New Jersey’s Jersey City Approves 508-Unit Canal Crossing Development

A long-awaited redevelopment project in Jersey City is finally moving forward after the City Council approved the financial agreement for Canal Crossing, clearing the way for 508 new homes in the Bergen-Lafayette neighborhood. The project will also bring affordable housing, retail space and a new public park to a property that has remained largely unusable for decades because of environmental contamination.

Located near the Garfield Avenue Light Rail Station, the first phase of Canal Crossing will include 102 affordable homes, representing about 20% of the project's 508 units. All of the affordable apartments will be priced for households earning no more than 50% of the area's median income, including 13 units reserved for households at or below 30% of AMI. Some of the apartments are expected to have rents of $1,000 or less.

The development will also include approximately 20,000 square feet of commercial and retail space, giving local businesses an opportunity to serve the new residential community. A major public benefit will be a new 33,000-square-foot Garfield Park, along with the initial extension of the Morris Canal Greenway connecting toward Berry Lane Park.

From Contaminated Land to New Housing

The project carries particular significance because of the property's history. The site was heavily contaminated with chromium after decades of industrial use, leaving the land unavailable for meaningful redevelopment. More than 600,000 tons of contaminated soil were eventually removed as part of the environmental cleanup.

In 2020, the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection confirmed that the remediation met the state's stringent chromium cleanup standards. Canal Crossing will now become the first major development on the site in decades, turning a long-underused parcel into a residential and community destination.

The project is also being positioned as a transit-oriented development, with the buildings located directly beside the Garfield Avenue light rail station. That location gives residents access to public transportation while allowing the development to add housing without relying on a suburban-style layout.

A 30-Year PILOT Agreement

The City Council's approval also establishes a 30-year Payment in Lieu of Taxes (PILOT) agreement for the project. Under the arrangement, Canal Crossing is projected to generate approximately $1.9 million in revenue for Jersey City during its first year of operations, compared with roughly $65,000 currently generated by the property.

The agreement also includes a provision directing 10% of the PILOT revenue to Jersey City's public schools, adding an education component to the financial structure of the redevelopment.

Construction is expected to begin during the second half of 2026. Once completed, Canal Crossing will add hundreds of homes, including a substantial affordable housing component, while bringing new commercial space and public parkland to Bergen-Lafayette.