While there has been plenty of development in Jersey City’s Bergen-Lafayette neighborhood over the last five years and more in the works for the next five years, there have been few residential projects recently near the Martin Luther King, Jr. Drive station on the Hudson-Bergen Light Rail. However, a New York-based company that owns a property not far from the station is now planning to construct a new building on part of its land.
While most pedestrians and drivers passing 431-433 Martin Luther King, Jr. Drive would notice that the site includes a three-story building with apartments above ground-floor commercial space, the same property also contains another building behind it. This second structure, which is located at what is the equivalent of 316 Forrest Street, is a two-story brick building with a ghost sign for a company called Advanced Amusements, a garage, and a boarded up door.
Now, a legal notice from earlier this month shows that the owner, TBG 431 MLK, LLC of Brooklyn, is looking for approval from the Jersey City Planning Board (JCPB) in order to have each building be on a different lot. While the existing three-story building would remain intact on its new property, the smaller building is expected to be replaced with a six-story multifamily building.
The proposed new development, which is contingent upon the developer receiving Preliminary and Final Site Plan approval with variances for lot depth and height, would include 23 residential units. The structure would be 68.5 feet tall and include a roof deck, according to the notice.
A hearing on the matter has been scheduled for the JCPB’s meeting on Tuesday, January 22, at 5:30 p.m.
TBG 431 MLK, LLC has owned the buildings since the beginning of 2016 when the company paid $550,000 for the property, according to NJ Parcels. The firm is registered out of the same address on Flatlands Avenue in Brooklyn as The Battery Group.
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.
