While shiny new high-rises seem to grab all the development headlines near Jersey City’s westernmost PATH station, one company will be restoring and building a vertical addition to a three-story building that has stood in the neighborhood for decades.
We broke the news last month about a proposal to bring a mixed-use project to 900 Bergen Avenue. Located between Academy and Newkirk Streets, the current property is all commercial space and plays home to businesses that include an Asian noodle grill, a discount store, and several offices on the top floors.
Property owners Stonebridge Capital obtained unanimous approval from Jersey City’s planning board during their February 2 meeting to significantly expand the building, which will rise eight stories when completed. The addition at the property, which is set to sport large windows, will be set back 15 feet from the current structure and utilize aluminum cladding on its exterior.
The existing building, which was constructed in the 1930s, will have its brick exterior cleaned, refurbished, and repaired to match historical photographs of the property. The approved plan, drawn up by Hoboken-based firm Marchetto Higgins Stieve, is slated to feature 50 residential units along with 4,160 square feet of retail space fronting Bergen Avenue.
The living spaces will consist of 44 one-bedroom units, with the remaining apartments featuring two bedrooms. Future residents will enter their apartments through a lobby on nearby Dick Street, a parallel dead-end road located just east of Bergen Avenue and directly behind the building.
Planned facilities at the revamped 900 Bergen Avenue include a basement with 1,435 square feet of amenity space plus storage lockers with bike parking. A 2,305-square-foot outdoor roof deck will be featured at the development, which will include an additional 575-square-foot indoor amenity section.
The city’s planning board granted a variance for height when it approved the project, allowing Stonebridge Capital to construct a building that is 92 feet tall in an area where elevation is capped at 85 feet. The company has not yet released a timeline for the building’s future expansion.
