What Kind of ‘Development’ Do You Expect at Area 5?

Described by Fort Lee Mayor Mark Sokolich recently as a property that has sat “vacant and fallow” for about the past 45 years, development at the area commonly known as Redevelopment Area 5—or just Area 5 or the Centuria or Helmsley property or “that monstrosity,” as one resident recently called it—seems imminent after resolutions passed by the borough council last month ended years of arduous negotiations and litigation and cleared the way for what officials hope becomes a bustling retail and residential center built against the backdrop of the George Washington Bridge.

The 16-acre area, which consists of two approximately eight-acre parcels of land adjacent to the bridge and bounded by Lemoine Ave., Main St., Bruce Reynolds Blvd. and divided by Martha Washington Way, will be developed by Tucker Development Corporation and Fort Lee Redevelopment Associates (FLRA) under the complex agreement with the borough.

Tucker, the “conditional developer” of the “west parcel,” envisions "a minimum" of 165,000 square feet of ground-level retail space, up to 475 residences and possibly hotel and office buildings, according to the company.

Two residential towers of 450 residences each, a 1.75-acre public park, a 7,000 square foot restaurant, a coffee house opening onto the park and a three-screen movie theater will highlight FLRA’s “east parcel.”

At last month’s regular meeting of the Fort Lee Mayor and Council, Sokolich said the overall project will have "as great an impact on the Borough of Fort Lee as any project since the construction and opening of the George Washington Bridge."

Now we want to know what you think. What kind of development—if any—do you expect at Redevelopment Area 5? What do you hope to see happen there, and what do you think would be the best possible outcome for Fort Lee?