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A proposed hotel project in New Jersey seeks to partner with some of the biggest names in the arts, but it is facing community opposition due to its height and the precedent it could set in a commercial district.
The Jersey City Zoning Board will soon consider a project by Landmark Hospitality to convert a former bank building at 201 Newark Avenue into an office tower. The building was originally constructed in the 1930s by the New Jersey Trust Company. Buy Acquired by Landmark in 2019 for $5.35 million.
Landmark owns several other high-end hotel properties in New Jersey and Pennsylvania, including the Liberty House in Jersey City; Hudson Towerand Lincoln Park scenery.
The company plans to transform the property into the seven-story Albion Hotel, which has undergone some redesigns since Jersey Digs revealed the proposal nearly four years ago. The latest plans, drawn up by Hackensack architect Michael Graves, include 72 hotel rooms, a founders suite and numerous amenities, such as a recording studio, a Peloton studio and a rooftop with a bar and pool.
The existing bank building will remain, according to the plans, and will house a two-story Asian-style restaurant called Anzu Social. As part of the transformation, the mezzanine level will also include an art gallery and a green roof.
The proposal would significantly expand the current parking lot portion of the property and seek to partner with a legend in the arts community. The third-floor recording studio would be a collaboration with the renowned Asbury Park venue, dubbed The Stone Pony Studio, which would also host a rich calendar of live jazz music events on the building’s rooftop.
Speaking of the rooftop, it’s planned to feature an indoor theater space and an outdoor rooftop deck that will include a bar and an indoor great room. Albion has agreed to work with Mana Contemporary to create the hotel’s art component, which will be featured on the rooftop deck and throughout the building.
Landmark will also work with the Monira Foundation to launch an artist-in-residence program within the hotel. The hotel will create an indoor art wall as part of the hotel’s interior renovation and will have a 42-space parking lot in the basement using a lift system.
Landmark’s application states that existing zoning allows for more than 40 residential units on the site, but the company is proposing to use it as a hotel. That in itself would require a variance, and several other variances sought by the company have already drawn the ire of local groups.
The Harsimus Cove Association, Van Vorst Community Association, The Village Community Association, Hamilton Park Community Association and Paulus Hook Community Association all opposed the plan, primarily because of the requested height variance. The proposed hotel would be just over 108 feet tall, while the permitted height is only 64 feet.
Councilman James Solomon, who represents the area, also confirmed to Jersey Digs that he opposes the project. Saffron, the condo development located west of the proposed hotel, has launched a petition and hired lawyers to oppose the project.
The proposed Albion Hotel also would need to make changes with the zoning board regarding minimum rear height, maximum building floor height, parking and loading space size, maximum number of ground floor signs and illuminated signage not allowed in the zone.
The Jersey City Zoning Board is scheduled to hear an application for Landmark’s newest hotel at its Aug. 8 meeting, which begins at 6:30 p.m. in a conference room at the Holloway Building at 4 Jackson Square.
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