A historic building that was once envisioned as an international museum could instead be home to a boutique hotel and food hall as plans to revitalize Jersey City’s Pathside property recently moved forward.
During their September 16 meeting, the Jersey City Redevelopment Agency (JCRA) heard a presentation for the future of 84 Sip Avenue, also known as 25 Journal Square. The property had been acquired by the JCRA to house an outpost of the Pompidou Museum in a deal that was announced to much fanfare in 2021.
After years of planning, the project fell through at the location after the New Jersey Economic Development Authority wrote to the museum’s president declaring the project “no longer feasible” due to funding shortfall issues. The Pompidou Museum endeavor has since been moved to space inside an upcoming two-tower project a few blocks away at 808 Pavonia Avenue.
The JCRA put out a request for proposals earlier this year to determine the future of the building, which they purchased for $9 million back in 2018. The proposal considered for the site comes courtesy of 84 Sip Owner LLC, which is a subsidiary of Kushner Real Estate and Ironstate Properties.
The proposal plan has two components. The first portion would convert the existing Pathside building into a 38-key independent hotel complete with a “destination food hall,” a rooftop bar facility, and a wellness spa.
The second part of the proposed development involves property across the street at 68-74 Sip Avenue. The deal would demolish the existing building in favor of a 34-story tower with 320 units including a 10% affordable housing. The high-rise would be linked to the food hall and hotel via a pedestrian connection between the buildings.
The 68-74 Sip Avenue property is currently used by Hudson County Community College, but they plan to vacate the space in the coming years as they are building a new high-rise just down the street.
The JCRA has not made any renderings of the project available, but they did unanimously approve 84 Sip Owner LLC as a conditional redeveloper for the property. The potential plan would still need approval from Jersey City’s Planning Board among other entities, plus the developers would need to purchase the site from the JCRA before work could begin.
