A handful of former Saint Peter’s University dormitory buildings in Jersey City are expected to be transformed this year into apartment buildings, continuing the trend of university properties being repurposed for market-rate housing.
The university’s Murray Hall dorms at 850 West Side Ave. and the nearby Veterans Memorial Court at 146-152 Glenwood Ave. are proposed to be converted into apartment buildings by developer Hershy Weinstock. The projects were scheduled to be heard at Thursday’s Jersey City Zoning Board meeting, but have been tabled until the May 9 meeting.
Plans for the unspectacular Murray Hall call for turning the three-story building at the corner of West Side and Glenwood avenues into a four-story, 28-unit apartment building with ground floor commercial space. The Veterans Memorial Court, a four-story, U-shaped brick building with an open courtyard, would be converted into a 53-unit building. Some 10% of each building would be designated as affordable housing.
The projects can be added to the list of former Saint Peter’s properties slated for redevelopment, such as the controversial proposals by developer Moshe Sugar for 124 and 128 Glenwood Ave., part of the historic Mayhew Terrace Cottages down the block.
A four-story development at 124 Glenwood, where a cottage was demolished as part of site preparation, was approved by the planning board last October after was previously denied, while a similar plan for 128 Glenwood, a former community garden, was denied by the zoning board in February.
Another project by Weinstock, the university’s Henneberry Hall at 104 Glenwood Ave., has been approved by the zoning board for conversion into a 21-unit apartment building, with 10% of the units being designated as affordable housing.
Saint Peter’s officials would not say why they are selling off the aging former dormitory buildings. A spokeswoman did not comment on the matter and an attorney for Weinstock did not respond for comment.
Neighborhood residents have been loud in their opposition to the Mayhew Terrace Cottages projects in an effort to preserve the historic character of the street. But locals have been open to Weinstock’s projects on the same street, even if parking looms as a major concern.
The McGinley Square Community Board said it “looks forward to welcoming new neighbors to the former Saint Peter’s dorms,” and that Weinstock is “agreeable in meeting with the community to hear concerns, even making some modifications to his plans to help satisfy requests.”
“We’ve focused our efforts toward a community vision for responsible development as it relates to existing and future resident quality of life, infrastructure, affordability, longevity, the environment,” the board said in a statement.
One concern for the community is parking. West Side Councilwoman Mira Prinz-Arey said the new developments would have a “huge impact” in that neighborhood.
“There’s still a lot of concerns with that kind of density coming into that part of the city because it’s a narrow block,” Prinz-Arey said. “Dorms are different than apartments, and that’s the truth of it. (Dorm life is) much more transient and students living a student lifestyle, as opposed to somebody who’s not a student.”
The McGinley Square Community Board also said that it “implore Saint Peter’s to work with the developer and with our community to create and offer parking.”
“It seems the resources are there; the ball is in their court,” the board said. “If we all work together, solutions that benefit all parties are absolutely possible. We can improve our neighborhood if we simply engage in positive, creative collaboration together.”
