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M&M to replace single-family Hackensack homes with apartments
It’s the kind of project NY’s governor failed to sell to suburbs
![From left: M&M's Maria Del Mar Lopez and Maria Yglesias along with the current site at 75 Linden Street in Hackensack, New Jersey (Getty, Google Maps, M&M)](https://static.therealdeal.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/main_TRI_MM-Hackensack-1400x875.jpg)
From left: M&M’s Maria Del Mar Lopez and Maria Yglesias along with the current site at 75 Linden Street in Hackensack, New Jersey (Getty, Google Maps, M&M)
Maria Yglesias and Maria Del Mar Lopez appear to be embarking on exactly the kind of project Gov. Kathy Hochul has been pleading for in New York’s suburbs. Except for one thing: It’s in New Jersey.
The two founders of M&M Development purchased five lots in the Anderson Street area of Hackensack from the estate of Donald Gonzalez for an undisclosed price, NorthJersey.com reported. The properties, at 75, 77 and 81 Linden Street and 80 and 84 Vanderbeck Place, have single-family homes, but are zoned for medium-density multifamily and offices.
They are also one block from a commuter rail station — NJ Transit — which is the blueprint Hochul laid out in January for New York, only to have suburbanites tear it up with help from New York City progressives, who wanted tenant protections and affordable housing mandates thrown in.
NAI James E. Hanson’s Anthony Cassano, who represented both sides of the Hackensack deal, said M&M is planning a residential community for the nearly 31,000-square-foot site. The specifics have not been disclosed.
Cassano and M&M did not immediately return requests for comment from The Real Deal. Founded in 1997 by Yglesias and Lopez, Newark-based M&M specializes in affordable housing, particularly in Newark and Camden. Its projects include the 32-unit Pierre Building in Camden.
Their project continues a trend in the Anderson Street area of Hackensack. A 235-unit building near the Sears building opened earlier this year, and a 234-unit development with ground-floor retail was recently approved.
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Hackensack’s downtown is witnessing a development boom. Legacy Development Group plans a 110-unit project with 4,000 square feet of retail on Main Street. A 268-unit project is proposed on Trinity Place. And Transformco is trying to figure out what can be done with the iconic Sears building, having resolved a dispute with the city earlier this year.
More than two dozen projects have been pitched to revitalize the downtown area of “the Sack.”
— Holden Walter-Warner