The towers are part of a larger urban renewal project for the long vacant parcel, where film studios were located when Fort Lee was the home America's first motion picture industry. The Barrymore Film Center was built adjacent to the towers.[10] An adjacent project called Hudson Lights includes retail, hotel and office space, including a three-screen movie theater.[11] The 16-acre (6.5 ha) site on which the Modern (east parcel) and Hudson Lights (west parcel) are built had been undeveloped for close to 47 years.[12] Civic leaders in Ft. Lee had sought to develop the vacant, 16-acre site since the 1970s, two attempts to put together a project failed in between 1970 and 1980, and in 2008, a $1 billion development project by Centuria Corp., which then owned the site, fell through.[13]
There was a controversy in which developers had tried to bribe Fort Lee's mayor via an organized crime representative. The mayor reported the incident, wore a wire, and exposed the attempt, as documented in the 1976 book The Bribe.[14][15][16]William Zeckendorf acquired the site, but construction plans never materialized.[17][18][19]Harry B. Helmsley later owned the parcels, but the intended project was not constructed.[20] Town and Country Developers bought the tract from his estate in 2005. Eventually, SJP and Tucker Development acquired the two sites.
Modern 1 & 2 seen from the George Washington Bridge during construction
In 2016 an agreement was made with the town that The Modern and Hudson Lights would make Payments in Lieu of Taxes (PILOT).[21] Developers of the project, SJP Properties, are funding the construction of new sewer lines to the town to accommodate the new residents created by the development.[22] An approximately 2-acre (0.81 ha) area between the buildings was deeded back to the borough for use as public park.[12] It does not include units which contribute to the boroughs affordable state required housing stock.[23] The borough also anticipated traffic issues and a larger school population due to the new residents.[24][25]
The project contains 75,000 square feet of indoor and outdoor amenities: an infinity pool, barbecue stations, basketball and volleyball courts, a lawn with an outdoor jumbotron, a screening room, a residents lounge, a business center, a spa/sauna, a fitness center, indoor and outdoor children's play areas, a covered dog walk and pet spa, a golf simulation room and a karaoke/gaming room.[26]
^"The Modern at Fort Lee". Architect Magazine The Journal of the American Institute of Architects. April 29, 2019. Retrieved June 16, 2019.
^Morris, Sebastian (22 June 2018). ""The Modern II" Celebrates Grand Opening in Fort Lee, New Jersey". New York YIMBY. Retrieved 15 June 2019. Designed by Elkus Manfredi Architects, the buildings stand 47 stories tall and comprise one of the tallest twin-towered developments in the world.
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