The Jersey City Planning Board voted to amend the Colgate Redevelopment Plan on January 20, 2015 to permit the construction of a 95 story, 990-foot residential tower at 99 Hudson Street. The site was purchased by developer China Overseas America from Hartz Mountain Industries in 2013, and YIMBY revealed that Perkins Eastman was designing the site back in December.
The Planning Board noted that current renderings are still conceptual and do not represent the final architectural design for the site. The old plan involved the construction of a twin-towered development, containing approximately 1,000 residential units and 1.1 million square feet of residential space. The current plan, supported by city leaders and the community, combines the two towers into a single building of just under 1 million square feet, with 760 units.
99 Hudson Street, image from China Overseas America
99 Hudson’s height will make it an instant landmark for Jersey City once complete, and at nearly 1,000 feet in height, it will make a statement on the skyline, towering above the 781-foot Goldman Sachs building at 30 Hudson Street. The development also learns from past planning mistakes (which can be painfully seen in Newport) regarding the practice of having high rise towers atop bulky parking garages. 99 Hudson is required to have residential units wrap around much of the parking structure to hide it from important street views.
An amendment to the Colgate Redevelopment Plan was needed to allow modifications to the previous design, including a change in the maximum height from 675 feet to 990 feet. 99 Hudson is also located next to the Exchange Place PATH station and Hudson Bergen Light Rail Station, which make it an excellent location for densification.
Old design for 99 Hudson Street, image by Alex Stark
Construction is expected to commence in the spring. The building will be the tallest in New Jersey once completed (the Liberty Rising development proposed by Fireman Capital Partners is rumored to be of similar heights, but is still in early stages of planning).
Readers may note that the building is just 10 feet short of the exclusive 1,000-foot club. Usually, Jersey City zoning regulations do not limit the inclusion of building mechanical space, which would have potentially allowed 99 Hudson to reach 1,000 feet or more. However, the lone public comment received by the Planning Board asked for clarity on the building’s final height. The Planning Board then amended the plan so any mechanical equipment is inclusive of the 990-foot cap in order to provide a definitive answer to the question.
Residents of Jersey City are strongly encouraged to attend future Planning Board meetings and to make views known to the Planning Commission, city planners, and developers on the types of developments you would like to see in Jersey City’s future (and the Board’s agenda can be accessed here).
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