Plan for large apartment building, retail across from train station in Hackensack advances

HACKENSACK — Plans for a large apartment building at the corner of Anderson and Linden streets are moving forward with an additional 30 units proposed for a mixed-use development at the site.

The City Council amended a redevelopment plan for the 2.7-acre site at 123 Anderson Street last month to include 350 apartments, with retail space on the first floor. The amended plan also includes 20 public parking spaces. The developer would pay 1.5% of the property’s value in development fees into the city’s affordable housing trust fund as part of Hackensack’s settlement with Fair Share Housing Center, city officials said.

The building would replace a Walgreens pharmacy, several other storefronts, two smaller buildings and a parking lot across the street from the train station.

The street, a short commercial strip with a mix of restaurants, hair and nail salons, convenience stores and older apartment buildings and anchored by the Anderson Street Train Station, is undergoing changes, as Main Street just to the east, is in the midst of widespread redevelopment.

A six-story, 222-unit apartment building is under construction just down the street from the proposed development, at the former site of the longtime restaurant Rudy's and the city's former Building Department.

This is the third year of a five-year state grant program to improve the neighborhood with outdoor seating, lighting, trash cans, traffic-calming crosswalks and money for businesses to upgrade their storefronts.

“The area needs to be redeveloped. We’re going to start building up Anderson Street,” Mayor John Labrosse said. “It will be up to a developer to come up with an idea that works for the city and the residents in that area.”

Some residents have voiced concerns about a largescale apartment building at that corner, just off a residential neighborhood.

Brigitte Rucker said she’s concerned the development would bring more traffic to an area that already gets backed up when a train comes in.

“Let the community be part of the conversation. Why can’t they create a forum where the community can speak, especially those that live in that area,” she said. “We don’t need another apartment building. Putting that building there you’ll be taking away from the beauty and culture of the neighborhood.”

City officials said the public will have an opportunity to weigh in when plans come before the city Planning Board. Traffic and infrastructure are part of every evaluation of a potential development, they said.

“Most of the businesses there have already closed. It’s an area that’s certainly not bringing additional revenue to the city in any way to help with taxes. It’s really become an eyesore,” Deputy Mayor Kathy Canestrino said at a council meeting earlier this month. “We all have to get our heads together and look at what makes the most sense there. The area has already been developed with apartment units. It makes sense with the proximity to the train station.”

This article originally appeared on NorthJersey.com: New Hackensack NJ building would include 350 units, retail space