Listen to this article

A recent approval is poised to bring big changes to the area surrounding RWJBarnabas Health Jersey City Medical Center. 

At the end of January, the Jersey City Redevelopment Authority authorized the $30 million sale of 5 acres of land in the city’s Grand Jersey Redevelopment District. Starting from an essentially blank slate, a planned 26-story, dual-tower project from Grand Jersey Group LLC at the site would add approximately 515 rental units in a mixed-use building with commercial and retail space.

Beyond kickstarting efforts in the area – situated north of Liberty State Park and east of the New Jersey Turnpike – the work will bring necessary infrastructure to the vacant site. Designated redeveloper Grand Jersey Group LCC will try to build a foundation that has the potential to establish a new neighborhood in the in-demand Hudson County hotspot. 

“Jersey City is showing leadership and foresight by approving Grand Jersey,” the developer’s Vincent Garcia said. “An overlooked part of the city with no infrastructure will be transformed by the project. Grand Jersey will bring utilities, streets and sidewalks along with excavating and capping the property, kickstarting the redevelopment of the area. We look forward to moving forward after closing the deal.” 

Located at Block 15801, Sites 5&6, the developable area for the project is just over 2 acres. 

New additions

For the residential component, the project would offer a mix of studio, one- and two-bedroom units housed within the structure’s planned 26- and 25-story towers. In between, a five-story structure would include a 20,000-square-foot residential amenity deck. In addition, plans include 11,500 square feet of indoor amenity space, as well as an outdoor dog run.

Intent on creating a dynamic community, the building will also include retail and office space. The ground level includes 38,400 square feet of commercial space. Meanwhile, floors two through five would offer 172,300 square feet of office space.  

A parking garage topped by a green roof will include 720 spaces for vehicles, according to the JCRA presentation.

The design for the project comes from Hoboken-based MHS Architecture. According to its website, the firm “practices a design approach that integrates modern architectural style while remaining mindful and pertinent to the local context. The firm derives inspiration from surrounding areas to create vibrant spaces.” 

MHS’s work is on display elsewhere in Jersey City. That includes at 50-55 Hudson St., 425 Summit, 88 Regent and The Hendrix.

So far

According to the team behind it, the mixed-use development will serve potential health care tenants, which have already expressed interest. Similarly, food markets and other local businesses are eager to get in, as it were, on the ground-level.  

So far, only Jersey City Medical Center has recorded redevelopment activity in the area. Per the Grand Jersey Redevelopment Plan, part of the land within the designated space is earmarked to accommodate the medical center. 

“At least one-quarter of the land area within this plan is designed to permit hospital support facilities and other related supportive uses, and allow the new facility to continue to grow with the City and its surrounding service community,” the report states. 

Jersey City Medical Center told NJBIZ it did not have any comment on the plans for the redevelopment district.  

Beyond the hospital, the Morris Canal Greenway runs alongside the project area, as does the Hudson Bergen Light Rail. According to the West Orange-based developer’s presentation, infrastructure improvements would improve access to the Jersey Avenue station. 

The area redevelopment plan identifies enhancing connectivity and the transit-oriented location as integral to its appeal and potential.

“Another asset to this area is the new mixed-use neighborhood emerging to the east known as Liberty Harbor North Redevelopment Plan,” the plan states. “Maximizing vehicular and pedestrian connection into this new neighborhood and Liberty State Park will bolster the success of Grand Jersey and improve its connections to the existing City’s fabric and form.”

Next up

The Grand Jersey Redevelopment Area boasts an industrial past, with all area properties identified as brownfields under state law.  

JCRA completed a multimillion-dollar remediation effort under supervision from the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency in the area more than a decade ago.

The proposed Grand Jersey Group development would, essentially, cap the site.

At the start of this month, NJDEP removed a “landfill” designation from the location. Based on information from the agency, it appears the property was mistakenly labeled in 2012.

According to the developer’s project timeline, civil and infrastructure improvements would take place between April and December 2025. Delivery of the residential component is expected in the last quarter of 2027.

Next up: Closing and site plan approval for the project is tentatively slated for March 15.