Monument Square plan altered
Developers plan 1 building for $30M project instead of 3 at former city hall site
The $30 million redevelopment plan for 1 Monument Square will have just one building of about 100,000 square feet instead of three buildings as the developer prepares to seek city approval in early 2021, the city planning commissioner said.
The Hoboken Brownstone Company has been designing the mixed-use project over the last three months leading to the decision to consolidate construction into one building which is expected to reduce costs, said Steven Strichman, the commissioner of planning and economic development.
Strichman updated the City Council’s Planning Committee Thursday night.
“It’s a big project in a tight site in a flood plain,” Strichman said about the difficulties of building on the 1.1-acre location between River Street and the Hudson River at the southern end of Riverfront Park.
Hoboken Brownstone is considering meetings with the public to discuss its vision for what is the fifth attempt to build on the former City Hall site that’s been vacant since 2011, when the municipal building was razed. The company is preparing to go the city Planning Commission in January or February to launch the site plan approval process Strichman said.
The developer has not released any details for what it plans at 1 Monument Square. Company representatives have said there will be an investment of at least $30 million with the possibility of small stores along River Street, plus at least 75 apartments, a parking garage, public space, access from River Street to Riverfront Park and offices that may include co-working space, high-tech firms and gaming companies.
Actual work on the site could begin during the summer when the city starts making $3.8 million in infrastructure improvements required to relocate water and sewer lines away from the building footprint, Strichman said.
The City Council also learned Thursday night from Strichman that short-term borrowing of about $2.5 million will be needed to cover upfront costs that will be reimbursed by state and federal grants.
Strichman’s brief presentation to the council members is the first peek at what is coming together at 1 Monument Square. Strichman emphasized that Hoboken Brownstone will engage with the public as part of the city ’s overall plan of continuing to strengthen public support for the project. The previous four attempts fell apart often when city residents and business owners complained that the projects would not fit in with downtown’s Victorian streetscape.
Those previous proposals began in 2011, when Nigro Companies and its partners proposed a $31.5 million project for low-income renters rather than market rate residences; followed in 2013 by Judge Development Corp.’s proposed $50 million plan for market-rate housing; then in 2014, Kirchhoff Companies proposed a $27 million project; and in 2017, Bow Tie Cinemas put forth the concept of a $22.7 million movie theater complex with 11 screens.
The Hoboken Brownstone development plans continue to call for the amenities such as a plaza and direct connection from the River Street level of the site down to Riverfront Park, Strichman said.
“Clearly they scaled back,” said Council President Carmella Mantello about the move to one building that came up during the presentation to the council members.
“The good news is it’s moving forward. Without having details, it’s hard to envision,” Mantello said about the lack of renderings and site plans to review.
Hoboken Brownstone has not yet completed the renderings, Strichman said. And details such as how many stories the building will rise above River Street have not yet been determined.