Clarity could soon emerge at one of the largest potential development parcels along the Hudson River as one of Jersey City’s most prominent builders is slated to present their new plans during a special meeting.
Jersey Digs first broke the news about LeFrak’s massive Pier 6 project back in September 2020, an endeavor looking to revitalize an 8.5-acre pier at 2 Sixth Street. The structure was originally built by the Pennsylvania Railroad as a low water timber relieving platform but has remained vacant for many years under current ownership.
Images of the proposal emerged just about a year ago and showed five high-rise towers set to include a total of 1,998 residential units. The tallest building on the pier’s east end would have risen 51 floors, conditions that sparked a petition in opposition from residents at the nearby Mandalay on the Hudson.
LeFrak has now scaled their new plans back a bit, but the scope of the fresh proposal is still grand. The latest version now calls for four towers along the pier with garage parking for 897 cars and a total of 1,723 residential units. While no affordable housing is included in the plan, the units in the development would be balanced with 154 studios, 780 one-bedrooms, 641 two-bedrooms, and 148 three-bedroom spaces.
Designed by Miami-based firm Arquitectonica, the two taller towers on the western portion of the pier would both rise 42 stories and be connected by a six-story parking structure. Ground floor townhomes would be featured on the parking podium’s northern and southern sides and the entirety of the western portion would include 887 units and 449 parking spaces.
The eastern portion of the property would mirror the western area with two 39-story towers also connected by a six-story parking deck with ground-floor townhomes and 448 parking spaces. 836 units would be included in this phase, as would a 4,000 square-foot ground-floor retail space set to overlook the Hudson River.
To facilitate the project, LeFrak has proposed extending 6th Street eastbound along the southern portion of the pier alongside the creation of several northbound “loops” for vehicles to access the buildings. Over 36% of the land would be designated as open space under the new proposal, as the endeavor would extend the Hudson River Waterfront Walkway along the entire perimeter of the pier.
LeFrak is looking to subdivide the pier into three parcels under their application. The first two lots would be home to the eventual four towers, while the final parcel would be in the extreme northeast area of the property. While that portion has an existing use as a heliport, that section is not included in the current application and a spokesperson for LeFrak says the parcel is “slated for future development.”
The application for the first version of Pier 6 requested deviations from the planning board related to the minimum yard and having multiple structures on the same lot, but their current vision conforms to the neighborhood’s existing zoning thanks to the subdivision request.
Jersey City’s planning board has called a special meeting to hear the project’s application on March 15, with the session set to begin at 5:30 p.m. The virtual meeting can be joined on Zoom at this link or by using the Webinar ID 837 9747 6528.
