Frequently Asked Questions

The Redevelopment Area is located in the southwestern portion of Jersey City, and consists of two distinct sections. The larger section is essentially bounded by the NJCU West Campus Redevelopment Area to the south, the West Side Avenue Redevelopment Area to the east, the Water Street Redevelopment Area to the north, and the Marine Industrial and a portion of the Bayfront I Redevelopment Areas as well as a portion of the Waterfront Planned Development zoning district to the west. The smaller section consists of a substantial portion of a single large block bounded on the east by the West Side Avenue Neighborhood Commercial Zoning District, on the north by the R-1 One and Two Family Zoning District, and on the west and south by the Water Street Redevelopment Plan area, which separates the two sections of the Study Area.

In each zoning district, certain land uses are permitted as the principal and primary uses of land; these are called “as-of-right” uses. That is the case with West Side Crossing. The zoning has been in place since the adoption of the Route 440-Culver Redevelopment Plan in March of 2013. Moreover, accessory uses that are customarily found in association with these principal uses, but which are incidental and subordinate to them, are also permitted as-of-right. For example, in a single-family zoning district, a single-family home is the principal use and a garage or shed is allowed as an accessory use. Because West Side Crossing was developed as an “as-of-right” project, the developer is required to submit their plans to the Planning Board for site plan review. The project is now in the Planning Division for review.

The subject property is located in the West Side neighborhood of Jersey City along New Jersey State Route 440 (“Route 440”). The subject property is identified as Lots 1, 13, 14, 17, 24, & 25 on Block 21701. The subject property is irregularly shaped and has frontages on Route 440, Culver Avenue, Mallory Avenue, Pollack Avenue, Claremont Avenue, and Water Street. In total, the subject property is approximately 361,101 square feet (8.29 acres). The subject property is split-zoned and located within both the High-Rise and Mid-Rise B Zones of the Redevelopment Plan.

The proposed project consists of a multi-phase development consisting of three mixed-use, high-rise commercial, and residential buildings. The proposed project will also consist of a subdivision that will divide the subject property into five lots. The subdivision will create and/or realign several rights-of-way, including the Hudson Bergen Light Rail (“HBLR”) extension right-of-way, in accordance with the Redevelopment Plan, and will create open space, including public and private open space areas.

1. The location of all structures within the project area shall take into account the proper relationship to other buildings, both existing and proposed, in terms of light, air and usable open space, access to public rights-of-way and off-street parking, height and bulk.

2. All buildings shall front upon a public street, and shall be oriented toward the street so as to contribute to the overall liveliness of the pedestrian environment. The lower level of all buildings shall be designed at a scale appropriate to the pedestrian environment, and each building shall have a clearly identifiable primary entrance facing the street.

3. Front yard parking and/or parking within a side yard facing the street on a corner lot is prohibited within the Redevelopment Area.

4. All outdoor storage is prohibited, and any storage area that may be required and/or proposed shall be contained within the principal structure.

5. At least 75% of any storefront façade shall be glass, and windows and glazing for ground floor commercial uses shall provide views into the store and display areas.

6. Windows in residential portions of a building shall be arranged such that the vertical dimension, or height, is greater than the horizontal dimension, or width. However, bay windows, bow windows, or other multi-panel window features may also be incorporated into the façade to provide architectural interest and character, provided that the overall verticality of the structure is not adversely affected.

7. Balconies and terraces may extend from the building when facing into interior courts and/or rear yards. However, balconies facing onto streets shall not project more than eighteen (18) inches from the building face.

8. All corner buildings shall have windows on both street frontages, and the secondary building façade shall be decoratively appointed to mimic the primary façade, incorporating such special detail/features as bay windows, French balconies, and/or other such features as are found acceptable by the Planning Board.

9. The window sill of any residential window shall either be at least five (5) feet above the elevation of the adjoining sidewalk, or shall be set back at least five (5) feet from the 9 property line and protected by a fence and/or landscape bed in order to provide adequate visual screening, subject to review and approval of the Planning Board.

10. Facade treatments, materials, colors and architectural treatments shall be of the highest quality and compatible with the building’s architectural style. Use of concrete block and vinyl exterior finishes are prohibited, and use of EIFS is prohibited as a water table and/or building base finish. EIFS may be used on upper floors, but only as trim not to exceed 5% of the total surface area of any façade.

11. All building facades fronting on a street shall have some variation in texture and plane. Pursuant to this requirement and at the discretion of the Planning Board, at least a ten percent (10%) variation in materials and colors is encouraged, and at least twenty percent (20%) of each façade should either project or be recessed a minimum of 18 inches from adjacent façade elements through the use of bays, oriels, balconies, reveals, belt coursings, and/or other decorative elements.

12. Buildings, or groups of buildings, may vary in architectural style provided that they shall be designed to present a harmonious appearance in terms of their setting in the built environment and shall have an attractive, finished appearance when viewed from all vantage points.

13. All rooftop mechanical equipment, satellite dishes, and cell phone, television and radio antennas shall be screened from all directions and elevations, on existing and new structures, to the extent feasible, to minimize the negative aesthetic impact as viewed from all properties and structures in neighboring residential zones and from street level. Creative placement of said equipment is strongly encouraged in order to minimize the need for screening. However, where screening is deemed necessary by the Planning Board, screening materials shall be identical or harmonious with those used in the building’s façade, and such screening shall be pleasing to the eye and consistent with the surrounding architecture as well as the architecture of the building.

1. All parking levels shall be screened or masked in some way from all public rights-of-way so as not to give the apparent perception of garage space.

2. Along Route 440 frontage, a combination of retail, restaurant and/or permitted commercial use, lobby areas, as well as commercial or residential use above the ground floor shall be utilized between all levels of the parking use and the right-of-way to mask the parking. Along all other rights of way, ground floor and/or basement level parking shall be masked by lobby areas along with retail, restaurant or other commercial uses where such uses are permitted and utilized, and upper floor parking levels shall be designed as follows in #3.

3. Parking levels that are not entirely masked by other building uses, as covered above, shall be articulated in a manner providing visual interest and utilizing an architectural treatment and materials consistent with the architecture utilized for the principal use of building. Where only residential uses are permitted, or where permitted commercial uses are neither required nor utilized, ground floor and/or basement level parking shall be masked, to the extent feasible, by lobby areas, and where not masked by other uses, all parking level facades shall be disguised by artificial windows of the punched out style utilizing glass and/or decorative grillwork containing the same detailing, design and window frame color as the windows utilized on non-parking levels of the building. The artificial windows must mimic the style and proportions of the windows on non-parking levels of the building so that parking levels have the appearance of habitable floors. Compatible architectural treatments such as sub-cornices, lintels, and other decorative design features shall also be utilized to provide architectural interest and variety.

4. The design of parking levels within any building shall emphasize a vertical exterior façade pattern instead of the horizontal cladding associated with parking garages and their structural members.

5. Individual garage lighting sources shall not be visible from the exterior. Interior garage lighting shall utilize fixtures that will maintain a soft illumination of the interior garage space and will thereby not readily expose the lighting source and garage interior to view from the public right-of-way outside. An internal lighting plan prepared by a lighting professional shall be included with any garage application for review and approval.

6. Garage doors, designed to reflect the architecture of the building, shall be provided at the ingress and egress to the parking garage of any development. Open metal/mesh grates are 11 prohibited. Garage doors shall be kept to the minimum height and width possible so as to limit their visual impact on the streetscape and the façade of the building.

7. The above design requirements are intended primarily for new residential and/or mixed-use development, or conversions to same (i.e. adaptive reuse), and shall not apply to a new parking structure associated with an automobile dealership provided that said parking structure does not consist of more than a single story.

• Any application for development on Block 21701/(aka Blocks 1296 & 1775.5), or Block 22101/1297, may be accompanied by a plan to also develop Block 1296.5, now Block 21701, Lot 15, and/or that portion of Block 21701/1775.1, lot 14/83 remaining after reservation of land for the HBLR extension and also abutting the Water Street Redevelopment Area, as a public park in accordance with the open space requirements of this Plan found below. In such case, any qualifying development project within the Area shall be permitted to exceed the maximum allowable floor area for the applicable district (as provided under Section VIII.B.1 of this Plan) by an amount equal to 1.5 times the development rights associated with the portions of Block 21701, lot 15 (aka Block 1296.5), and/or said the remainder of Block 21701/1775.1, lot 14/83 to be reserved for park development.
• Any application for development on Block 22103/1293, lot 1/ 55 may include a plan to develop a public park on the easternmost “remainder” of the lot, after subdivision and creation of a new right-of-way at the eastern boundary of the lot between Fisk Street and Carbon Place (see VIII.B.3. Bonus Provision for Creation of New Rights-of-Way below). In such case, development of any of the other parcels created by a subdivision of this lot shall be permitted to exceed the maximum allowable floor area for the applicable district (as provided under Section VIII.B.1 of this Plan) by an amount equal to 1.5 times the development rights associated with said “remainder.” In the alternative, ownership of said remainder, along with the development rights applicable under Section VIII.B.1 below only, may be transferred by sale to the owner of Block 22103/1287.A, Lot 12/12 for inclusion in the development of that parcel provided.
• Any park created pursuant to the development incentive described in section G.1 above shall be designed with at least 60% vegetative green space, public seating areas and passive recreation space; and may include a children’s playground and/or a dog run.
• In addition to G.1 above, a maximum of 5% of any development site may be dedicated to public open space in the form of plaza, passive recreation area, or children’s play area. Any development that creates such public open space shall be allowed to apply the development rights applicable to the area reserved for public open space to the remaining developable area.
• Once the allowable development rights have been calculated using the above standard, any development project within the Area shall be permitted to exceed the maximum allowable building height for the applicable district by the exact number of stories and floor area, rounded to the nearest whole number, necessary to achieve the Open Space Bonus and/or the Bonus Provision for Creation of New Rights-of-Way (as provided under Section VIII.B.3. of this Plan).

Landscaping, 90% of which shall consist of soil planted with vegetative material, is
required for any part of a development parcel not specifically designated to be used for buildings, off-street parking and/or loading spaces, walkways, or other similar purposes requiring impervious surface.

The Landscape Plan shall include details and specifications indicating types of paving materials, plant materials, lighting, tree grates, screening materials and other decorative on-site features. All proposed site plans shall include a planting schedule, prepared by a Certified Landscape Architect, indicating location, size, and quantity of the various species to be used, and shall additionally take into account site-specific water table and other soil conditions.

All plant material used shall be suitable to the urban environment and a long-term landscape maintenance schedule shall be provided indicating how the plant materials are to be cared for and maintained, including method of irrigation, fertilizing, pruning, etc., and a plan for replacement of any plants that do not survive at least two planting seasons. Sustainable vegetation requiring the least water maintenance feasible shall be encouraged.

West Side Crossing will be required to meet the requirements of 49 U.S.C. 106, tiled “Safe, Efficient Use and Preservation of  The Navigable Airspace” which requires the filing of Form 7460-1 with the Federal Aviation Administration for certain enumerated new construction projects at least 30 days before the earlier of the date the proposed construction is to begin and the date and application for a construction permit is to be filed.  The developers of West Side Crossing are aware of this requirement and intends to file the required application at the appropriate time.  The issue has been reviewed by the project’s technical consultants who have determined through FAA mapping that the proposed project lies just north and east of Newark’s designated flight paths and is therefore not subject to any flight-path related height restrictions.