Erin Lanahan 
After years of delays, the Hilton Hotel project slated for the Hoboken waterfront is inching towards a start. The plan for the hotel was announced in 2018, but years of litigation, project negotiations, COVID, and work with the City slowed progress. The proposed 20-story hotel will include ground-floor retail space, a lobby-level restaurant and bar, meeting and event spaces, and a rooftop bar and terrace. In November 2025, the project was awarded tax credits under a statewide program, which helped the project clear a financial hurdle. Here’s what we know about the Hilton Hotel project in Hoboken, the progress made, and when we could expect construction to begin.
The Background
In 2012, the Hoboken City Council approved the rezoning of the area of land on Sinatra Drive between 1st and Newark Streets, which the US Postal Service owned. It was declared an “Area In Need Of Rehabilitation” and started a long process to study possible uses for the property.
The hotel project started in 2018 when KMS Developers were approved by the City to redevelop the site, and then announced plans for a new hotel property on the Hoboken waterfront. The team specializes in public-private partnerships. The final site plan was approved in 2020.
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The team behind the project, KMS Developers, specializes in public-private partnerships. This is a type of project where the government works with a private sector company to create agreements for financing, building, and operating projects. The government will offer concessions such as tax credits or special permits in exchange for the operator’s commitment to community-driven goals such as certain building standards, hiring quotas, and discounted rent for local businesses. These are often extremely beneficial when a large project is involved, such as a sports stadium or transit hub, because of the size and complexity of the project.
While these PPP agreements are often pointed to as a successful collaboration between the private and public sectors, things can get sticky in the process. Critics say that these agreements blur lines between incentives and outright bribery, are ripe for self-dealing for the parties involved, and have other negative aspects.
In the case of the Hilton Hoboken Waterfront, a lawsuit about some of those agreements was the cause for a significant delay in moving forward. Once KMS was conditionally approved by the City in 2018, two businesses that owned land near the parcel sued. The two businesses claimed that the payments made to the City were more of a ‘giveback’ than anything supporting community interests. The case was resolved in 2019 in favor of the plaintiffs: the Court found that the payments made by the developer to the City did not have a close enough nexus to the actual development. The City and the developer reworked that aspect of the contract and were sued again by the same plaintiffs. This time, the Court found in favor of the defendant, the City, saying that the new agreement, creating a $3.2 million escrow fund for future projects, had enough of a nexus to the project.
In August of 2022, it was announced that the sale of the parcel of land owned by the US Postal Service was complete. In a statement, the developer said: “After 10 years of working with the USPS and pursuing local permitting approvals, the purchase of the property on August 3rd marks the latest in a long list of project development milestones and brings the project one step closer to becoming a reality. The hotel will be located on the subdivided lot facing the waterfront and will have the address of One Sinatra Drive.”
“As part of this redevelopment, the Post Office will be the beneficiary of significant improvements and operational upgrades that will improve its ability to efficiently continue to serve the Hoboken community. With the purchase of the property completed and local approvals secured, we are now working to finalize project drawings and to secure the remaining pieces of construction financing,” said Dennis Martin, Principal at KMS Development Partners.
In the same statement, KMS said that work is anticipated to begin in Spring or Summer 2023. No construction has begun at that site since that statement. The hotel is anticipated to have 349 guest rooms and will be 20 stories tall. There will be valet parking on-site, 9,000 square feet of meeting and event space, and a 6,000 square foot rooftop deck and terrace for events.
In a statement to TAPInto Hoboken, Mayor Ravi Bhalla said, “The Hilton Hotel Project will directly benefit residents across the City, creating hundreds of jobs, millions in tax revenues, and critical improvements to neighborhood infrastructure. This project is a win-win for the City, and I look forward to breaking ground on the new hotel next year.”
2025 Update
On November 17th, 2025, the New Jersey Economic Development Authority, or the NJEDA, approved a tax credit under the Aspire Program to support the development of this hotel in Hoboken. A new developer called One SD Hoboken is taking over and now developing the project at the site of the former parking lot of the Hoboken Post Office on Sinatra Drive. The project includes the creation of a new public park, streetscape, and sidewalk enhancements so as not to disturb the flow of pedestrians along Sinatra Drive. A valet service utilizing an existing underground parking garage is planned for guest parking. One SD Hoboken was awarded the tax credit award of 60% of the total project cost, not to exceed $63.4 million.
The Aspire Program is a place-based economic development program created under the New Jersey Economic Recovery Act of 2020 (ERA) to support mixed-use, transit-oriented development with tax credits to commercial and residential real estate development projects that have financing gaps. Because it’s a performance-based program, all projects must certify that commitments established at the time of approval have been met before receiving their first disbursement of tax credits.
“Under Governor Murphy’s leadership, the Aspire program has supported meaningful transit-oriented development projects throughout the state, helping grow communities and create jobs,” said NJEDA Chief Executive Officer Tim Sullivan. “Adding a new major hotel to Hoboken’s iconic waterfront will attract tourism and spur economic activity in the area, building a stronger, more resilient city that will benefit Hoboken residents for decades to come.”
“The new hotel represents a win for our city, bringing new jobs, open space, and vital infrastructure improvements that will benefit residents and visitors alike. It’s a prime example of what we can accomplish when local and state partners work together toward a shared vision for smart, sustainable growth,” Hoboken Mayor Ravi S. Bhalla shared in a statement.
“This moves the long-stalled development closer to reality and signals significant change coming to Hoboken’s waterfront,” City Councilman Paul Presinzano said in a newsletter. No construction timeline has been announced as of December 2025.
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