A smaller project that’s designed to fit into the neighborhood’s scale is officially ready to go, and construction should commence soon at a vacant property along one of Jersey City’s major thoroughfares.
Last week, we told you the city’s planning board was scheduled to hear an application for a new development that combines three currently vacant lots at 233-237 Newark Avenue into one property. The project was indeed approved by the board and will move forward with Jersey City-based L Squared Design Build constructing the building.
Working with in-Form Design Architects, the company will be bringing a 16-unit rental building to the land, which is directly adjacent to the controversial 245 Newark development that deviated from approved plans during construction. L Squared Design Build owner Dave Slurz told Jersey Digs in an interview that their next-door neighbor’s shadows, along with the long and narrow shape of their own property, presented some planning challenges.
“We wanted to bring a design element to the project and not make it look like the cheaper buildings out there,” Slurz said. “Everyone seems to do the same thing, but we wanted a building that stands out from the crowd and has some forethought.”
The five-story project will include four parking spaces, an elevator, a 1,750-square-foot retail storefront on the first floor, and a green roof. The building sports a more modern style and will utilize a rain screen façade on its exterior, also using eco-friendly and recycled materials on several aspects of the development.
In a rarity for Jersey City, 233 Newark Avenue was designed as-of-right based on the Village Redevelopment Plan and almost no variances were needed. Nonetheless, Slurz said the company spent a lot of time on making the units efficient, as there’s lots of competition in the area.
The rental apartments themselves break down as 12 two-bedroom-plus-den units that average 1,200 square feet each and four one-bedroom-plus-den spaces of about 650 square feet. The storefront will face Newark Avenue about a block away from the pedestrian plaza, which Slurz hopes will draw something cool and hip to the space when it’s completed.
“We’d like to get a tenant that’s sustainable, we don’t need another hair or nail salon,” he said. “We have to make people want to live there.”
An official date for groundbreaking on the development has not yet been finalized.
