Stephanie Spear 
Two longer-term construction projects in Hoboken are moving ahead at the intersection of Newark and Washington Streets. On the roadway, work is being done to advance the City’s flood mitigation levels. At the street level, plans are in the works for the building located at 59 Washington Street, which is currently home to a CVS Pharmacy. Read on for more about these projects and the latest updates for the Hoboken CVS site at 59 Washington Street.
What is the Roadwork?
Starting at the ground level, there is roadwork being done on Washington Street in front of the CVS, located at 59 Washington Street. Hoboken City spokesperson Marilyn Baer tells The Hoboken Girl that the work is part of the city’s larger flood mitigation efforts. “That is part of the DEP’s Rebuild by Design Hudson River Project’s Resist structure,” she said via email. The project is a multi-year effort by the NJ DEP to better manage storms and runoff.
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Other efforts have included the installation of flood walls, flood gates, and the construction of the Northwest Resiliency Park.
Redevelopment
At street level, we’ve heard rumors about what the future of the building located at 59 Washington Street would look like. This is currently the home of a CVS and an RWJ Barnabas medical office. The property falls within the boundaries of the Washington-Observer Gateway Redevelopment Plan. The Redevelopment Plan was developed in 2020, designating an L-shaped parcel as an ‘area in need of redevelopment.’ The building located at 59 Washington Street is part of this parcel.
In fall 2024, the City’s plans for the space were approved. The Fabian Arts District Plan will include mixed-use development centered around a performing arts facility. Now, in summer 2025, a source close to the project tells HG that the site at 59 Washington Street will become a mixed-use building, with commercial spaces on the ground floor and residential spaces on the upper floors.
[Editor’s note: this update was added at 11AM on Wednesday, July 30th] There are no imminent changes to the property. The Hoboken Girl has received confirmation from a spokesperson from CVS corporate that there are no plans to close this CVS location.
The closure of this CVS would be the second downtown pharmacy to close, following the 2023 closure of the Walgreens located at 101-1015 Washington Street. That space is slated to become a Whole Foods Daily Market, a concept that has many Whole Foods brand grocery items in addition to prepared foods and a coffee bar.
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The Hoboken Girl has reached out to the City and other parties affiliated with the projects for more information and will update this piece with any further information.
Editor’s note: this piece has been updated since its publication on Monday, July 28th, to reflect a statement that was shared by the City of Hoboken on Tuesday, July 29th.
Marilyn Baer, spokesperson from the City of Hoboken, shared the following information.
“The City adopted the Fabian Arts District Redevelopment Plan on December 20, 2023. This plan establishes superseding zoning and broader development principles should a developer choose to move forward with a proposal for the site. To date, the City has not entered into an Interim Cost and Conditional Designation Agreement with a potential redeveloper. This agreement is the next step in moving forward. It would allow the City to collect escrow from a conditional redeveloper for the purpose of undertaking detailed traffic and real estate analyses, stakeholder and community meetings, and ultimately, negotiating and entering into a Redevelopment Agreement. It’s important to note that the process of negotiating a Redevelopment Agreement can take several months or several years, depending on market conditions, neighborhood feedback, and property owner and developer interest. The City remains focused on ensuring that any developer involved has the capability to deliver on their proposal within the redevelopment plan, not just in design, but in execution. As of now, we are unaware of any intent of the CVS at 59 Washington Street closing.”
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