The team behind a rising 477-unit apartment complex in Jersey City’s Marion neighborhood has unveiled plans for a second phase that would adaptively reuse an existing former factory while creating a new pedestrian plaza.
The Toronto-based West Side Square Development Fund recently announced plans to create a second phase of their West Side Square project. The team is a partnership between Lanterra Developments, Westdale Properties, Lantree Developments and Altree Developments.
The first phase of the development broke ground in October 2023 at the site of the former Puccini’s restaurant, which was in business for 31 years before closing in 2015. Situated at 1072-1075 West Side Avenue, the first portion will consist of two 13-story towers connected by a series of five-story buildings with 285 garage parking spaces and over 23,000 square feet of ground floor commercial space.
Other perks of the first phase of West Side Square include a second floor with a 21,000 square foot amenity deck complete with a pool. The initial portion will be known as The Residences at WSS and is slated for completion by the end of 2026.
The companies are already plotting the second phase of the project, one that would bring another 357 units to the neighborhood. Dubbed The Factory at WSS, the second portion is slated for a lot across the street consisting of a brick building that houses Salumeria Ercolano on the ground floor.
The Factory at WSS would preserve the facades of an original factory that dates to 1911 as part of a plan that includes an expansion of the brick component to the Broadway corridor. The second phase of the project includes a glass-heavy vertical expansion and would bring the full development to a total of 834 residential units.
Besides the news regarding the project’s second phase, some new details were announced about the open space involved in the development. A pedestrian-friendly outdoor piazza on West Side Avenue with cobblestone walkways and public event space will be built on the block that abuts the trackage for the PATH system.
Speaking of the PATH, a Marion station has long been sought for the neighborhood and the West Side Square plan takes that wish into account. Blueprints of the entire plan that were released show the future PATH station being built behind the plaza, but no official announcement from the Port Authority has confirmed that possibility.
The entirety of the project has been drawn up by MHS Architecture, with Sordoni Construction Company serving as general contractor. The development’s second phase will still need to be approved by Jersey City’s Planning Board before any construction on that portion can take place.
