Wow. This proposal is HUGE!
I just drove by this today on River Road and there are countless new residential buildings under construction from Weehawken all the way up to Fort Lee. Most being under 12 stories, so this one is massive for this area.
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I know right!
edit: this is reg 615 River Road, not this development at 115 River Road.
the local government has sided with the NIMBYs and seized the property using eminent domain. This parcel wonât reach its full potential without a troublesome legal battle. I doubt something of that scale will be built. Something like the rendering in the article linked by YIMBY is more likely, if they can retake control of the land.
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The address was actually 115 River Road, a mix-up, now corrected, and it is apparently already approved!
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Damn. Donât see ultra NIMBY Edgewater allowing this, but very reliable sources tell me that Hill West Architects has been working on designs for this site (canât confirm or deny that they came up with the proposal in that rendering).
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Hey YIMBY are you sure itâs approved? Edgewater recently updated the zoning for the site (consisting of 115, 145, and 225 River Road) to allow 105 units per acre: Public Notice New Jersey | New Jersey Newspaper Publishers Association
So theyâd need about 19 acres to allow a development of this size. Will look into property records tomorrow to see if the parcel qualifies.
Fred Daibes is very well connected in the Bergen County towns along the Hudson waterfront, but I canât believe heâs connected enough to get that past the NIMBYs.
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Yimbyâs post on Instagram said it was approved.
âToday YIMBY has the reveal for a massive four-towered residential complex that is being developed by Fred Dabies at 115 River Road, in Edgewater, New Jersey. The plans have already been approved and would add skyscrapers ranging from 595 to 715 feet in height, and 1,919 units, split between rentals and condos. While the small city currently has almost no skyline, the tallest of the group would stand above anything currently built in Brooklyn or Queens!â
https://www.instagram.com/newyorkyimby/
But canât confirm it anywhere else, even their article.
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(Yeah thatâs why Iâm asking YIMBY directly about what evidence he has that this specific proposal was approved. He posted in this thread right above me! 
)
I just noticed that my link above doesnât work. The zoning amendment that was passed in October regarding this property (which Iâve pasted below) says it has an area of 3.12 acres, which would only allow 328 units at the allowed density of 105 units per acre. But if you include the underwater part of the property, then it comes out to about 18.5 acres, enough for 1919 units. It all depends on how the density numbers are to be interpreted (are they per gross acre or per net acre?).
The relevant parts of the zoning amendment are bolded below:
INTRODUCTION OF BOROUGH OF EDGEWATER ORDINANCE #1553-2017 The following an ordinance entitled"-AN ORDINANCE OF THE BOROUGH OF EDGEWATER, COUNTY OF BERGEN, STATE OF NEW JERSEY, AMENDING AND SUPPLEMENTING CHAPTER 240 OF THE BOROUGH CODE TO IMPLEMENT AFFORDABLE HOUSING"
Notice of Hearings of the Code of the Borough of Edgewater, County of Bergen was introduced on the 21st day of August and is scheduled for public hearing/adoption on Monday October 2, 2017 at the Edgewater Municipal Building, Council Chambers, located at 55 River Road, Edgewater, New Jersey at 7:00 p.m or as soon thereafter as the matter can be reached, and that at such time and place all persons interested will be given an opportunity to be heard concerning the same.
ORDINANCE # 2017-1553 AN ORDINANCE OF THE BOROUGH OF EDGEWATER, COUNTY OF BERGEN, STATE OF NEW JERSEY, AMENDING AND SUPPLEMENTING CHAPTER 240 OF THE BOROUGH CODE TO IMPLEMENT AFFORDABLE HOUSING WHEREAS, pursuant to N.J.S.A. 40:55D-62b, the Mayor and Council of the Borough of Edgewater are authorized and empowered to adopt and amend the zoning ordinance of the Borough of Edgewater; and WHEREAS, the Borough further recognizes the continuing need for and its responsibility to maintain its efforts in creating affordable housing within the Borough consistent with the âFair Housing Act,â P.L. 1985, c 222 (C-52:27D-301 et seq.); and WHEREAS, the Mayor and Council have deemed it in the best interests of the Borough to amend the zoning ordinance and adopt the regulations set forth herein to address such efforts; and NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT ORDAINED by the Mayor and Council of the Borough of Edgewater, as follows: Section 1. Section 240-131 of the Borough Code is hereby amended as follows:
Section 240-131.1. Definitions applicable to all R-5 Zoned Properties. The following definitions will be applicable to all R-5 Zoned Properties: FLOOR AREA RATIO (F.A.R.) The gross floor area of building or structures on a lot divided by the gross total lot area. GROSS TOTAL LOT The total land area of tax lots(s), including water bodies. GROSS FLOOR AREA The sum of the gross horizontal areas of all enclosed floors of a building, including cellars, basements, mezzanines, penthouses, corridors, and lobbies from the exterior face of the exterior walls or from the centerline of a common wall separating two buildings, but excluding any space with floor-to-ceiling height of less than six (6) feet six (6) inches. This does not include balconies, terraces or roofs. In determining the gross floor area, any floor space that is constructed or intended to be used solely for parking motor vehicles, loading or unloading of motor vehicles, or for refuse storage chambers, refuse storage and material recovery chambers, material recovery chambers, refuse storage and material recovery rooms, refuse chutes, other types of facilities provided for the separation of refuse, or for access facilities for telecommunications and broadcasting services, or occupied solely by machinery or equipment for any lift, air-conditioning or heating system or any similar service, shall be excluded from the gross floor area of a building. IMPERVIOUS SURFACE A surface that has a coefficient of run-off of 0.75 or greater. No more than 50% of graveled areas shall be permitted to be applied as a pervious surface. LOT COVERAGE The portion of a lot that is covered by impervious surface. A green roof on any building or garage structure that provides adequate vegetation and passive recreation use for the occupants may be counted as pervious coverage at 75% (i.e. 100 SF of a âgreenâ roof would count as 75 SF of pervious ground surface). NET ACREAGE The total land area of a tax lot, excluding water bodies. PERVIOUS COVERAGE The percentage of a lot covered by pervious surface(s). PERVIOUS SURFACE Any surface that does not meet the definition of an impervious surface. Section 240-131.2. Parking and Loading for all R-5 Zoned Properties. A.Parking and Loading shall be subject to the requirements of Article XIX of this Chapter. B.Structured parking is permitted. The number of parking stories shall not be counted towards the number of stories permitted. Section 240-131.3. Affordable Housing Component for certain R-5 Zoned properties. To advance the goals and objectives for providing affordable housing in the State of New Jersey, the following section provides for affordable housing units within the R-5 Zone within the Borough of Edgewater. A.The following parcels, identified by block and lot, shall be zoned as indicated, and the Borough of Edgewater Zoning Map authorized by 240-93 shall be amended as necessary in accordance therewith: *ADDRESS BLOCK LOT 115 RIVER ROAD 96 3.01 145 RIVER ROAD 95 1 225 RIVER ROAD 91 1 *** southern portion of property known as Development Unit B, having an ***area of 135,959 sq. ft. or 3.12 acres ***B.Consistent with N.J.A.C. 5:9_-__, a 15% set-aside for affordable housing units is mandatory for the residential component of any multi-family rental building, and a 20% set-aside for affordable housing units is mandatory for the residential component of any multi-family building with for-sale units. C.Permitted Density: 1.Mid-Rise: 35 du/ac 2.High-Rise: 105 du/ac 3.Senior: 115 du/ac D.General provisions for constructing affordable units. 1.Affordable housing units being constructed on site shall be in conformance with COAHâs third round rules at N.J.A.C. 5:94-1 et seq., and the Uniform Housing Affordability Controls at N.J.A.C. 5:80-26.1 et seq., including, but not limited to requirements regarding phasing schedule, controls on affordability, low-/moderate-income split, heating source, maximum rent and/or sales price, affordability average, bedroom distribution and affirmative marketing. 2.To the greatest extent possible, affordable housing units being provided within inclusionary developments shall be disbursed throughout inclusionary developments and shall be located within buildings designed to be architecturally indistinguishable from the market-rate units otherwise being constructed within the development. To that end, the scale, massing, roof pitch and architectural detailing (such as the selection of exterior materials, doors, windows, etc.) of the buildings containing the affordable housing units shall be similar to and compatible with that of the market-rate units. E.Other provisions superseded. In the event of any inconsistency between the provisions of this section and any other section of Chapter 240, the provisions of this section shall prevail. Section 2. Planning Board review. Upon approval of this Ordinance upon First Reading by the Mayor and Council of the Borough of Edgewater, this Ordinance shall be transmitted to the Planning Board for its review and recommendation. Section 3. Severability. If any provision or portion of a provision of this ordinance is held to be unconstitutional, preempted by Federal or State law, or otherwise invalid by any court of competent jurisdiction, the remaining provisions of the ordinance shall not be invalidated and shall remain in full force and effect. Section 4. Effective date. This Ordinance shall take effect immediately upon final publication as required by law. Section 5. Repeal of inconsistent ordinances. All ordinances and parts of ordinances which are inconsistent with the provisions of this ordinance are hereby repealed to the extent of such inconsistency. MICHAEL J. McPARTLAND, Mayor ATTEST:______________________ ANNAMARIE OâCONNOR, RMC, Borough Clerk INTRODUCED:August 21, 2017 ADOPTED: APPROVED: September 13, 2017
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Thank you!
Edgewater is horribly corrupt⌠story at 11!
Also believe it is this:
gross total lot area
Which explains why 1,919 is the number.
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What are the chances of a light rail through Edgewater to the GWB and down to Weehawken? Increased density is inevitable, more efficient mass transit will have to follow.
@colrain
I doubt the HBLR will get the funding for a spur there, let alone a local light light rail. Itâs supposed to go up Bergen County, past the Tonnelle Ave station and towards Leonia and other towns. But they can barely get those proposals through. Perhaps more bus services can help, or a tram line by the water.
Not in our lifetimes in car-crazy, anti-transit Edgewater:
The current Hudson/Bergen River Road Circulation Study by Bergen County Planning and Parsons Brinckerhoff identified the lack of pedestrian/bicycling amenities in Edgewater as a huge issue.
Bergen County Planning mentions in the study that they approached Edgewater in the early 1990âs and suggested to extend the light rail north and use the abandoned NYS&W tunnel to Fairview instead. Edgewater did not want any part of the light-rail and did exactly the opposite of what Bergen County, NJDOT and NJ Transit had suggestedâit did not require developers to preserve the ROW or reserve a ROW for the Light-rail, should it be built in the future. Development started and the potential ROW through Edgewater was lost. Today, the Light rail could only be extended using surface streets.
Fast forward to a 25 year-old couple living along River RoadâŚthey take the NJ Transit bus to work in the city each day or catch the NY Waterway Shuttle bus. They walk outside their development and step onto a 3-foot wide sidewalk straddling the edge of a 4 lane street with fast moving traffic only inches away. Across the street from their apartment is a grocery store- they try to cross directly in front of their apartment, since the nearest crosswalk is over 1000 feet away and does not even have a sidewalk for the entire walk. They run across the street and land in a huge parking lot that they must walk through to get to the entrance.
http://www.co.bergen.nj.us/DocumentCenter/View/1007
Speaking of which, this project, like all projects in Edgewater, is requiring two parking spaces per apartment. For comparison, towns like Bayonne require one per apartment. It comes out to almost a million square feet of parking for a project the size of this proposal. Put another way, 1/3 to 1/2 of the bulk of this proposal is parking.
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The city planners who allowed the right of way to be developed over should burn for that.
Wow, thanks for that insight. Thatâs ridiculous. And now itâs coming back to bite them. Edgewater would have greatly benefited from the LRT. Less traffic congestion, etc.
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Looks like this isnât totally dead?
Daibes and his former business partner filed a permit to build a four-tower structure on the Quanta Resources Superfund site that would be 720 feet tall. Plans also call for 2,000 residential units, a parking garage, a plaza structure and a clubhouse, according to a permit approved by the state Department of Environmental Protection.
Daibesâ onetime partner on the site â Hongkun USA, part of a global real estate company â pulled out of the deal when the Superfund cleanup process took longer than expected, said a letter from a Daibes lawyer to a judge in December.
A new business deal was made between Daibes and Heritage Advisors of London, an investment management firm founded by Sheikh Sultan bin Jassim Al Thani of Qatar. The investment firm bought a 23.7% share of the Quanta site and adjoining properties for $45 million, records show.
At 720 feet high, the four-tower structure that Daibes had planned for the Quanta Superfund site and an adjacent property would be the fourth-tallest building in New Jersey.
The sale by Daibes of a nearly 24% share in that site and adjacent properties for $45 million to the London-based firm of a Qatari sheik is under the scrutiny of federal investigators, as first reported by the Wall Street Journal.
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Some more detailsâŚsounds like this could be held up by environmental cleanups for years (or not?). Total mess. Very risky investment by this Qatari sheikh.
the immediate future of the site â which is owned by developer Fred Daibes and has been linked to an ongoing federal probe of U.S. Sen. Bob Menendez â remains uncertain.
The area surrounding the site is slated for at least three toxic cleanups over the next several years after an earlier project to stabilize pollution on site took four years to complete. Federal environmental officials said they will scrutinize plans to pile-drive columns into the ground for any building foundation, fearing that it could disturb the pollution left in place.
Daibes bought three plots of land that make up the Quanta Superfund site more than 10 years ago for $42.25 million, and had an ambitious plan to build a mixed-use development that climbs into the sky, with views down the Hudson River toward Manhattan.
Today the property is still a barren wasteland â six years after the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency launched a controversial remediation project conducted by contractors for Honeywell, the international conglomerate that inherited the environmental liability of the site.
Daibesâ onetime partner on the site â Hongkun USA, a global real estate company â pulled out of the deal when the cleanup process took longer than expected, according to a letter from a Daibes lawyer to a judge in December.
The DEP permit to build the four towers on the Quanta site was taken out three years ago by a subsidiary of Hongkun, which is no longer in the picture. The permit, which is valid through September 2025, can be transferred, but that would have to meet certain conditions. No transfer requests had been made as of late July, said Larry Hajna, a DEP spokesman.
But in a controversial move, the EPA chose a plan 10 years ago to entomb the underground pollution at the site instead of excavating it. That $78 million plan had drawn criticism from some residents and environmental groups as a âpave and waveâ solution in lieu of more expensive excavation, but EPA officials said excavation would have been more disruptive to neighbors.
Work began in 2017 and finished in 2021. There were delays when fumes from the site drew concerns from residents who live around Quanta.
Movement by Daibes and his partners to develop Quanta were slowed by the remediation and the investigation. Still, a subsidiary of Hongkun, Daibesâ earlier partner on the site, obtained permits in 2020 from the DEP for the tower project.
The permits, obtained by NorthJersey.com through a public records request, cover three plots of land spanning 115 to 145 River Road â the heart of the Quanta Superfund site â and last through September 2025. But itâs unclear if that will be enough time to begin construction.
The EPA is reviewing proposals from Honeywell for the cleanup of River Road and the groundwater contaminated with arsenic beneath the City Place property, said David Montoya, the agencyâs lead remedial project manager.
No redevelopment plans for the Quanta site have been submitted to the EPA, which would have to sign off on them.
Of particular concern to the agency is pile-driving into the ground to secure a building foundation, said Rich Puvogel, an EPA official supervising the ground portion of the site. Since the pollution has not been removed, driving columns into the ground could disrupt the entombed coal tar and other contaminants, causing them to spread. If the proposed towers or any other housing development is built on the site, a deed notice will be issued alerting future owners that contamination exceeding residential standards is still on the site, Puvogel said. Other than that, EPA officials said they canât speculate on what the agency would approve and challenge in terms of redevelopment. âAll I can say is that EPA will ensure that any plans are protective of the remedy whenever we receive them,â Montoya said.