While thousands of new residential buildings and numerous businesses have been added to the Hoboken and Jersey City waterfronts in the last 15 years, residents have also realized the value of living and shopping throughout North Bergen, with its proximity to the light rail, buses, ferries, and highways, waterfront park, and Manhattan and Meadowlands views.
Various commercial, mixed use, and residential developments have opened, are soon to open, are under construction and are proposed.
Tonnelle Avenue businesses
Ten years ago, a stretch of Tonnelle Avenue between 69th and 91st streets was known for warehouses and old trucking facilities. But since then, the town has worked to bring retail establishments to the area.
Several stores have opened there since 2008, including Home Depot, Walmart, Lowe’s, Target, Staples, and BJs. More recently, a U-Haul facility opened on 69th Street, formerly a Pathmark location. The facility is the company’s major East Coast hub, according to officials.
Across the street from that facility is a new Marriott hotel that opened within the last six months. Fast food chain Carl’s Jr. also plans to open a store on the stretch sometime this year. That will be its first North Jersey branch.
“We’re very happy about what’s taking place on that corridor,” said Township Administrator Chris Pianese.
While the commercial activity has been taking place on Tonnelle’s west side, “Still to come, we see now some development on the east side of Tonnelle,” Pianese said.
That includes a new WaWa coming to Tonnelle, between 74th and 75th Streets, within the next few months. Beyond retail, Tonnelle is also becoming a target for residential developers.
In 2015, the town approved plans for a new residential development at 48th Street and Tonnelle Avenue, across the street from a Hudson Bergen Light Rail station.
Replacing the trailer park with residences
It will have around 240 residential units, and replace the former Manhattan Trailer Court trailer park. The park stood from around the late 1950s until it was razed in 2015, after the owner decided to sell the land. The town agreed to offer developer James Dematrakis a PILOT (Payment in Lieu of Taxes), which will bring in $600,000 annually for North Bergen once the project finishes, Pianese said.
Pianese estimates construction is only around 25 percent done, and the building should open in 2019.
“In the next three or four years, you’ll see that entire corridor with a whole new facelift.” – Chris Pianese
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Housing and a hotel on Paterson Plank Road
The long awaited Hudson Mews development is set to open this year, on Paterson Plank Road. The planned 288 residential units represent a town effort to develop its downtown sections as well. The developer has also agreed to do preliminary work on a 1.5-acre township park adjacent to the community.
That park is set to open sometime in 2019, Pianese said. “Our goals are to focus on Paterson Plank Road,” he said. “You have Hudson Mews, you have the back of the Food Bazaar.” Across the street, a Wyndham hotel is also going up. “In the next three or four years, you’ll see that entire corridor with a whole new facelift.”
The town is also hoping to bring some restaurants and shopping places to the area.
John F. Kennedy Boulevard
Several years ago, Avalon North Bergen opened on JFK Boulevard and 56th Street. The development features around 200 units. “That was one of our first large rental communities,” said Pianese. The town’s Zoning Board has also approved a development at 6701 JFK. Blvd. The developer plans to build 51 one-bedroom units over one floor of commercial space.
Plaza 53, a 128-unit development, opened on 53rd Street off Kennedy Blvd in January. “People are moving in now,” Pianese said.
Waterfront
Between 2005 and 2015, River Road on the waterfront saw a number of luxury residential development properties spring up. The Watermark, Hudson Point, and Half-Moon buildings joined the Rock Harbor development that has been there for at least the past 25 years.
The Dutchess, located at 7601 River Road, began leasing last year. It features three residential buildings with over 300 units in total.
Bergenline Avenue
There is a developer interested in a property at the old Mundo Latino restaurant at 8619 Bergenline Ave, according to town officials. However, it is in the very early stages currently.
Protecting tenants
But with all the development, will long time residents in this densely populated town be displaced?
“In North Bergen, we strive for balance,” Pianese responded. He mentioned that the town’s rent control laws help protect residents against rent surges, even if the market shows an increase. “It’s important to keep a balance of different rental markets in different areas,” he said.
Rent control laws tend to keep units in older buildings from increasing past a few percent a year, tied to the rise in the Consumer Price Index. In North Bergen, rent control applies to most buildings, except new construction, which is exempt for a certain period.
Hannington Dia can be reached at hd@hudsonreporter.com
