Owner of long-stalled Summit Avenue tower site in Union City, N.J. seeks changes to its approved plans as the land is shopped for $12.9 million

Hudson TV Exclusive

The Planning Board hears the request Tuesday. The 2017 approval for 208 apartments on Summit Avenue has been extended twice, and the warehouse is still standing.

UNION CITY, N.J. — The owner of 2207 Summit Ave., a warehouse site that has had approval for years for a high-rise apartment building that was never built, is asking the Union City Planning Board to amend that approval at Tuesday’s meeting.

The board’s Oct. 27 agenda lists Yuanheng AAA, LLC, for Block 120, Lots 12-20 and 33, “formally requesting an amendment to the site plans originally approved in 2017 and subsequently extended in 2020 and 2022.” Attorney Elaine Berkenwald is listed for the applicant. The agenda doesn’t describe what would change, and the amended plans aren’t posted on the city’s website.

The meeting starts at 6 p.m. Tuesday, Oct. 27, at Union City High School, 2500 John F. Kennedy Blvd.

What’s approved now

A May 2022 Planning Board agenda, from when the previous owner, PBG Realty, LLC, asked for its second extension, described the approved project as “an apartment complex with 208 residential units and ground floor commercial space and 272 parking spaces.” That agenda says the approval resolution was memorialized July 24, 2018, and the first extension on May 26, 2020.

At an October 2024 meeting of the Union City Redevelopment Agency, Berkenwald said the project was first approved for 262 units. It dropped to 208 under a settlement with Larry Price, who had sued over the approval, she said. She also told the agency that Yuanheng bought the property in July 2023, and that a redevelopment agreement with the city was signed after that.

High interest rates had delayed construction, she said, adding that “with the tax abatement, it would be a lot easier.” She told agency members that the owner “does plan to build exactly what the board … did approve.” Yuanheng’s president and managing member, Ji Jiang Zheng, also testified, according to the transcript.

For sale

ERG Commercial Real Estate is marketing the property for $12.9 million as a “350,000 buildable SF development site.” Its listing describes “an 18-story mixed-use building featuring 208 thoughtfully designed apartments with a mix of one, two, and three-bedroom layouts,” about 5,700 square feet of ground-floor retail, about 270 structured parking spaces and rooftop amenities.

State deed records list a $6.4 million sale of the site on July 6, 2023, the month Berkenwald said Yuanheng bought it.

Also Tuesday: data centers

The same agenda lists a hearing on the ordinance the Board of Commissioners adopted Sept. 8 that bans data centers “as a principal permitted use in any zone district in the City of Union City.”

The board will also vote on the minutes of its Sept. 22 meeting. That’s when it recommended the 500 Central Ave. redevelopment plan, which allows up to 450 apartments next to the Lenox.

Hudson TV asks: What should the Planning Board ask about this site on Tuesday? If you live or work near the site, tell us what you’re seeing. Email info@hudsontv.com.