A proposal involving a potential new building in Jersey City’s Ward F that Jersey Digs first reported on over two years ago is once again on the table.
Located in the Bergen-Lafayette neighborhood, 975 Garfield Avenue has been used over the years by businesses such as Daley’s Auto Body and D&Z Auto and Collision Repair. Back in February 2017, we told you about plans to turn this industrial property across from Berry Lane Park into a largely residential one.
The proposal at the time called for a new five-story building with 99 units to be constructed on the premises, which are located near the Garfield Avenue light rail stop. A rendering of the project from LWDMR Architects surfaced and the property owner, Ryms Realty, Inc., was even designated as the redeveloper of the site by the Jersey City Redevelopment Agency’s Board of Commissioners.
However, the neighborhood’s Morris Canal Redevelopment Plan only allowed for new buildings of this sort to be up to three stories tall at the time. This restriction was modified in 2018 by the city council for this site through a provision in part allowing for fourth and fifth floors to be added in exchange for the developer adding some “affordable housing” throughout the building as well.
Now, after an application was submitted by a firm called 975 Garfield, LLC, the latest version of the proposal for 975 Garfield Avenue is up for Preliminary and Final Site Plan approval. The proposed building is now slated to include 91 residential units. 975 Garfield, LLC is taking advantage of the redevelopment plan’s new “affordable housing bonus” by proposing nine “affordable” units, according to a public notice. If the application is approved with the bonus, it would allow the development to be five stories tall instead of the traditionally required three.
In addition to the residential component of the building, the notice states that there are plans for 4,015 square feet of ground-floor commercial space along with 50 parking spaces on the premises. Renderings that currently appear on the LWDMR Architects website appear to illustrate the current version of the plan and include a rooftop space for residents.
The application by 975 Garfield, LLC is slated to go before the Jersey City Planning Board during its regularly scheduled meeting on Tuesday, August 13, at 5:30 p.m.
Note to readers: The dates that applications are scheduled to be heard by the Jersey City Planning Board and other commissions are subject to change.
