Continuing the discussion from JERSEY CITY | Journal Square 2060 Redevelopment Plan:
McGinley Square redevelopment approved
And council bans displays on walls of 22-story St. Peter’s building
by Al Sullivan
May 25, 2014
The City Council voted on May 14 to approve a redevelopment plan that will advance two different projects while curtailing large video displays on the side of a proposed tower to be built by a local college.
The McGinley Square East Redevelopment plan covers an area of about 10.2 acres and includes a proposed 22-story St. Peter’s University building, which will contain residential units, a movie theater and retail, as well as possible dormitories, classrooms, and child care facilities. The approval contained a change prohibiting the use of large video displays on the sides of the 22-story building.
The city has required St. Peter’s to build a park as a giveback to the historic community.
McGinley Square, located at Bergen Avenue and Montgomery Street, is one of the oldest neighborhoods in the city. But it is also significantly run down, something city officials hope will change by allowing St. Peter’s to construct the new building there.
The developer has proposed installing large video panels on four sides of the building, which would display art. But residents in the neighborhood protested, at one point showing just how large these panels would be by using display tape in the council chambers.
The council chose not to approve the panels, saying that while these might not be the overwhelmingly bright kind that are typical of places like Times Square, residents of the neighborhood feel they are out of character.
Lavern Washington, a community activist, spoke out in support of the redevelopment plan, saying such projects are needed in the central part of the city, to create jobs and improve areas away from the waterfront.
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