A long-vacant lot in Hoboken is now buzzing with construction crews. Work began last fall on a new project at 727 Adams Street, a lot that stretches from the corner of 8th Street to the corner of Grand Street, in Hoboken’s Ward 3.
Records from the City of Hoboken show that the building will be five stories tall and contain 28 residential units. Six of the units will have four bedrooms, 12 will have three bedrooms, six will have two bedrooms, and the rest will have one bedroom. Several units will have roof terraces, and residents of the fifth floor will have a private roof deck. There will also be four retail spaces, each of which will be under 1,000 square feet, on the first floor, along with 36 parking spaces.
In a traffic impact study, Dynamic Traffic reported that it is their professional opinion “that the adjacent street system of the City of Hoboken and Hudson County will not experience any significant degradation in operating conditions with the construction of the proposed residential building”, and that “the site plan as proposed provides for good circulation throughout the site and provides adequate parking to accommodate the project’s needs”.
Hook-ups for electric car charging stations, “an extensive green roof system”, two residential lobbies, refuse and recycling areas, and an above-ground stormwater and greywater detention system are also planned.
The project developer and property owner is FGAM, LLC, which was registered out of Garden Street in Hoboken in May 2014, according to the New Jersey Division of Revenue and Enterprise Services. NJ Parcels data shows that the company acquired the property in April 2016 for $8 million from Hoboken Excalibur, LLC.
Frank Minervini of Minervini Vandermark is registered as the project architect, while Edward Kolling of Dresdner Robin is listed as the planner. Financing for the project is being arranged by C.H. Kauffman and Associates, Inc. of Red Bank, Monmouth County. Chaz Kauffman, the vice president of the firm, tells Jersey Digs that the development is expected to be completed towards the end of 2017 or the beginning of 2018.
While surrounding lots in Hoboken have seen development in recent years, this 20,000 square foot property has remained vacant for over 15 years. According to a report from Kolling published by the city, a factory used by the Cooper Hewitt Electric Company and General Electric to make mercury vapor lamps used to stand at the site, which later was used as housing for artists. However, after “high concentrations of mercury were found in the building”, it was demolished in order to clean up the site. The Environmental Protection Agency removed the site from the Superfund program’s National Priorities List in August 2007.
Kolling’s report also states that at the new building, “the ground floor will have 100% lot coverage and will act as an environmental cap over the property due to the previous contamination of the site”.
The property is in a very walkable neighborhood and sits within a few blocks of the 9th Street Hudson-Bergen Light Rail Station, Hoboken High School, Columbus Park, and the Hoboken ShopRite.
