![\"\"](\"http:\/\/hudsoncountyview.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/625-639-Newark-Ave.png\")
<\/a><\/p>\nBy Daniel Ulloa\/Hudson County View<\/p>\n
The Namdar Group<\/a> is redeveloping 8-16 Lott St. and 625-639 Newark Avenue with a residential skyscraper that also would have a hotel with 26 rooms and 2,392 square feet of ground floor retail.<\/p>\n Attorney Chuck Harrington said it would be near the long-planned Courthouse Park<\/a>.<\/p>\n \u201cWe\u2019re calling it Park Tower,\u201d he noted.<\/p>\n Engineer Ian Burton indicated that there would be no space for cars, but ample space for bikes.<\/p>\n \u201cIt looks like it doesn\u2019t have a basement. Can you talk about the foundation?\u201d Commissioner Andy Kaplan, also the city\u2019s Department of Infrastructure Director, asked.<\/p>\n Architect Christina Attiyeh said the building sits on a very strong rock foundation, which is why there is no basement.<\/p>\n \u201cWe have incorporated the historic-themed fa\u00e7ade. We will preserve part of the fa\u00e7ade on Newark [Avenue],\u201d she said.<\/p>\n Attiyeh also explained that the residential units would begin on the fourth floor, which includes a gym, a game room, and a lounge, among other amenities.<\/p>\n \u201cDo we have a location for the affordable units?\u201d Board Chair Vidya Gangadin asked.<\/p>\n \u201cThey will be spread throughout the building,\u201d Harrington replied.<\/p>\n He further explained there would be 105 affordable housing units, which include 21 one-bedrooms, 60 two-bedrooms, and 24 three-bedroom units.<\/p>\n That\u2019s in addition to 764 studios, 179 one-bedrooms, 82 two-bedrooms, and 24 three-bedrooms units for a total of 1,049 units.<\/p>\n \u201cOf the 105, we have 53 that would be low income and very low income units,\u201d Harrington added.<\/p>\n \u201cAll these units are built out the same?\u201d Gangadin questioned, to which Harrington said yes, since that is what is required by ordinance.<\/p>\n Kaplan then asked if residents would have access to the hotel amenities.<\/p>\n Attiyeh said they would not, since there would be different elevators for the hotel and for the apartments.<\/p>\n Commissioner Eleana Little, also the Ward E councilwoman, noted that the council passed a bird-friendly ordinance in March<\/a> and asked if that would apply here.<\/p>\n \u201cThis application was deemed complete before the bird safe glass law went into effect \u2026 It\u2019s not a requirement this project is bound by,\u201d answered Senior Planner Matthew da Silva.<\/p>\n \u201cWe are trying to address the issue,\u201d Harrington interjected.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019m glad to hear that For the tenants and guests of the hotel, it\u2019s not pleasant to see dead birds,\u201d Little expressed.<\/p>\n Kaplan was also curious if the project was supporting or contributing to the Courthouse Park project in any way.<\/p>\n \u201cWe\u2019re in talks with the JCRA (Jersey City Redevelopment Agency),\u201d Harrington answered, adding that there\u2019s a distinct possibility they contribute up to $100,000 towards the build out.<\/p>\n Planning consultant John McDonough said that utilities interfere with planting more trees, so as a result, they would contribute to a municipal tree fund<\/a>.<\/p>\n \u201cWe all see the Namdar Group has played a major role in reshaping Journal Square, and honestly, it\u2019s not in a way that befits long-term residents like me \u2026 It\u2019s getting harder and harder for residents to find affordable decent two- and three-bedroom homes in Jersey City,\u201d LIUNA member and city naitve Curease Oliver said.<\/p>\n \u201cEverybody says building more housing will solve the crisis. But we need to pay very close attention to what kind of housing is getting built. Because if we keep building mostly small luxury units \u2026 families like mine are going to continue to get pushed out of the city we helped build and love.\u201d<\/p>\n He said Namdar has worked with the contractor AJD<\/a>, which had issues with securing permits and labor<\/a> that led to stop-work orders<\/a>.<\/p>\n \u201cCommercial really should be a priority for this project \u2026 I think this project falls short and is a land grab \u2026 This building is over 600,000 square feet! I find it hard to believe there is no space to add retail,\u201d Laura Mistretta, also of LIUNA, declared.<\/p>\n \u201cThis project is receiving 20 extra floors for setting aside just 10 percent of the units for affordable housing \u2026 Why does this development deserve 20 extra floors?\u201d<\/p>\n Gangadin then asked if the applicant would like to address any of the concerns raised by the union members.<\/p>\n \u201cThe hotel is commercial retail and a permitted use \u2026 The redevelopment plan was actually amended to provide that use,\u201d Harrington stated.<\/p>\n He reiterated that there would be 24 three-bedroom apartments and 60 two-bedroom apartments among the 105 affordable housing units, also pointing out that laborers were hired for two projects for his clients that are still being built right now.<\/p>\n Harrington also said he also spoke with Hudson County Building Trades Council President Pat Kelleher to address issues.<\/p>\n \u201cIs there a plan in place to ensure that doesn\u2019t happen again?\u201d Little asked about stop-work orders.<\/p>\n \u201cYou have contractors, you have owners \u2026 Sometimes they get ahead of themselves,\u201d Harrington said, adding it that lost time \u201cis very harmful on a project.\u201d<\/p>\n Little asked about the percentage that is being built by union labor, which he replied that it depends what the bids are. Kaplan subsequently, asked if that was relevant for the application.<\/p>\n \u201cThis is not the right forum for that,\u201d Board attorney Santo Alampi declared.<\/p>\n Commissioner Irene Barnaby then noted that she\u2019d like to see more commercial space for the project.<\/p>\n