A mid-rise project in Jersey City’s Powerhouse Arts District that’s been stuck in limbo has now been sold and redesigned, with the new developer hoping to commence construction on it later this year.
In November 2015, Clifton-based Parkwood Development won approval to turn a parking lot at 321 Warren Street into a new 18-story residential building that was designed by Minervini Vandermark. But last year, Florida-based Lennar purchased the land from Parkwood and sought to reshape the proposal.
The latest and final version of the 180-unit rental building was churned out by NYC-based firm Fogarty Finger and will feature a few tweaks to the original project in terms of the layout. The retail component of the structure will now be 1,400 square feet and adjacent to a ground-floor 150-seat black box performance theater. The property will also include art space on the second floor.
The biggest change for 321 Warren will be on the exterior, which will now feature a façade composed of white brick and glass that’s accented by bronze frame extensions extruding from the structure in hopes of creating a textured look. Fogarty says the new look “seamlessly weaves art-related facilities into the design, elevating the luxury residences.”
Other notable features include a double height bronze canopy in the residential lobby and chamfered bronze paneling in the arts lobby. Additionally, a sectional complexity of interlocking spaces was created when designing the locations of the various retail, arts, tenant and theater locations, which are spread across the lower floors.
The building will sport a mix of 60 studios, 58 one-bedrooms, 42 two-bedrooms and 14 three-bedroom market-rate rentals. The property will include a roof deck complete with a pool, a community kitchen for entertaining, a media room, meeting spaces, and a playroom. The 17th floor of the development will feature “mezzanine apartments” that will have ceiling heights double that of the building’s other floors.
The project marks Lennar’s first foray into Jersey City’s development scene, as the company had been locally sticking to Weehawken’s Port Imperial neighborhood so far. They are currently building the final building of the Henley on Hudson development along the waterfront, but are now looking to join the Jersey City development party. They hope to get started in June.
