Thought I’d make a thread on the proposal to redevelop the parking lots surrounding the County Plaza office complex in Jersey City. The proposal aims to redevelop ~15 acres of county owned land into 1,500 new homes including at least 20% affordable housing for working families and seniors.
Here are some information on specific sites:
Bergen Square
Currently, the parcel has capacity for 87 cars. Now, the county is planning to put this land to better use. County officials are mulling possibly 456 homes on the site in a 24-story structure. A zoning change would be required for the property to allow 24 stories; currently 5 stories are allowed. On this site and all others mentioned in this article, the county is aiming to set aside at least 20% of all apartments for families with low and moderate incomes (30% to 80% of Area Median Income), with higher set-asides and inclusion of workforce housing set-asides (80% to 100% of Area Median Income) if financially feasible. Tentatively, the county is planning for 332 parking stalls at the site, though county officials admit this number is in flux.
Hilltop
Because of the awkward Tetris-like shape of the parking lot, the county is pursuing acquisition of the Blimpie building to create a square-shaped development site. Altogether, the combined site would span about 28,000 square feet, or almost two-thirds of an acre.
As with the Bergen Square site, this site would also require a zoning change. The county is pursuing adding the parcel to the Journal Square 2060 Redevelopment Plan with some bespoke zoning that would allow a larger structure. At its May 5 meeting, the Jersey City Municipal Council voted to kick off the rezoning process with a vote to direct the Planning Board to study a declaration of the parcels as an Area in Need of Redevelopment.
Five Corners
The county’s vision for this site, is to acquire the M&T Bank site (or engage in a joint venture with the site’s future owners) and the church-owned parking lot to build a tower spanning all three sites. Currently, the site is zoned for residential towers at least 45 stories, and likely up to 51 stories tall if various bonus provisions can be applied. The county is looking to build at least a 31-story tower with 493 units and up to 300 parking stalls on the consolidated site.
County Plaza
Here again, the county is seeking rezoning, though it is not generally seeking to acquire non-county-owned parcels (with the possible exception of one small vacant PSE&G parcel at the corner of Mercer Loop and Wayne Street). Altogether, the county’s land holdings here amount to about 15 acres, making it by far the largest parcel to redevelop, albeit the farthest from rapid transit.
Parts of the site will be developed as parkland. Renderings show appealing open spaces that take advantage of the site’s natural grade changes and views of the cityscape around New York Bay.