Hoboken, N.J. council approves redevelopment deal for first new Housing Authority building on Harrison Street

HOBOKEN, N.J. — The Hoboken City Council on Wednesday night, Oct. 21, approved the redevelopment agreement for the first new building in the Hoboken Housing Authority’s plan to replace its aging public housing, a 164-unit, all-affordable building at 331–333 Harrison St.

The agreement, Resolution CD3, names Hoboken Forward One Urban Renewal Associates, LP as redeveloper of the site, land the Housing Authority owns at Block 36, Lot 13. The resolution describes the partnership as a joint venture of the Housing Authority and RPM Development, LLC. The council approved it as part of its consent agenda, according to the meeting’s official recording.

What the deal calls for

As Hudson TV first reported Tuesday, the agreement in the council packet calls for:

• 164 affordable homes, deed-restricted under the federal low-income housing tax credit and HUD Rental Assistance Demonstration programs;
• about 2,050 square feet of ground-floor retail;
• about 41 parking spaces under the building, which the developer “shall use reasonable efforts” to build, roughly half the 84 garage spaces in renderings shown publicly in June; and
• a public plaza of about 5,750 square feet south of the building, built “at no cost to the City.”

In written answers to Hudson TV before the vote, the city said the parking spaces “were reduced during the design process, but remain within the redevelopment plan’s maximum parking ratio.” A tax deal for the project, a payment in lieu of taxes, would need a separate financial agreement and its own council vote. It was not part of Wednesday’s approval.

Housing Authority: ‘This moment belongs to you’

Housing Authority leaders spoke during the public portion before the vote. Frank Merchand, the authority’s director of development, read a statement addressed to residents. “This moment belongs to you,” Merchand said.

Merchand called the first phase “a 12% down payment on this dream,” saying the new building would house about 12% of the authority’s residents. Merchand told residents who won’t move into the first building that the authority would “maintain, repair, and upgrade your existing homes until a new home is ready for you,” and said families who will move would be contacted in advance.

Barbara Reyes, who said she chairs the Housing Authority’s Board of Commissioners and lives in authority housing herself, told the council, “Our residents deserve more than promises. They deserve progress.” She added, “Reaching this milestone does not mean the work is finished.”

A Housing Authority commissioner who spoke after Reyes said, “Nobody will be displaced. There’s a one-for-one replacement,” and said that is required both by city ordinance and by HUD.

What comes next

The agreement requires a “parking relocation plan” for Harrison Gardens residents who now park on the lot, but says that relocation “is ultimately a matter to be addressed separately between HHA and the City.” The agreement defines the next phase as including the demolition of the buildings of the existing Andrew Jackson Gardens complex.

Hudson TV asked the city before the vote where Harrison Gardens residents who park on the lot will park during construction. The city’s written answers did not address that question.

Hudson TV asks: Is about 41 parking spaces enough for a 164-unit building in Hoboken? Reply A: Yes, it’s near transit. Reply B: No, it needs more.
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