On July 15th at 6:30PM, a community meeting will be held by the Hoboken City Council to discuss the proposed redevelopment of 930 Monroe Street located within the Western Edge Redevelopment Plan Area. No action will be taken by Council at this meeting.
Monroe Properties, LLC, will present their proposal, which includes the development of a public park on 1.4 acres of land on the 800 block of Monroe Street. Click here to view the developer’s presentation to the Hoboken City Council.
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A Redevelopment Agreement between the City of Hoboken and Monroe Properties, LLC and an Amendment to the Western Edge Redevelopment Plan may be presented at a future meeting of the Hoboken City Council for consideration and action.
Thoughts from Councilmembers
Councilwoman Tiffanie Fisher sent out a press release explaining her stance on the proposed redevelopment, stating, “This is a massive project that he [Mayor Bhalla] has negotiated. One that is significantly larger than what the Western Edge Plan proposed in terms of bulk and density, increases ground floor lot coverage from 65% to 95%, blocks the sacred east/west view corridors of the city’s grid system, and spills out onto and contemplates using 25% of Monroe Street to fulfill the obligation to build its portion of the green circuit and open space requirement.”
Fisher continued to list what she considers “negatives of the proposal,” including “The fact that the required green circuit is not being accommodated on the developer’s property itself, but instead is being built on public property. The project is not aligned with our street grid so the property will block east/west view corridors of the palisades at all three 10th, 11th, and 12th streets – something that is sacred in Hoboken and a core goal in all of our plans including the Western Edge (Goal 6, bullet 3, page 12) that governs this project. 50% more residential density than what the plan previously called for.” Lastly, “The overall bulk and density of the property – while the developer was not open to less units, they were open to a taller, skinnier project that could meet more of the plan’s goals for open space and view corridors, but the height is being constrained by Mayor Bhalla and State Senator / Union City Mayor Stack who both are working to protect the views of Union City residents.”
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Councilman Russo told Hoboken Girl via email, “This project as proposed is a nonstarter. Period! When the owner and developer are ready to have a realistic conversation and are ready to be a good neighbor, they are welcome to come back so we can have a realistic and productive conversation. But until then, I am adamantly opposed to this. I will not stand by and have my neighbors endure a hardship with little to no benefit for Hoboken and its residents.”
“I look forward to seeing the developer’s professionals presentation tonight and hearing the community’s reactions to this 3-block project. I’m excited for the prospect of additional open space for the neighborhood, which would be a great quality of life upgrade from the blighted land presently at 800 Monroe. Importantly, the proposed development at 930 Monroe includes an attractive design, does not exceed the height in the current redevelopment plan approved by the Council, incorporates a wide green circuit and new commercial space, which together amounts to a substantial upgrade from an Amazon warehouse generating lots of van and truck traffic that is a poor long-term plan for this 5th Ward neighborhood,” Councilman Cohen said in a press release.
We reached out to all members of the Hoboken City Council for comment, but have not heard back on their stances on the proposal as of the time of publication.
All interested members of the public are encouraged to attend the community meeting via virtual Zoom here on 7/15.
