HOBOKEN – The controversial Monarch at Shipyard development proposal for uptown Hoboken will be heard before the local Planning Board on March 6 at 7 p.m., according to an e-mail from a group called the Hoboken Residents for a Public Waterfront.
Ironstate Development, a division of Applied Housing, wants to erect two 11-story residential buildings on inland piers just east of the Hudson Tea Building near 15th and Hudson streets. The project has raised the ire of local open space activists, who note that the city’s master plan calls for the area to be used for park space. The property is owned by Ironstate.
The project recently received approvals from the state Department of Environmental Protection, but Mayor Dawn Zimmer said the city has filed an appeal.
“I want to assure residents that I remain extremely committed to protecting our waterfront, the treasure of our city which should remain a public space for all to enjoy,” Zimmer wrote in a Letter to the Editor of The Hoboken Reporter on Jan. 22. “That is why my administration appealed the recent DEP decision for the Monarch project – a process that could take one to two years.”
The City Council passed a resolution opposing the project last year. In response, an attorney for Ironstate recently penned a letter to the city, saying city officials have prejudged the project.
Michael Barry, the president of Ironstate, has said he does not believe his project is getting a fair shake from the city. Barry also said, in an interview earlier this month, that the project complies with all of the state DEP requirements.
The Hudson County Planning Board must also approve the project, and is expected to take a vote within the next 30 days. – Ray Smith