Jersey City approves 400-unit Journal Square tower

BH3 Management, Hope Street Capital to develop 28-story project

BH3 Management's Daniel Lebensohn and 80 Journal Square (BH3 Management, MHS Architecture)
BH3 Management's Daniel Lebensohn and 80 Journal Square (BH3 Management, MHS Architecture)

Another project is headed for Jersey City’s Journal Square after securing approval before the new year to join the hot spot for developers.

Jersey City’s planning board unanimously approved a vertical expansion plan for 80 Journal Square, JerseyDigs reported. The move sets the stage for the one-story retail property to rise 28 stories high, adding residential and commercial space.

BH3 Management and Hope Street Capital are helming the property’s redevelopment, which is being designed by Hoboken-based MHS Architecture.

The project will bring 400 housing units, starting on the fourth floor. Most of the units are a mix between studios, one- and two-bedroom apartments, along with a handful of three-bedroom spaces as well. Because of the size of the project, 10 percent of units will be set aside as affordable under the city’s Inclusionary Housing Ordinance.

The 3,000-square-foot ground floor retail space, home to a CH Martin store, will remain in place. There will be 17,000 square feet of office space on the second and third floors, as well as an outdoor cafe on the sidewalk.

The development is also slated to include more than 200 bicycle spaces, a 3,000-square-foot amenity space on the building’s rooftop and a pedestrian walkway on the property’s south side adjacent to the Loews’ Jersey Theater.

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The developers have not announced a groundbreaking date for the project.

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BH3 and Hope Street are the latest to try their hands at a residential development in Journal Square, where a PATH station provides quick access to Manhattan.

The planning board in October approved a 1,189-unit project from Kushner Real Estate Group and Silverstein Properties, spanning two skyscrapers. Each tower will include slightly below 600 units; one will be 55 stories tall, while the other will be 49 stories.

Another team — the unaffiliated Kushner Companies — broke ground on the One Journal Square project in June after resolving a tax abatement dispute with the city. The project has an $821 million price tag, including two 64-story buildings, a rebuilt PATH Plaza and a Target. There will also be more than 1,700 residential units.

— Holden Walter-Warner