One of Jersey City’s longest commercial corridors will be getting some new retail space as part of a modern development that will add some housing to the community.
During their April 6 meeting, Jersey City’s planning board unanimously approved a scheme to revitalize two properties at 124-126 Martin Luther King Drive. The vacant parcels, which are L-shaped and span to the street’s corner with Fulton Avenue, fall within Ward F and the Jackson Hill Redevelopment Plan.
The path is clear for Jersey City-based Skyway Realty to redevelop the land into a five-story building that rises just over 56 feet. Designed by LWDMR Architects, the development is slated to include 25 residential units that skew smaller. Eight studios and 17 one-bedrooms are included in the plan, which does not set aside any units as affordable housing.
The first-floor unit will have a rear yard, while select apartments on the higher floors will sport rear-facing balconies. The development does not include any parking spaces for cars but will feature 14 bicycle storage slots and a storage area in the basement of the building.
A 565-square-foot common deck is included on the development’s roof, while 1,892 square feet of retail space split up between two storefronts is slated to face Martin Luther King Drive. The storefronts will boast almost floor-to-ceiling windows and the building’s exterior will be utilizing brick and metal siding complemented by aluminum and masonry coping.
Three minor variances were granted to advance the development, which is located just about a block away from the future Mary McLeod Bethune Park tentatively slated to open this summer. The planning board also approved a development called The Verge near the MLK Drive Light Rail station during the same meeting, which should bring 36 residences and over 4,439 square feet of retail space to the street.
Martin Luther King Drive has seen other significant proposals and approvals emerge during the last few months. The Jersey City Redevelopment Agency recently took a step towards revitalizing a vacant property they own along the stretch and plans for 124 new residences, an event space, and a new private school facility are in the works for the street’s historic Sacred Heart site.
