Stevens revealed the floor plans for the new University Center and student housing project at a Hoboken Planning Board meeting last week. The plans, which received initial approval from the Planning Board, illustrate in fine detail what students should expect to see in the towers.
The lowest floor of the towers will exist semi-underground — “Level G” — and will have space for both staff and students. On “Level G,” Stevens plans to build an underground tunnel, underneath Castle Point Lookout, connecting the Howe Center and the future University Center; however, it appears that this tunnel will be reserved for staff since it is described as a “service corridor” in the floor plans and will be used for “trash and recycling removal.” A large event space, a catering kitchen, private dining space, and a large fitness center will also be available.
The floor above Level G — “Level 1” — will feature 75,000+ sq.ft. student space and a “C-store.”
Level 3 to Level 20 will house what has been described by Vice President for Facilities and Campus Operations, Robert Maffia, as approximately 1,000 beds.
Each dorm room, which resembles the rooms in the River Terrace Apartments, has a common living space, private bedrooms, and a bathroom. (Some dorms, in fact, have two bathrooms.) In the larger rooms, a small kitchen will be available.
At the end of each floor, a glass-enclosed lounge space facing the Hudson — ideally for studying or meeting friends — will be available for the residents.
The Planning Board, last Wednesday, unanimously deemed the plans submitted by Stevens as “complete,” provided that Stevens makes some revisions. This first step of approvals was met with criticism from outside groups, which urged the Board to deny the plans prior to the meeting.
“This Application should be deemed incomplete,” George Wheatle Williams, Principal of Nishuane Group, LLC, which is a professional urban planning group, wrote in a statement sent to the Planning Board. Williams cited a variety of reasons why the application should be considered incomplete: an unspecified cost of the project, unprovided certification of taxes paid, unprovided copies of approval from other government agencies, and missing plans for “off-tract improvements,” are among many other concerns. However, for each item, Williams indicated that Stevens received a waiver and that “this item will be supplied” by Stevens sometime in the future.
At the Planning Board meeting, members of the Board seemed supportive of the plans and raised questions on banal points. “Will there be enough bike storage?” one of the Planning Board members asked of the multi-million dollar plans.
Despite receiving unanimous approval, Stevens is not finished with the Planning Board. On Wednesday, Oct. 30, the plans for the University Center and student housing will be subjected to a public hearing; members of the public who wish to voice their support or concerns may do so.
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