A 40-year-old parking garage in downtown Hoboken could be transformed into a new apartment building. The City of Hoboken proposed plans to transform Municipal Parking Garage B at 28 2nd Street in Hoboken into a mixed-use building earlier this year. The proposal was approved on first reading by the City Council, and will move forward to a second reading later this month. Here’s what to know about the proposed plan to revitalize one of Hoboken’s largest parking garages.

The Plan

The goal is to redevelop Garage B into a transit-oriented, mixed-use site. The City wants it to have a new, updated parking garage, ground-floor retail space, a school, and residential housing. According to the plan, “Garage B is the only garage that exists as a standalone building, without other buildings attached to or flanking the garage structure. Garage B is also located furthest south and is closest to the Hoboken Terminal. For these reasons, Garage B has fewer barriers to construction than the other Garage locations.”

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The housing portion of the new site would include a minimum of 20% affordable housing for low to moderate-income households. The remaining balance would be affordable for households that don’t make more than 120% of the regional median household income in the region. No market-rate housing is part of this redevelopment plan.

“The intent of workforce housing is to provide opportunities for working- and middle-class residents to live within the City of Hoboken,” said Marilyn Baer from the City of Hoboken. “These residents can include police and fire officers, teachers, municipal workers, nurses, and other essential workers.”

According to a recent study done by the City of Hoboken, the parking garage is in substantial need of repair. The garage would be getting a much-needed update and Hoboken says the new space will have the same or possibly more parking spaces for residents and visitors to use, along with modern technology to help make the parking process a breeze.

The Goal

This plan is part of Hoboken’s Redevelopment Plans, aiming to improve the City to make it safer for both residents and visitors. Some of the other goals for this site include maximizing the future building’s proximity to the Hoboken Terminal, and increasing access to NJ Transit, the PATH, the Light Rail, and ferry services. Project leaders aim for new construction to be compatible with the surrounding area. They also want to make sure ground floor space is spaced and utilized well to improve the pedestrian experience on Hudson Place and River Street.

This redevelopment plan also calls for pedestrian safety improvements in line with the City’s Vision Zero goals. It will also use stormwater mitigation strategies to help reduce local flooding.

Again, this is still in the early stages.  If it’s adopted by the City Council the City of Hoboken plans to send out a Request for Proposals from developers for concept plans. From there, the City will provide for an additional public process ahead of a potential Redevelopment Agreement between Hoboken and a developer, according to Marilyn Baer.

Hoboken Councilwoman and mayoral candidate Tiffanie Fisher published a lengthy article against the project, explaining her rationale for voting no despite supporting efforts to increase housing affordability in general.

• It’s not financially viable. Even if the city gives the land away for free, the project still isn’t feasible without a massive tax abatement that shifts costs onto other taxpayers.
• The city doesn’t control the air rights. The air rights over Garage B belong to the adjacent property (MarineView 5 office building), and they haven’t even been engaged in discussions about this plan.
• It’s out of scale with the neighborhood. At 25+ stories, it would be four times taller than the neighboring buildings and almost twice the height of the Waterfront Corporate Center office buildings one block east.
• It ignores broader city needs. The city owns multiple properties in the area, and this was proposed in isolation, without considering other priorities like upgrading the police station.
• It violates urban planning best practices. Large, 100% affordable housing towers are widely discouraged because they concentrate lower income neighbors, rather than integrate affordable housing within market-rate developments.

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City Council Meeting on 3/3

The March 3rd, Hoboken City Council approved the proposal on its first reading by a vote of 5-3.

One of the measure's co-sponsors is Councilwoman and mayoral candidate Emily Jabbour, who shared the following statement with HG. "Hoboken is not immune to national issues - and housing affordability is one of them. While I have been a staunch advocate for using measures such as rent control and supporting improvements in the Housing Authority to mitigate housing costs, I also understand the reality that adding more affordable units to supply via development is important. As Garage B is in dire need of repair, I believe this is an excellent opportunity to test whether this is a good location for both a repair and a redevelopment to accomplish multiple goals."

Councilwoman Tiffanie Fisher shared the following statement with HG. "IMHO, there is very little right about this project—and based on feedback I have gotten from over 200 neighbors, most agree. This isn’t smart planning; it’s an election-year stunt driven by special interests. Hoboken needs more affordable housing, and we’re delivering it—700 affordable units within 6,300 new homes coming in the next five years. With this 20% population increase, our priority should be ensuring our infrastructure and services can support it. That includes fixing Garage B to extend its life and carefully considering all community needs—including housing, a community center, public safety improvements, and schools—before making irreversible decisions on our remaining city-owned land."

The second reading of the proposal will take place on March 19th, 2025. This post will be updated with any further details.

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