Area 5 West Parcel Developer to Continue Making Case Monday

On Monday evening, the Fort Lee Planning Board will reconvene to consider Tucker Development Corporation’s mixed-use site plan for the West parcel of Redevelopment Area 5 after postponing the meeting originally scheduled for May 21.

At the third of four scheduled meetings on May 14, one member of the Planning Board called Tucker’s architectural plans “discombobulated,” and Tucker’s attorney, William F. Harrison, said the architect’s presentation had to be rushed, according to NorthJersey.com.

Later that week, that the developer was “barely halfway” to approval, and that while he was viewing the application with “guarded optimism,” he made no guarantees that it would be approved.

“Sometimes, especially in the early meetings, it appears to be disjointed because there are so many moving parts, ”Sokolich said at the time.

Tucker is seeking final approval of its plan for more than 165,000 square feet of retail space, a 175-room hotel, about 477 residential units and parking for an estimated 1,200 cars, but Sokolich said issues like parking, traffic and building height, among many others, have the potential to make hearings complex and confusing, both for members of the public and board members.

But he also said that in time, “The parts are going to start to come together.”

“At least I hope they do,” Sokolich said.

“This redeveloper must meet the statutory muster and standards for site plan approval under the New Jersey Municipal Land Use Law,” Sokolich said. “If he does not, it doesn’t matter what agreements we’ve negotiated with this redeveloper.”

He said the decision to cancel the May 21 meeting and move it to Monday was mutual between the Planning Board and the developer in part because there was “a lot of information that’s been requested of Tucker.”

In March, the board of Redevelopment Area 5. , which the board approved unanimously, includes two 47-story towers with 902 luxury residential units, a 1.7-acre public park, a restaurant and a small movie theater, among other amenities.

Taken together, the two plans—Tucker’s for the West parcel, and FLRA’s for the East—are estimated at about a $1 billion investment in the 16 acres of land just south of the George Washington Bridge.

The Borough of Fort Lee has a documents repository on its website for both FLRA and Tucker.

The public portion of Monday’s meeting of the Fort Lee Planning Board is scheduled for 7:30 p.m. at the Jack Alter Fort Lee Community Center.

***

Have a question or news tip? Contact editor Erik Wander at erik.wander@patch.com, or find us on Facebook or Twitter. For news straight to your inbox, sign up for our daily newsletter.