A developer wants to tear down a mixed-use building on Frank E. Rodgers Boulevard in Harrison and put up a replacement with a notable omission: no off-street parking at all. Astrid Real Estate Development LLC is asking the town's Planning Board to sign off on a project that would eliminate 11 required parking spaces entirely, along with a long list of other design waivers covering everything from landscaping to building height.
What's Proposed for 304 Frank E. Rodgers Blvd.
The existing building at 304 Frank E. Rodgers Blvd. currently houses a ground-floor restaurant with apartments on the second floor, according to NJ.com. Astrid's plan calls for demolishing that structure and constructing a new mixed-use building in its place, but the replacement would come with zero off-street parking spaces, the outlet reports. Harrison typically requires 11 off-street spaces for a project like this, meaning the developer is seeking a full variance from that standard rather than a partial reduction.
The property is identified as Block 21, Lot 23 on Harrison's tax map, per the same NJ.com report. Astrid is seeking preliminary and final site plan approval for the parcel.
A Long List of Design Waivers
Parking isn't the only sticking point. The application also seeks design waivers for the front-yard setback and canopy encroachment, minimum landscaping coverage, and street tree requirements, the report notes. Additional waivers cover building height and number of stories, maximum impervious coverage, rear-yard setback and permitted projections, and broader site plan submission and design requirements.
That stack of requested exceptions touches nearly every major category of Harrison's development code, though the available record doesn't spell out the applicant's reasoning for the zero-parking request or how the Planning Board is likely to weigh it. Elsewhere in New Jersey, similar zero-parking requests have surfaced before — a Paterson Planning Board matter, for instance, involved a request for zero off-street spaces where eight were required, paired with a building-coverage variance, according to a City of Paterson Planning Board document. That case offers a point of comparison but says nothing about how Harrison officials will handle Astrid's application.
Public Hearing Set for Nov. 2
The Harrison Planning Board scheduled a public hearing on Astrid's application for Monday, Nov. 2, at Town Hall, 318 Harrison Ave., according to NJ.com. The Town of Harrison's Agenda Center separately listed a Planning Board meeting agenda for that same date, confirming the session is on the municipal calendar.
Residents and other interested parties can review the application, plans, reports and supporting documents by appointment at the town clerk's office on Town Hall's first floor, per the NJ.com report. The clerk's office keeps weekday hours from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. for anyone looking to examine the filing before the hearing.
The Bigger Picture in Harrison
The proposal lands in a town that has seen dramatic redevelopment in recent years. Harrison's own redevelopment planning has emphasized capitalizing on the Passaic River, the PATH station and the area's industrial history to build out a dense, mixed-use community, according to the Harrison Redevelopment Agency. A November 2025 report found the town's Riverbend District alone had grown to more than 900 luxury apartments.
Whether Astrid's Frank E. Rodgers Boulevard project fits into that broader pattern of growth remains to be seen. What's clear for now is that the Planning Board has a packed list of waivers to weigh when the hearing convenes next Monday, with no public indication yet of how members intend to rule.
