The county government in Bergen County is making strides in its decades-long effort to revamp the Hackensack bus terminal on River Street and the former county probation center. In a recent meeting with Hackensack’s Planning Board, county officials told city administrators and the public that they are proposing a 15-story tower that includes apartments, office and retail space, and a new indoor bus terminal.
The project at 133 River Street, which requires no approvals from the city, would span 387,000 square feet. It would replace the mid-20th-century bus station at Demarest Place and redevelop the brownfield site where the Bergen County probation center once stood.
Plans submitted to the planning board for courtesy review state that the county wants to deliver 168 studio, one- and two-bedroom apartments for ‘workforce housing’ and veterans, as well as a five-story commercial building with a new bus terminal, street-level retail, and offices for county government.
The county also proposed a three-story parking garage with 324 spaces, waiting areas, bathrooms, and a small area for grab-and-go food for the bus terminal.
Bergen County Executive Jim Tedesco III said the project could serve as an entrance to the city’s downtown, as the project would be located between the Borg family’s Print House and The Brick apartment complexes, and provide housing for newly hired workers in public safety, including police officers and nurses.
“This building will provide much-needed housing for veterans, deliver housing for people who may never have been able to afford living in this exciting city, and improve pedestrian and traffic safety in the middle of a city experiencing a true rebirth,” he said in a letter to the planning board.
Derek Sands, the deputy chief of staff for Tedesco, told Jersey Digs that the Bergen County Improvement Authority will own the building, but that the Bergen County Housing Authority will operate most of it. He added that the Bergen County Improvement Authority approved a $150 million bond to fund the project back in 2020, but that the bond has not been issued.
County officials said the project is slated to break ground in the fall, with construction set to take up to two years. However, they did not provide additional information about the actual starting date or the total projected cost for the entire development.
Although county officials are pushing for the redevelopment of the former probation site and bus terminal to commence later this year, officials in Hackensack and the county have been advocating for the redevelopment of the site since at least 2015. The probation site flooded during Superstorm Sandy and was eventually condemned and torn down, according to a report in NorthJersey.com.
In 2015, city officials proposed a 148-unit mixed-use tower and a new bus terminal. However, that plan included the site at 156 Moore St. in addition to the probation site and a covered walkway to connect the development across River St.
Minutes from the Housing Authority of Bergen County from a meeting in September 2016 state that the county intended to develop a six- to seven-story structure that would expand the bus terminal and add residential units.
On the other hand, the bus terminal was built in the 1970s and was last renovated in 2007 when it served approximately 3,500 daily riders.
The redevelopment of the Hackensack bus terminal and the former probation site marks a significant moment in both the city’s history and its central role in Hackensack’s landscape. After decades of stalled plans, the project takes on new importance as the surrounding apartment buildings in the area, including the Print House and other nearby complexes, have transformed that section of the city. While the inclusion of workforce housing, given the project’s proximity to major employers like Hackensack University Medical Center and the county administrative offices, may provide support for essential workers, the entire project has the potential to bolster Hackensack’s redevelopment.
