Many of the same people who have tried to run developers with big plans out of town broke into applause at a community meeting Monday night after hearing a pair of local developers detail their plans for turning the old Maxwell House factory on Hudson Street into a 950-unit residential complex. While the applause was more of a polite clap than a Broadway bravo, it was a far cry from the antagonistic public reception that developers who had hoped to build a 340-unit building at 1600 Park Ave. received recently from many city activists. It signals a preliminary public stamp of approval for a project that seeks to convert the 24-acre waterfront lot on northern Hudson Street to a landscaped slice of Yuppie heaven. The grounds have sat virtually unused since the plant closed in 1992. Plans call for the construction of 10 new buildings and the refurbishment of three old ones to provide more than 1.25 million square feet of commercial and residential space. George Vallone and Daniel Gans, the Hoboken-based developers who bought the property in April 1998, smiled broadly as they told meeting participants that the average apartment size in the new buildings would be 1,150 square feet. In addition to the oversized apartments, restaurants and other amenities that the developers hope to sprinkle around their property, they also announced that they would construct 1600 new parking spaces – 300 more than zoning laws require for a project its size. Almost all of the parking is expected to take place in out-of-sight underground garages. “We’ve worked hard to present a project that does not ask for any variances,” Vallone said to a smattering of applause from activists who have spent hours in Zoning Board meetings arguing against granting exceptions to the city’s zoning laws for other projects. Building heights on the property will range from four-story, single-family townhouses to 12-story apartment buildings. Developers said that as they drew up their plans for the property they were careful to try and maintain some of the historic character of the Maxwell House site. “One of our goals was to try and take a number of the wonderful old buildings on the site and re-use them,” Vallone said. “We just feel that we have seen too many old buildings torn down on the waterfront.” Chim, chim-n-ey To accomplish this goal, the developers plan to leave several of the property’s original buildings standing, including the old chimney that was used to roast coffee beans. “That smokestack is very symbolic,” said Jane Thompson, the project architect whose credits include the renovation of Boston’s Fanueil Hall, Baltimore’s Inner Harbor and Governor’s Island off the coast of Manhattan. “Although we are not using it as either commercial or residential space, it’s going to stay.” Developers are also flirting with the idea of projecting “some creative lighting” onto the chimney – perhaps a hologram – to make it look like a baseball bat at night. Although several members of the audience wrinkled their noses at the idea, the developers said they thought it might be a good way to tie the project to the Elysian Fields, the site of the first baseball game ever played, which sits on the site’s southern border. In addition to infusing the $300 million project with a sense of history, Thompson told meeting participants that the development team hoped to build a place “where you will feel welcome.” Throughout their one-hour presentation, Gans, Vallone and Thompson spoke repeatedly about the way the project would seamlessly blend in with the rest of the city. Plans do not call for a security gate or a fence around the project. Instead, the developers would like to construct three new roads on the property that will connect with city streets and be accessible to the public. Eleventh Street would be extended so that it reaches the pier that juts out into the river, instead of terminating at the ivy-covered plant wall like it does now. A connecting road would be built as well east of Hudson Street running from 12th Street through to Sinatra Drive. The plans also call for the construction of a public plaza at the point where 11th Street meets the pier, complete with a fountain-filled pool that could be used as a skating rink in the winter. “We want to construct the pier there so that if you really want to scamper down and put your toe in the water, you will be able to do it,” Thompson said. A bridge would also be built spanning Sinatra Drive and giving visitors to Elysian Park quick access to the 11th Street Pier. A few concerns Many of the comments from residents who attended the meeting were very positive about the project, although long-time waterfront activist Ron Hine said that he was concerned about the developers’ plans to weave a state mandated riverfront path through to-be-constructed town houses that reach out onto the piers. Hine pointed out that every other development in the city takes place just off the water, preventing any conflicts between residents who may be concerned about hikers and bikers passing to close to their homes. “The entire Hoboken waterfront is the most spectacular stretch of waterfront in the state precisely because it is so public,” Hine said after the meeting. “This is going to be the one exception.” Vallone said that he would try and work with Hine to address his concerns and suggested that it might be possible to wrap the walkway around the outside of the piers if the state would relax its requirement that the walkway be 30 feet wide in those parts. Other residents worried that the new construction would cut off their views of Manhattan and the river. “The biggest problem I have with this is with the height of some of these buildings,” said resident Jane Silane. “One of the great things about living where we live is the view, and I am worried that we are losing it slowly.” But the developers were quick to point out that their development actually created new view corridors by extending 11th street. “If you are a block away from this project, you are pretty much going to have the same view that you have now because the buildings with height are pushed back in the project towards the Shipyard, where125 foot buildings are being constructed already,” Vallone said. After the meeting, Vallone said that the largely-positive reaction that the public has given the developers’ plans was due in part to the fact that they had developed a “City Hall working group” to help them troubleshoot the project. The developers said that as they were formulating their plans, they met regularly with city officials to talk about the best way to draw up their project. In describing these meetings, Vallone was quick to point out that the working group included city officials who support Mayor Anthony Russo and those that oppose him. “We’ve really done our homework on this project,” Vallone said after the meeting. “Those working group meetings helped us pick up on some things to make the project better. It was during those meetings that we decided to extend 11th street all the way through to the water. It’s important because it is the only double-wide east-west street in the city.” Developers hope to present their plans to the Planning Board as early as May 2.
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