A two-tower project slated for construction on 10th Street was approved by the Planning Board Tuesday with a 5-0 vote but with little enthusiasm.
Board commissioners said they were unimpressed by the project, spearheaded by Newport Development Associates, which includes two six-story buildings totaling 326 units and 260 parking spaces, to be constructed on 10th Street from Jersey Avenue to Monmouth Street.
The buildings are named the Grover Cleveland and Ulysses S. Grant apartments.
“I don’t particularly like the project at all. I almost voted for this project [under] protest,” said Planning Board Commissioner Michael Sottolano.
The commissioners and other residents had made objections at a previous Planning Board meeting Dec. 5.
At that meeting, residents living across the street from the proposed project complained that the massive building heights would overshadow their homes, and the overall size would remove parking spaces.
The residents also took issue with the developer not meeting with all of them for their feedback.
The board decided at that meeting to postpone ruling on the project’s application until the developers met with the community.
They did so at a public meeting on Monday at the Atrium at Hamilton Park on Ninth Street.
But after that meeting, residents were still unsatisfied, which led to the board imposing conditions on the developer that had to be met before they received approval for construction.Project still problematic
Complying with the conditions set down by the board, Newport Development Associates agreed to provide one parking spot per unit built, a five-foot setback from the street, a dog run at one of the buildings and playground at the other, monitors in nearby residents’ homes to check noise levels from construction, and a report to residents on the progress of the project. They also agreed not to include a drop-off lane in front of the buildings.
But some residents were still wary.
Shawn Gibson, a 10th Street resident, said the project was wrong for that block.
“Between Monmouth and Coles, you have a nice row of townhouses with front gardens and flowers and grass directly opposite [the buildings],” she said. “They want to put these six stories on top of an embankment that will dwarf the existing townhouse structures.”
Steven Gucciardo, a Ninth Street resident, said the project should start at the ground, not on top of the Tenth Street Embankment. The embankment is the stone wall that runs across most of 10th Street.
Gucciardo also said that the sidewalks should be wider than the developers planned.
After the hearing, Bill Wissemann of Newport Development Associates said the residents will park not only on-site, but also at a lot at the Lincoln building on 10th Street.
Wissemann also said the groundbreaking for the two projects will be in six to eight months, and that the Grant building will be built in a year. Once it is fully occupied, he said, construction will begin on the Grover Cleveland building. Bates Street project
The Planning Board on Tuesday also approved a 129-unit building on Bates Street, across between Colden and Brook streets.
The “One Bates” project is within five blocks of the Jersey City Medical Center and the Pathmark Supermarket at Old Colony Plaza.
The project, at its tallest point, will be 12 stories. It will decrease to six stories along Colden and Brook streets.
The project will have approximately 15,000 square feet of retail space fronting Bates Street. There will be 129 residential units including seven three-story townhouses fronting Colden and Brook streets. The 132 parking spaces will be provided within an interior courtyard and covered with a landscaped plaza.
The developer of the project is Mushroom Development, based in Jersey City. The architect is Ron Russell of Jersey City-based Lindemon Winckelmann Deupree Martin Russell Architects.
The project is the first within the new “Bates Street Redevelopment Area” to come before the Planning Board. Sottolano stepping down
Planning Board Commissioner Sottolano told the Jersey City Reporter at the Dec. 5 meeting that he is being considered by Mayor Jerramiah Healy to fill a seat on the Jersey City Redevelopment Agency vacated recently by City Councilman-at-Large Peter Brennan.
Sottolano said he will likely step down early next year from the Planning Board, where he has served since July 2005 just after he was elected to the City Council.
Usually, there is a representative from the City Council who serves on the Planning Board.
Healy could not be reached for comment about who would replace Sottolano. Sidebar: Planning Board dates for the New Year
The Planning Board at its Dec. 5 meeting approved new dates for their meetings in 2007.
The location for the meetings has been changed from the City Council Chambers in City Hall at 280 Grove St. to 30 Montgomery St., where the city’s Planning Division is located. The relocation is being done in anticipation of the Council chambers being closed during most of 2007 for renovations.
The scheduled dates are: Jan. 9 and 23; Feb. 6, 13, and 27; Mar. 6, 13, and 27; Apr. 3, 10, and 24; May 1, 8, and 22; Jun. 12 and 26; July 10, 24, and 31; Aug. 14 and 28, Sep. 5 and 25, Oct. 2, 17, and 23; Nov. 13 and 27, and Dec. 11. – RK