HOBOKEN – Hoboken residents can relish the fact the city may soon have a Trader Joe’s.
Advance at Hoboken LLC filed a Certificate of Zoning application Sept. 24 that was approved Sept. 28, city spokesman Juan Melli confirmed. The plan includes architectural drawings for a Trader Joe’s on the ground floor of a residential development. Reports indicate an Advance Realty luxury residential development is currently in the works at Willow Avenue and 14th Street with the chain store at its ground floor.
Although neither Trader Joe’s nor Advance Realty were available for comment, a search on the Trader Joes’ online “Coming Soon” tab did not indicate one of the specialty chain stories is coming to Hoboken.
Melli added that the recent zoning application approval reflects that the change is in line with the zoning for the area. The next step for the chain store would be to begin the review process to get permits for construction.
During the City Council meeting on Aug. 5, the city put forth a resolution authorizing a $5,000 escrow account with the city treasury for a city-approved engineering expert’s report on its request for traffic and parking changes on Clinton and 13th streets (near the 14th Street Advance realty property).
Michael Sommer, managing director of Advance Realty, wrote a letter to Hoboken municipal manager Stephen Marks on July 29 for the escrow request. The letter (available on the City Council meeting packet online) states, “I am writing regarding the requested escrow account that is being established to compensate Maser Consulting for traffic engineering related to the Trader Joe’s loading and access issues on Clinton Street.”:
The specialty chain store is known for quirky and off-the-wall goods such as Spanish saffron, dried pitted tart cherries, frozen artichoke hearts and organic red quinoa. A Facebook group was created in 2011 making it clear Hoboken residents are pro-Trader Joe’s. The group is called, “Bring Trader Joe’s to Hoboken.”