Real estate development tends to follow transportation. In the nearly 17 years since the first riders boarded the Hudson-Bergen Light Rail, buildings containing thousands of residential units have risen within walking distance of many of its 24 stations. Now, development could soon be centered around a stop in Jersey City’s Ward F.
Two new buildings have been proposed for Randolph Avenue, just across the street from the Garfield Avenue Light Rail Station, in a heavily residential area of the Bergen-Lafayette neighborhood. City records show that a four-story building is planned at 201-205 Randolph Avenue, on the south side of the tracks, between Carteret Avenue and Union Street. The proposal by Pronti Construction, Inc., of Downtown, calls for the development to contain 15 residential units and seven parking spaces. Currently, the property is a vacant lot.
A few feet away on the north side of the tracks, an even larger development is coming. A six-story building will rise at 217 Randolph Avenue and 286-294 Arlington Avenue. The project, developed by Arlington Avenue Group, LLC will contain 43 residential units and 29 parking spaces, according to city documents. There are views of Lower Manhattan and the Statue of Liberty from the site, which has long been a vacant and partially wooded tract.
Both projects required use height variances, and preliminary and final major site plan approval was granted with conditions to the developers by the Jersey City Zoning Board of Adjustment during a July 2016 meeting.
In addition to the light rail station, the sites are within walking distance of a CitiBike station, the new Berry Lane Park, NJ Transit’s Bus 6, and a shopping plaza containing an Extra Supermarket location.
