A project by Skyline Development Group would help revitalize the former Steel Technologies site at 417 Communipaw Ave., in Jersey City, calling for the construction of an 18-story tower with 420 luxury rentals, parking and retail space, plus the adaptive reuse of an existing building to create a new 22,000-square-foot recreation center. — Renderings by MHS Architecture/Courtesy: Skyline Development Group
(Editor’s note: This story was updated Wednesday, March 22, with additional information from Dresdner Robin, a professional services firm involved in the project.)
By Joshua Burd
A development that would bring 420 new apartments, market-style retail space and a recreation center to Jersey City is moving ahead after securing two key local approvals.
The firm behind the project, Skyline Development Group, said the plan will help revitalize the former Steel Technologies industrial site at 417 Communipaw Ave., adjacent to Berry Lane Park and about a mile west of Liberty State Park. The development calls for the construction of an 18-story building with luxury rentals, parking and retail space, plus an additional ground-up building with the new 22,000-square-foot community center and the adaptive reuse of an existing structure to create a food and beverage space.
Jersey Digs first reported the planning board’s approval of two applications for the project, which would also include a public plaza and 14,000 square feet dedicated to a marketplace with 20 to 25 individual kiosks under one roof. Lou Mont, CEO of Skyline Development, said 40 percent of the space will be rented to minority-, women- and veteran-owned businesses at reduced rents to create a business incubator that will also produce local jobs for the community, housing tenants such as a butcher, a fish market, a produce stand, a coffee shop, a bagel shop and a florist.
The March 7 approvals follow litigation by the Morris Canal Community Development Corp., which was ultimately resolved with design changes. Despite the delay, Mont said “we feel it was time well spent in that we worked cooperatively” with several key agencies and stakeholder groups within the city “to produce a stunning, transformative project that will uplift the entire community without displacing anyone.”
He added that the project — designed by MHS Architecture with Dresdner Robin providing design services — will also create new businesses and jobs and provide affordable housing, a STEM recreation facility, public parking and almost an acre of outdoor community space that includes a 30-foot-wide, 500-foot-long pedestrian entry to the adjacent, 17 acre-Berry Lane Park.
“I am not aware of another project that provides so much in community reinvestment and has the support of virtually everyone who has seen it,” Mont said. “We are very proud to bring this project to fruition.”
Mont, a longtime developer in the city and the region, said the project calls 233 parking spaces in the proposed garage and 40 on a separate surface lot on Woodward Street, which will be deeded to the city and used for the recreation center and general public. The recreation center will also be deeded to the city upon completion.
Meantime, the outdoor space will span roughly 39,000 square feet of plaza and green space, which will be open to the public and used for art and music festivals, farmers markets, food truck nights, holiday bazaars and other community events.
The firm has not announced a groundbreaking date for the project.
In a separate announcement, Dresdner Robin noted that it completed expert planning, surveying, engineering and landscape architectural design and 3D modeling and rending work on behalf of Skyline Development Group. The project, located on a brownfield site, will undergo an extensive redevelopment to meet the city’s zoning requirements, created with Dresdner’s participation.
“The Steel Tech redevelopment project is unique as it was the first time that we used cutting-edge virtual reality and 3D renderings to transport our client into our design,” said Mark Robison, staff landscape architect at Dresdner Robin. “As brownfield and urban redevelopment experts, the Steel Tech complex development was right in our wheelhouse. We are proud to pay homage to the heritage of the site through the inclusion of an existing structure, along with maintaining the narrative of the steel manufacturing that once took place on the property.”
Additionally, Dresdner Robin said it included custom wayfinding signs and sculptural light poles to carry the steel-focused design through the site and complement a public art installation at the entry plaza. The two public plazas are designed to be sustainable and have flexibility in future programming, with open lawn space, permeable brick and stone dust plazas and planting design that maximizes tree canopy and sight lines.
