A somewhat mysterious redevelopment project for a block of uptown Jefferson Street is still in the works despite being reconfigured a bit; although, it’s unclear if a bowling alley that was to be included in the initial deal is still currently on the table.
Way back in July 2016, Jersey Digs unearthed a proposal to bring two 10-story towers, a hotel, and a Brooklyn Bowl-esque bowling alley to a property at 1300 Jefferson Street that’s currently occupied by a warehouse. There’s been almost no news on the project since, though the new year has seen some activity and details emerge as to the changes the development has gone through.
At the final meeting before the new year, Hoboken’s city council passed amendments to the Western Edge Redevelopment Plan that allow a height increase at the project’s hotel component to a maximum of 16 stories and 166 feet. The modifications were requested by Just Block 112 LLC, who own the land and have been designated as its redeveloper.
The group behind the project consists of Mark Villamar and Hany Ahmed, who were behind the Pilsner Haus Biergarten restoration. They quietly submitted conceptual site plans for their latest project in April 2017, and it now consists of two buildings instead of the initially proposed three.
The first building would contain the 207-unit residential component along with 19,458 square feet of retail space. Parking in the building would total 270 spaces, 51 of which would be self-park while the remaining 219 would be mechanical and utilize a stacking system.
The second structure under the latest proposal would still be a hotel, featuring 281 rooms plus 18 valet parking spaces. The property, which would presumably rise 16 stories per the redevelopment plan changes, would feature 18,213 square feet of commercial space and another 4,625 square feet of retail.
The project would build a new mid-block road between the buildings that would create six on-street parking spaces and five loading spaces. Red Bank-based ENGenuity Infrastructure will be providing traffic review services for the deal, as Hoboken’s council awarded them a contract earlier this month to review traffic and circulation plans that Just Block 112 has submitted to the city.
A letter ENGenuity sent to Hoboken’s planning department does not mention the originally proposed bowling alley component at all, suggesting that it may not be included in the latest version of the project. A final redevelopment agreement between the city and Just Block 112 is still being negotiated.
