Mayor Ravi S. Bhalla and the City of Hoboken today announced the adoption of four Redevelopment Agreements for the North End Rehabilitation Area, marking a major milestone in the long-planned redevelopment of Hoboken’s North End. The agreements, negotiated between Mayor Bhalla and Park Willow, LLC (Rockefeller Group), allow redevelopment projects at four sites to move forward delivering affordable housing, public open space, protected bike lanes, and a new municipal parking garage, and implement the amendments to the North End Redevelopment Plan recently adopted by City Council.
“This is a legacy project for me and for our community,” said Mayor Bhalla. “The Rockefeller sites have been an urban blight at our doorstep for decades. Now, together with Harborside Park currently under construction, the Rockefeller sites will provide a beautiful gateway entrance into our Mile Square City. The work to thoughtfully plan the future of the North End began when I was serving on the City Council, and seeing this project now moving forward is truly historic. I am especially proud that these projects will deliver new affordable housing, expand public open space, and create safer, more sustainable ways for people to move through our city. I want to thank Director Chris Brown for his years of hard work and dedication, and our entire in-house planning team’s diligence and commitment to ensuring these agreements reflect Hoboken’s values and deliver real community benefits.”
“Rockefeller Group is pleased to partner with the City of Hoboken to help revitalize the City’s north end. By bringing a suite of community benefits and world-class design, we are excited to deliver a transformational project that we hope will become a source of civic pride,” said Phillip Golub Director of Northeast Development for Rockefeller Group. “In addition to housing, the many planned public amenities demonstrate the value of public-private partnerships at their best. We thank Mayor Bhalla, the City of Hoboken and the City Council, for their thoughtful consideration and support of the redevelopment agreements and look forward to the work ahead.”
Fifth Ward Councilman Phil Cohen, who has served on the Community Development subcommittee for the last six years stated: “Approving these Redevelopment Agreements is a major accomplishment, reflecting years of planning, collaboration, and care. The piles of rubble that greet Hoboken’s visitors at our northern border will be transformed into a thoughtfully designed mixed-use neighborhood, enhancing our waterfront park at Weehawken Cove and soccer field at 1600 Park, providing new public green spaces with world class vistas of the New York skyline, adding to a planned commercial corridor on 15th Street, and adding a municipal garage that will add much-needed parking, and a new source of parking revenue to offset future tax increases.”
Collectively, the redevelopment will encompass approximately 2.5 city blocks within the North End Redevelopment Plan Area, including the 1500 blocks of Willow Avenue and Park Avenue and a portion of the block south of 15th Street between Willow and Park Avenues. Together, the projects will deliver 729 residential units composed of both rental and condominium homes, with 73 units reserved as affordable housing.
The redevelopment agreements provide for a cohesive network of new publicly accessible open spaces, including linear parks, promenades, and plazas that will connect the North End to Harborside Park and the waterfront. More than 48,000 square feet of new public open space will be created, all subject to City design and review, and long-term public access and maintenance requirements.
Additionally, the redevelopment will deliver a new, 275-space municipal parking garage, which will be the first new municipal garage constructed in the City of Hoboken since 2003 and the only municipal parking facility ever created in uptown Hoboken. The garage will be leased by the City for long-term public use, supporting residents, visitors, and nearby businesses while advancing the neighborhood-focused, multi-modal redevelopment of the North End, with net revenues generated from the garage anticipated to be collected by the City.
A key element of these redevelopment agreements is the construction of a fully separated, and protected two-way cycle track along 15th Street, forming a critical link in Hoboken’s Green Circuit, a citywide bicycle network. The protected bike lanes will connect the western portion of the North End to Harborside Park and the waterfront, improving safety for cyclists while supporting the City’s Vision Zero goals of eliminating traffic deaths and injuries by 2030.
The redevelopment agreements also include over 38,000 square feet of ground-floor retail space, extensive street and streetscape improvements, and green roofs on each building for stormwater management. The City will also receive a $4 million community benefit payment as the projects advance through the approval and construction process.
