A proposed 42-story tower on Summit Avenue, steps from the Journal Square PATH station, remains before the Jersey City Planning Board after the application was carried more than eight times. The immediate question is whether the project can proceed while a separate dispute over a vacated portion of West Street — needed for a circulation feature — remains unresolved.
The current owner, 500 Summit Avenue Owner LLC, sued Jersey City in Hudson County Superior Court on October 8, alleging the city has not executed a deed transferring the vacated West Street property. The site plan application, filed in late 2025 by SP 500 Summit-Dev Co LLC, an entity affiliated with Jersey City-based Panepinto Properties, proposes a 42-story tower on the assemblage. Jersey Digs reported that 500 Summit Avenue Owner LLC is based in offices shared with Madison Realty Capital, a New York-based real estate firm.
At an October 27 hearing, Judge David B. Katz considered the dispute. Eugene Paolino, who represents SP 500 Summit-Dev Co before the Planning Board, said Katz indicated the board may not consider West Street circulation and drainage as part of the application. The judge did not bar the board from reviewing the application altogether. Paolino said the West Street property is outside the application, although the project requires a circulation feature there, and that the applicant filed a separate action seeking the street’s vacation.
A Deed Dating Back to a 2012 Settlement
The dispute traces to a 2012 settlement between Jersey City and Robinhood Plaza, then-owner of the assemblage. Robinhood Plaza had sued over a 2010 redevelopment plan that it said left the property without development potential. The settlement allowed Robinhood Plaza to pursue a 42-story building, provided it delivered a one-acre park and public plaza between Summit and Baldwin Avenues. It also required the city to vacate part of West Street, enabling a building 17 stories taller than the height restrictions then in place.
Jersey City passed an ordinance vacating the portion of West Street in February 2018, but did not execute the deed completing the transfer, according to the complaint. The current owner alleges that officials failed to sign and deliver the deed needed to record the transfer and that the city has not enforced the vacation approved by ordinance.
Ownership Changes and a Bankruptcy Complicate the Claim
The city’s response challenges the current owner’s claim to the street. Jersey City contends that 500 Summit Mazal LLC acquired the property from Robinhood Plaza in 2016, while the city was still in active litigation with Robinhood Plaza. The city and 500 Summit Mazal later settled their redevelopment dispute in 2020. According to the city’s account, the court order resolving that case said prior agreements — including the 2012 settlement and 2018 ordinance — were merged, waived, superseded and replaced in total.
500 Summit Avenue Owner LLC says it acquired the assemblage in 2024 through a bankruptcy proceeding tied to the liquidation of 500 Summit Mazal LLC, along with rights to the West Street property under the 2012 settlement. Jersey City disputes that account, arguing the prior owner’s 2023 bankruptcy and liquidation eliminated earlier claims without transferring them by deed, and that 500 Summit Mazal never transferred rights to the West Street properties. The competing claims have not been resolved.
City Says the Application Leans on Land It Doesn't Own
The city also argues that the site plan application relies on municipal property for setbacks, vehicle turning and drainage without the city’s consent, making it legally defective. Jersey City has asked the court to declare the application defective and bar the owner from developing the site. The developer and the city were scheduled to appear before Judge Katz again in December.
At the Planning Board, Santo Alampi recommended carrying the application to the next regular meeting, scheduled for December 8, and the board agreed. A city planning agenda document shows the application had also been carried, with preservation of notice, following a June 9 meeting earlier this year.
What Was Once Pitched for the Site
The current owner’s plans for the site have not been confirmed. An earlier proposal offers one measure of the project’s scale: HAP Investments unveiled plans in January 2021 for a 42-story, 902-unit apartment tower, according to Real Estate NJ. That version included a nearly one-acre public park, retail space and an 8,500-square-foot community center.
6sqft reported that the proposed park was designed with an open-air terrace, seating, a playground and a dog run, while the community center would include flexible space for art, culture, classes and meetings. The proposal also included a 200-space parking garage, with spots reserved for visitors to the Hilltop Neighborhood Association and the community center. The outlet reported that HAP Investments sued Jersey City in 2018, alleging officials were intentionally delaying the project.
Architecture firm CetraRuddy, listed as the project’s architect of record, later updated the exterior design with beige-hued cladding and a more delineated window system, according to Vertical Urbanism. The outlet said the project remained in pre-development, with no anticipated completion date released by the project team. The current dispute concerns not the design, but the parties’ competing claims to a stretch of West Street.
How the proposal fits Journal Square’s plans
The Journal Square 2060 Redevelopment Plan sets district-wide goals that include transit-oriented housing and public open spaces. The earlier 500 Summit proposal’s 902 apartments and nearly one-acre park offer a point of comparison; the current owner’s plans and their scale have not been confirmed. The Port Authority’s January 2025 PATH ridership report lists 544,062 for Journal Square in its monthly totals. That figure provides a snapshot of station use, but by itself does not show how ridership has changed over recent years or establish a link to the tower’s delay.
