A three-story office building on River Road in Summit is slated to come down and be replaced by 198 apartments, and the Planning Board could vote on the plan as soon as Nov. 9 (via Jersey Digs). Russo Development and Onyx Equities are behind the project at 190 River Road, a roughly 4.4-acre site near the John F. Kennedy Parkway, Route 24 and the city's municipal golf course.
Of the 198 units, 168 would be market-rate and 30 would be affordable, according to Jersey Digs. The new building would rise four residential stories on top of the site's existing two-level parking structure, which stays in place. Plans also call for rooftop courtyards, green roofs to handle rainwater, and added landscaping to screen neighbors.
The project grew out of Summit's affordable housing fight. Russo was one of three parties that challenged the city's plan, and settlements with Russo and Fair Share Housing Center came out of confidential mediation that ran into late December 2025, Patch reported. Jersey Digs puts the Russo deal in January 2026, and a city summary says the court approved related settlement agreements on Feb. 12.
That city summary lays out what Summit gets in return for allowing the units. Russo agreed to put $1 million into the city's affordable housing trust fund, aimed at rehab work at Summit Housing Authority properties. It also agreed to spend up to $100,000 on landscaping at the golf course across the street and to donate about 1.8 acres at 47-53 Shunpike Road for a 25-unit supportive housing project for veterans. A shuttle to the train station and up to 25 downtown business permit parking spaces are part of the package, too.
The site plan has been before the Planning Board since summer. The city's application page shows the hearing was first set for July 27 and carried several times, most recently to a special meeting Nov. 9. The applicant, listed as OE 190 River Road LLC, is seeking preliminary and final site plan approval and resubmitted revised materials on Sept. 18 and Oct. 2.
Pedestrian safety has been the main sticking point. Board members have focused on kids crossing River Road to get to school, Jersey Digs reported. The developers have proposed new sidewalk links and flashing pedestrian warning lights, the board has talked about whether a lower speed limit would help, and the applicant agreed to work with city engineers, police and county officials on the crossing.
Traffic counts were redone in September with school in session. The developer's traffic engineer testified the results lined up with earlier studies and that the project wouldn't require major changes at the intersections studied. Other open items include emergency access, drainage, landscaping, how the building will look from surrounding homes and a second way in and out if flooding blocks the main entrance.
NJ21st, reviewing the filings before the August hearing, reported that the existing garage holds 584 spaces, with 384 assigned to the apartments, 58 of them EV spaces, and roughly 175 that could be leased to a third party. The traffic study projected 75 trips in the morning peak hour and 74 in the evening, fewer than the old office use, according to that review.
It also reported that the plan was reworked into four independent structures with a fourth exit stair after the fire department raised ladder-reach and travel-distance concerns, and that an underground flood-conveyance channel runs through the site.
Even with the zoning in place, construction can't start until the Planning Board approves the site plan, Jersey Digs noted.
Why it matters for Contractors
This is a big-builder job, and a project this size usually goes to a general contractor with an established bench of subs, so a small shop isn't likely to land the building itself. But a 198-unit podium-style project on top of a reused garage throws off a lot of smaller work once it's approved: demolition of the office building, sidewalk and curb work on River Road, landscaping and screening, green roof installation, EV charger wiring, and eventually unit turnover and punch work.
The Nov. 9 meeting is the date to watch. If the board approves the plan, the conditions it attaches, especially around the River Road crossing, sidewalks and drainage, will spell out a lot of the site work. Those documents get posted on the city's Planning Board page, a free way to see the scope before trade packages go out.
Also worth tracking: the veterans housing on Shunpike Road. A 25-unit affordable project is a size where local builders and trades have a better shot, though no developer or timeline for it has been announced.