The former warehouse at 660 Grand Street, between State Street and Westervelt Place in the Bergen-Lafayette neighborhood of Jersey City’s Ward F, is slated to be converted into a mixed-use development. City records show that there are plans for the three-story brick structure to be expanded and converted into a four-story building with residential, commercial, and art uses.
Nine ‘live/work units’ are proposed, as are four commercial spaces and a gallery. The developer and 4.- year building owner, Hawthorne JC 660 Realty, LLC, which, according to NJ Parcels records, is registered out of the same Florham Park, Morris County office as Essex Equity Management and Pre-K Our Way, is currently seeking variances for use and height as part of the project, but few other details regarding the development have been released publicly.
In recent years, the building has contained a venue for artists called 660 Studios, described as “both a physical space for artists to create/showcase their work as well as a launching pad for collaborative events in and outside of Jersey City,” as well as the Archetype Gallery. It previously contained the Michael’s Priority No. 1 Antiques and More shop and All American Cleaning.
660 Grand Street was built in the 1920s by Nathan Welitoff for the Max Sash & Door Co., according to a 1921 issue of The American Contractor. However, there are still signs of the building’s industrial past. Today, it is covered in ‘ghost signs’ advertising the services of the warehouse’s occupants from decades past, the most visible of which reads ‘frames.’
The property is located within walking distance of Lafayette Park and Pool, Arlington Park, Berry Lane Park, and businesses at The Junction. In addition, NJ Transit Buses 1 an 81 to Newark, Bayonne, and Exchange Place serve the area, and the Garfield Avenue Station on the Hudson-Bergen Light Rail is a half-mile walk away.
The Jersey City Zoning Board of Adjustment is currently slated to hear the proposal during its meeting on Thursday, May 4th.
