330 Apts. Proposed for Industrial Site

Initially, the plan called for demolition of most of the eight on-site buildings, along with two industrial smokestacks. HTA is under contract to buy the site for a reported $4.8 million, and a trustee appointed by a federal bankruptcy court had authorized the razing of the structures as part of a public bidding process.

But both the Jersey City Landmarks Conservancy, which considers at least four of the 140-year-old buildings to be historically significant, and the city got involved, resulting in a revised proposal calling for preservation of six of the eight buildings and one of the two stacks. The planning board's latest action directs HTA to find a way to salvage a seventh building and both of the stacks. The board also wants the developer to restore a cobblestone cross street.

The tract is commonly known as the Whitlock Cordage site, named after a rope-manufacturing company that used it for much of the 20th century. For much of the latter part of the 19th century, it was used as a zinc factory.

But the site has been vacant for a number of years and, most recently, a matter for the bankruptcy courts to deal with. And because of its longstanding industrial use, the site also has some remediation issues.

If the various planning board "strings" are addressed, what will emerge will be those 330 residential units, of which about 20% will be townhouses. And to meet local housing requirements, almost two-thirds of the units would fall into the affordable-housing category, according to Meg Manley, HTA's project manager. Other components of the project would include a health club, and HTA also plans to convert an adjoining off-site building into residential and studio space for artists.