By Jersey Digs –
November 27, 2023
Jersey City’s growth over the past few decades has followed a familiar pattern. A developer commits to an ambitious, transformative project in an overlooked corner of the city, and that project ends up pulling in more development, more residents, and more investment behind it.
That’s how Newport got its start in the mid-1980s, when LeFrak set its sights on a stretch of waterfront that would eventually become one of the city’s most recognizable neighborhoods. Downtown Jersey City followed a similar arc. More recently, Journal Square has undergone its own transformation, with KRE Group’s Journal Squared towers sparking what is now one of the largest development booms in the state.
Now a new project called Westview is looking to bring that same momentum to Jersey City’s West Side, and GRID Real Estate is serving as redevelopment advisor on the effort.
What is the Westview project?
Westview is led by Bushburg, a developer known for transformative, adaptive reuse projects across New York, New Jersey, and Florida. The plan calls for three mixed-use, high-rise structures on a roughly 8.29-acre site that touches Route 440, Culver Avenue, Mallory Avenue, Pollack Avenue, Claremont Avenue, and Water Street. Most of the land is currently vacant, with one existing building on the site today.
Because the parcels are irregularly shaped and span mixed zoning, Bushburg brought in land use planners Dresdner Robin, whose Jersey City resume includes Journal Squared, Berry Lane Park, and NJCU’s Performing Arts Center, among other projects. MHS Architecture is designing the development, which is planned in three phases across High-Rise and Mid-Rise B zoning that allows for a range of building types, densities, and uses.
At full build-out, Westview is expected to include more than 3,000 residential units, nearly 130,000 square feet of retail space, and 120,000 square feet of park space, along with roughly 2,000 vehicle parking spaces and 1,695 bicycle spots.
How will Westview connect to the rest of Jersey City?
One of the more notable pieces of the plan is the right of way for the planned Hudson-Bergen Light Rail extension, which runs through the Westview property. Rather than treat that corridor as a constraint, planners built large public park spaces underneath and alongside the future rail line. Once complete, the extension would give the neighborhood direct light rail access to the rest of Jersey City, Hoboken, and New York City.
The vision behind Westview is a community that functions on its own while staying closely connected to the wider city. The retail component is designed to bring restaurants, shops, and everyday services to residents, with the goal of creating a self-sufficient neighborhood rather than just another cluster of towers.
Alongside GRID Real Estate, Bushburg is working with Genova Burns on the legal side of the project. Given its scale, Westview will also depend on continued support from the surrounding community and Jersey City’s elected officials as it moves through the approval process.
Want to learn more about redevelopment opportunities on Jersey City’s West Side? Contact GRID Real Estate to discuss what’s ahead for this corridor.
