nearby lot. In addition, a recreation complex with an Olympic-size outdoor pool is also proposed.
A legal notice shows that Phase 1 is expected to cost $258,377,397, Phase 2 is expected to cost $13,748,000, Phase 3 is expected to cost $62,907,606, and Phase 4 is expected to cost $45,169,310.
At the end of last year, plans for the project were posted online by Welco Realty. Although the plans, which have since been removed, stated that the grocery store was slated to be a Whole Foods Market location, in a statement to Jersey Digs in December, Whole Foods Market spokesperson Michael Sinatra stated that “there is no current plan to bring a Whole Foods Market to Weehawken,” and that “it’s very common for developers to use our name and brand to try to attract other businesses.”
Legal notices show that the supermarket will either be 27,000 or 32,949 square feet, and that a financial agreement, which includes a tax exemption and annual service charges, was executed between the township and Hartz Mountain Industries on February 8. One notice states that “the tax exemption will benefit the Township and its inhabitants by facilitating the implementation of the Redevelopment Plan and, thus, furthering the redevelopment of the Site, which for many years has consisted of unproductive, irregularly shaped vacant properties and temporary parking surfaces,” and that “the development of the Project will complete the redevelopment of this portion of the uncompleted Lincoln Harbor planned development.
It also states that the development is expected to “generate significant municipal revenues” and bring “new business activities to Weehawken,” and that 70 permanent jobs along with 825 construction jobs are expected to be created.
Office buildings were previously located at the 800 Harbor Boulevard site, but were torn down several years ago and replaced with a temporary permit parking lot. A legal notice states that part of the land was previously a railroad yard, and that it has already undergone environmental remediation.
Lincoln Harbor currently contains office buildings, restaurants, The Estuary residential development, and a Sheraton hotel, and is served by NJ Transit bus service, New York Waterway ferries to Manhattan, and the Hudson-Bergen Light Rail.
The project’s preliminary and final site plan was granted approval by the Weehawken Planning Board during its meeting on December 19, 2016.
