A proposal that would bring major changes to the Downtown Jersey City building that houses the neighborhood’s Barcade location has been given the all-clear to move forward.

The plan by a developer for 163-165 Newark Avenue, a property that stretches south along Barrow Street down to Christopher Columbus Drive, was granted Preliminary and Final Major Site Plan approval with conditions by the Jersey City Planning Board during its September 10 meeting.

As Jersey Digs exclusively reported last month, the application by 165 Newark Avenue Fee, LLC calls for constructing a new development in two phases, bringing a total of 51 residential units and 11,967 square feet of commercial space to the premises.

At the time, Barcade CEO Paul Kermizian told Jersey Digs that “we don’t have any news about the project, but we are hopeful that we can figure out a way to remain at the location long term.” The Manhattan-based chain, which has another New Jersey location in Downtown Newark, echoed those comments on social media after our initial story was published.

Initial renderings of the development included Barcade signage at the corner of Christopher Columbus Drive and Barrow Street, down the block from the existing location. However, updated renderings that were sent to Jersey Digs by LWDMR Architects following the initial publication of the story did not include any reference to Barcade.

In addition to Preliminary and Final Major Site Plan approval, 165 Newark Avenue Fee, LLC sought deviations related to the rooftop amenity space, facade materials, ceiling heights, building stepbacks, and the number of stories for the development.

Although much of the project would involve new construction, including a vertical expansion of the building on the Newark Avenue side of the property, much of the facade of the structure in question is expected to be preserved as part of the development’s second phase.

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