Page 16 - Issue 46 Oct2020

14 OCTOBER 2020
BUILDING A NEIGHBORHOOD
Developers, city officials taking a holistic approach as northwestern Hoboken grows
It may be the Mile Square City, but Hoboken still has room to grow. After creating mixed-use projects
in the largely industrial western half, developers are focusing on the city’s northwestern corner, known as the North End.
City officials are in favor of
the growth, with a North End Redevelopment Plan in progress that focuses on a diversified tax base, open space and flood-resistant infrastructure.
“One of the things that I wanted
to see when I got elected was responsible development in our industrial northwest,” said City Councilmember Philip Cohen, who took office earlier this year.
Cohen, who serves on the North End Redevelopment Committee, said design firm WRT will be unveiling
a plan in October for the roughly
30-acre zone, which is bounded by 14th Street to the south, Union City to the west, Weehawken to the north and Park Avenue to the east. He added that development needs to be sensitive to the fact that Hoboken is
a community, a concern that’s not lost on commercial real estate firms in the area. Bijou Properties, which owns parcels
within the redevelopment zone, has built
hundreds of residential units in
the city’s northern and western sections and has a history of growing neighborhoods around its projects, with a focus on creating multifamily buildings supported by commercial and retail tenants.
“You have to create something on a large scale,” said Chris Mazzola, the firm’s director of development. “This is not development that happens incrementally.”
Much of the North End was underutilized or vacant, and didn’t attract much foot traffic. Dave Gaber, partner and chief financial officer
at Hoboken-based Bijou, said the firm has started to change that by bringing a mix of commercial tenants to its 40,000-square-foot building on 15th Street, including Orale Mexican Kitchen and the Gravity Vault rock climbing gym.
“Because we own so many properties around Hoboken, when we look at
a new site, it’s not just about what’s best for this site, it’s what’s best for the surrounding neighborhood,” Gaber said.
Advance Realty is also looking to
build in the North End. Its Grand & Adams project at 1417 Adams St., between
14th and 15th
streets, is “an
exciting project,
it fits the
neighborhood,”
said Dan
Cocoziello,
principal and
managing
director of development at Advance. Plans include a six-story building with 58 luxury apartments, 13,000 square feet of retail and office space and a parking garage.
The project recently got approval from the city zoning board, but the zoning board attorney is appealing
a judge’s ruling to grant the variances for the project to proceed, Cocoziello said.
“We’re hopeful that we can move forward very soon,” he said.
Advance next plans to redevelop its site at 1404 Willow Ave., currently housing a Hertz car rental agency. Cocoziello called the site a “gateway into Hoboken” via the viaduct
and the bridge to Weehawken. An application is in the works, he said.
For that site, the firm plans something similar to the Harlow, Advance’s project at 1330 Willow Ave. The 140-unit building with ground-floor retail, including a Trader Joe’s, features studio to three-bedroom apartments with
a concierge, pool, parking, PATH shuttle and fitness center, with rents ranging from $2,600 to $5,500.
When the Harlow opened in 2016, replacing a gas station, “it really changed the dynamic of that neighborhood,” Cocoziello said.
“When you look at linking the waterfront to other parts of town, I think that was an area where you cross over Willow (Avenue), that traditionally there wasn’t a lot of
By Marlaina Cockcroft
Philip Cohen
Dan Cocoziello
Edge Adams, a 34-unit apartment building at 1405 Adams St. in Hoboken, is home to a new location for the local coffee chain bwe Kafé. Developer Bijou Properties has sought to expand services in the city’s North End while attracting retailers that will drive new foot traffic.
Courtesy: Bijou Properties