A change in leadership is not going to stop the LeFrak Organization’s development dominance in Jersey City.
The developer is planning a 322-unit project at 853 Jersey Avenue on the edge of the city’s border with Hoboken, the Jersey Journal reported. The proposal is set to go before the Jersey City Planning Board on Tuesday.
While LeFrak’s legacy in Jersey City lives with the Newport neighborhood, the firm seems aware of the luxury projects unfolding between the Hoboken border and the Holland Tunnel.
LeFrak plans to turn the grass lot into two buildings, one 13 stories tall and the other 19 stories. The site previously housed abandoned rail lines and industrial facilities. It was slated to become a gas station before these latest plans, according to a LeFrank official.
A majority of the units will be one-bedroom apartments, though there will also be studios and two-bedroom layouts; none of the units will be earmarked for affordable housing. There will also be a three-floor parking garage with 173 spaces and retail space on the ground floor.
LeFrak is one of the largest apartment landlords in New York City, but has left an indelible mark on the Jersey City waterfront, building 5 million square feet of offices and more than 7,000 apartments there. The firm led the transformation of Jersey City four decades ago when it started developing the 600-acre Newport area — there are still 22 project sites left in the area.
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There is a changing of the guard going on at LeFrak. For starters, the developer seems more willing to leave the confines of Newport for its projects, gaining approval a year ago for a seven-story project in the Hamilton Park neighborhood.
More importantly, however, there’s a major shift taking place in leadership. In May, Richard LeFrak revealed plans to step back from day-to-day management of the eponymous firm. The 78-year-old, who has Parkinson’s Disease, is putting sons Jamie and Harrison in charge of the firm.
— Holden Walter-Warner