Sherrill administration advances transit-oriented housing plans
Requests for proposals target state-owned sites in Bayonne and Linden for mixed-income development
The Sherrill administration has begun seeking developers for two transit-oriented housing projects on state-owned land in Bayonne and Linden as part of efforts to expand New Jersey’s housing supply.
The requests for proposals, issued by NJ Transit and the New Jersey Economic Development Authority, come before a housing policy report ordered by Gov. Mikie Sherrill is due later this year.
In Bayonne, NJ Transit is seeking a developer to redevelop a 4.3-acre site next to the 34th Street Hudson-Bergen Light Rail station. Plans call for apartments, at least 20% of them affordable to low- and moderate-income households, along with retail space, public areas, commuter parking, and pedestrian and bicycle improvements.
The agency said the property currently consists of two surface parking lots adjacent to the station, which serves about 1,484 weekday riders. The project is part of NJ Transit’s strategy to generate additional non-fare revenue by redeveloping underused properties.
The NJEDA also issued a request for proposals to redevelop a commuter parking lot at the Linden train station into a mixed-income, transit-oriented housing development. The property at 101 W. Elizabeth Ave. is near an existing mixed-use development and is served by the Northeast Corridor and North Jersey Coast rail lines.
Developers responding to the Linden proposal must include plans for housing, commuter parking, energy-efficient design, and pedestrian connections to the station.
NJ Transit plans to hold a site visit for the Bayonne project on July 21. Proposals are due Sept. 23. Responses for the Linden project are due Sept. 28.
Krystal Knapp is the founder, executive director, and publisher of The Jersey Vindicator and the founder of Planet Princeton. She has more than two decades of experience reporting in New Jersey, including 10 years at The Trenton Times, where she was the newsroom’s public records and computer-assisted reporting expert. Her work has been recognized by the New Jersey Press Association and the Center for Cooperative Media. You can reach her at Krystal AT jerseyvindicator.org.