Jersey City Rising [Archive] - Page 12

JCMAN320

April 28th, 2008, 11:02 PM

EDITORIALS
Bettering our own national treasure

Friday, April 25, 2008

Liberty State Park in Jersey City is the most visited park in the state. Walk by the parking lot near the historic Central Railroad terminal and see license plates on vehicles that drive here from all over the nation.

Some use the park as a jumping off point to visit the Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island, and many continue to enjoy the surroundings and vistas from this glorious open space.

The amazing fact is that there is so much more of this park that has yet to be open to the public. There are 234 acres of woods, wetlands and salt marshes that are fenced off because of concerns about toxic materials left from when the area was filled with industrial waste.

Now $20.8 million in federal funds has been authorized to restore these acres as part of a $32 million project that will also use $11.2 million in state funds to expand the park to the dimensions once envisioned by Morris Pesin, a former Jersey City councilman who started a movement to create Liberty State Park in 1958.

Along with the parkland that now exists, there are plans to create three areas of freshwater wetlands and a 40-acre salt marsh that will be formed by cutting a channel to the Hudson River.

Park hikers will also be able to take advantage of paths through another 110 acres of woodlands, and make use of bird blinds and viewing decks. Recreational opportunities will come from a 30-foot-high mound in the park that will be open for picnicking in warm weather and sledding in the winter.

A groundbreaking is planned for the fall, and construction should take about three years to complete. The project partners are the Army Corps of Engineers, the state Department of Environmental Protection and the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey.

This newspaper agrees with U.S. Sen. Robert Menendez, who said: "Nature is not something that should only be preserved in the national parks."

A legacy of Jersey City and its citizens, Liberty State Park is fast becoming not just a state treasure, but one that could easily be mistaken for an asset within the National Park Service.

JCMAN320

April 30th, 2008, 12:43 AM

A building seen on this forum before now has a website. It is a block from "The Beacon" at 650-654 Montgomery Street and has 22 "boutique" units. Brunelleschi Construction is doing the renovation and construction of the building. The official name of the building is the "m650 FLATS; European Contemporary Residences".

Here are the websites for Brunelleschi Construction and m650:

http://www.bruncon.com/

http://bruncon.com/properties/m650flats/index.htm

Enjoy! :)

Malcontent

April 30th, 2008, 07:10 PM

There had been some activity south of Gulls Cove recently. I think they are preparing the lot for something. What was supposed to go up there? If I remember correctly, was it an Applied rental building?

JCMAN320

April 30th, 2008, 07:41 PM

I believe you are correct malcontent

ianmac47

May 1st, 2008, 02:28 PM

I believe this is the building that is going in south of Gulls Cove

http://www.appliedco.com/aboutUs/pipeline/liberty_harbor.shtml

it shows the light rail at the base.

JCMAN320

May 1st, 2008, 03:07 PM

That site is where the Hilton Hotel is suppose to go.

'Live Where You Work' mortgages for Jersey City

Thursday, May 01, 2008
JOURNAL STAFF
Newhouse News Service

Mayor Jerramiah T. Healy, joined by state Department of Community Affairs Commissioner Joseph V. Doria Jr. and other state officials, announced yesterday the start of a low-interest mortgage program for people employed in Jersey City who want to live there.

The "Live Where You Work" program also provides down payment assistance equal to 5 percent of the first mortgage loan for qualified buyers, officials said.

"Jersey City's proximity to New York's high-priced real estate market drives up the price of homes here," said Healy.

"We are pleased the state has recognized how valuable a program this will be to make the American Dream of home ownership possible for many Jersey City families."

Run by the state Housing and Mortgage Finance Agency, the program provides 30-or 40-year-fixed rate mortgages at 6.125 percent interest for people who will live and work in the city.

In urban target areas, parts of the city where the state is trying to encourage home ownership, the income caps are $98,160 for a one-or two-person household and $114,520 for households of 3 or more people. In these areas, price caps are $525,090 for a one-family house, and more than $1 million for a four-family house.

Jersey City is the second municipality to join the program. Trenton announced its participation earlier this year.

Those interested in finding out more about the program can call 1-800-654-6873 or visit http://livewhereyouwork.jerseycitynj.gov.

ianmac47

May 2nd, 2008, 10:23 AM

I believe the Hilton is actually further south on Marin than the site immediately south of the light rail line.

JCMAN320

May 3rd, 2008, 06:55 PM

Ahh yes you are correct Ianmac.

Seniors housing is proposed for Hub

Friday, May 02, 2008
By EARL MORGAN
JOURNAL STAFF WRITER

Plans for the redevelopment of Martin Luther King Drive in Jersey City have hit a number of pitfalls since the city's effort to restore the thoroughfare to its earlier glory as a commercial mecca began about a decade ago.

Now a private nonprofit organization is planning to construct a $21 million, 11-story, senior citizens housing complex at King Drive and Warner Avenue.

The proposed development, dubbed the Bay Senior Housing complex, will include 67 market-rate apartments and a community center that will include an adult training center and educational programs, as well as after-school and summer camp activities for neighborhood youth.

The project is consistent with changes in the King Drive redevelopment plan initiated during the administration of Mayor Glenn D. Cunningham which focused on housing over commercial development for the south end of the street.

The nonprofit developer, the Community Outreach Team, is hoping to raise the money to construct the project itself and kicked off its fund-raising efforts with a gala dinner Wednesday at Mayfair Farms in West Orange.

The Rev. Kevin E. Knight, who serves as president and executive director of the Community Outreach Team, is also the pastor of Heavenly Temple Church, which is adjacent to the site of the proposed housing.

Knight said he sees the organization's mission as "fostering community development and neighborhood revitalization for Greenville and surrounding disenfranchised communities."

Knight, who is the oldest son in a family of five girls and two boys, grew up in Jersey City during the late 1960s.

"God's gift of caring and strong parents enable us to survive the toughest days and to come through successfully," Knight said.

He said he hopes to break ground on the project early next year.

---------------------------------------------------------------

Can't find renderings online, but saw renderings in the Jersey Journal, looks great; would be a great boost for that area.

New Guy

May 4th, 2008, 04:35 PM

Good info on m650 JC Man,

JSQ is commin on strong!!

...and the government center project on Mill Rd just off of Montgomery is taking shape.

JCMAN320

May 8th, 2008, 09:22 PM

Yea newguy it really is great to see JSQ start taking shape!! Very exciting going to school in the area to see the change. :)

-----------------

From Brooklynfoo's website jcconstruction:

"This Saturday, May 10th at 3pm, everyone will be given a rare opportunity to tour the existing and under construction of the renovation at the Beacon.

Restoration Tour of “The Beacon,” the Former Jersey City Medical Center

Saturday May 10, 2008 ― 3 pm to 4:30 pm
Posted April 28, 2008

Cost: $10.00, $7.00 for seniors and students with current ID. Meet at the new lobby of The Beacon. Turn into the main entrance at Beacon Way . Valet parking is $5.00. Metered parking is available on Montgomery Street . Rain or Shine!

Guided by Ulana Zakalak, restoration consultant for the Beacon.

In celebration of Historic Preservation Month, Metrovest Equities and the Jersey City Landmarks Conservancy invite the public to tour the magnificent restoration of the Art Deco former Jersey City Medical Center . This first ever public tour will be led by The Beacon's own restoration consultant, Ulana Zakalak, president of Zakalak Restoration Arts, LLC. Highlights will include the magnificent new lobby, the restored Broadway corridor, the Rialto Theater, and the former lobby, now the billiards room, complete with the newly conserved Allen George Newman bas-relief, From Myth to Medicine. Come see Mayor Frank Hague's office, now converted intothe Hague Poker Room, as well as restored lobbies and the Roosevelt reading room.Visit the unparalleled amenities floor which includes Club Aqua and the Grotto Lounge. The tour will also take in the unrestored Murdoch Hall

For more information, visit the site below.
Tour the Beacon: http://jclandmarks.org/"

http://jcconstruction.blogspot.com/2008/05/beacon.html

nafco

May 10th, 2008, 07:05 PM

i went to the beacon today. pretty awesome. didnt realize how large scale and sprawling the spaces in the buildings are. its really great what theyve done to restore the interior finishes. this will be a great addition to the city once its fully completed.

JCMAN320

May 10th, 2008, 07:54 PM

^^^Nafco I was there on the tour!!! I was the guy in the blue American Eagle polo shirt, denim shorts, and puma sneakers. Which one wre you??

I loved it. It was amazing what they have done so far and can't wait to see more!!! I love it!!!

tbal

May 10th, 2008, 11:40 PM

So I went across the Hudson this afternoon to check out how the overall skyline is shaping up on our side of the River. Here's a quick look at Downtown JC's growing skyline, taken today:

http://i58.photobucket.com/albums/g245/jcwalkingman/51008045.jpg?t=1210473056 (javascript:void(0);)

At 2 Second Street, the tower crane was being assembled this afternoon. The sixth floor is under construction, which means that the actual tower itself should start shooting skyward soon! I can't wait. :)

http://i58.photobucket.com/albums/g245/jcwalkingman/51008019.jpg?t=1210473195 (javascript:void(0);)

(more at www.urbanconstructionindex.com/jersey_city (http://www.urbanconstructionindex.com/jersey_city))

In other news, there is definitely something going on at 337 Third Street (near 274 Newark Ave), where an excavator is currently sitting and was being used to further clean up the site.

Next to the Madame Claude Cafe on Fourth Street, there are two new buildings that I mentioned a few weeks ago that now stand at 3 stories (I have a feeling that this is as tall as they will be, however).

There was some more activity at 361 Newark Ave this week, with an internal fence of some sort (I don't know the purpose) going up within the site itself.

If it's nice out tomorrow, I'll try to get some pics of these on here...

citybooster

May 12th, 2008, 12:23 PM

A couple of nights ago I saw the city council session introducing the amended Monaco development abatement plan on Channel 1,obviously taped from mid April.I'm throwing this to JC Man,tbal,Ianmac,anyone...do you happen to know when a final vote will take place?I thought Steven Fulop made a couple of really good points.Roseland got the original abatement in 2006 and sat on the project too long,and last year the credit crunch began to really constrict deverlopment here.They should have started building soon after approval.Fulop also believes that it should be required that projects granted abatements should proceed in a timely manner afterward.

And also,am I correct to understand the San Remo and expansion of the Doubletree Hotel are not part of the new project?

nafco

May 12th, 2008, 01:42 PM

hey jcman, i was in the black t-shirt, taking pictures here and there. anyways, yea it was a pretty sweet tour and the views from the top were just amazing. im going to post them on my site tomorrow probably.

also, good to see the progress at 2 second street. good updates tbal.

ianmac47

May 13th, 2008, 11:40 PM

The San Remo and Monaco Towers werepresented by the architect as a single project, at least from the original plans circulating on the internet. But I don't think that means that they are necessarily going to be built together. I bet Roseland owns the whole lot and leased land to the doubletree, or some similar arrangement. The original renderings showed a little knob of a building between the new towers-- the hotel. So its still going to be there nestled between the towers when everything is finally built out.

I absolutely agree that abatements should expire to encourage projects to move forward in a timely manner. I also think variances should be non transferable. Consider the project on Newark Avenue -- 361 Newark I believe. That is now for sale after getting a variance for a 12 story tower. Had the developer gone ahead with the original six story building, there would be people living there already instead of another empty lot.

*****

According to a post on JC List, 307 Barrow Street, the parking lot on the northwest corner of barrow and wayne, is seeking approval for a 12 unit, 4 story building. This is not Columbus Corner, the previous proposal for the east side of Barrow at the same block (which would have wrapped around to columbus).

*****

On the photoblog, I posted a photo of Ivy House using an email to blogger feature for on the fly publishing of photos. In effect, publishing photos directly from my phone to the blog, with the intent of increasing the frequency of photo posts. Last week I also made a few similar posts using Flickr (which I was not entirely satisfied with). But anyway, the photos sent by email are smaller and formatted differently than those manually edited. (Manually editing the photos produces indisputably better photos because I crop, adjust lighting and contrast, ect, but is time intensive. Thus, with on the fly email publishing, photos will be published more frequently, but of a lower quality, unedited.) Is this photo of Ivy House good enough?

http://newyorkssixth.com/newyorkssixthphotoblog/2008/05/ivy-house.html

Your feedback is appreciated. Thanks.

JCMAN320

May 14th, 2008, 04:18 AM

Council to vote on appraiser for PJP parcel

Wednesday, May 14, 2008
By EARL MORGAN
JOURNAL STAFF WRITER

The Jersey City City Council is scheduled to vote tonight on a resolution to hire a firm to appraise roughly 32 acres of the old PJP landfill site the city wants to buy.

Located between Route 440 and Hackensack River under the Pulaski Highway, this portion of the PJP Landfill is owned privately by Edwin Seigel, who has filed a lawsuit arguing the city has to buy the property since zoning changes have sapped the property of its value.

The city wants to buy the property to move two city agencies there - the Jersey City Incinerator Authority and the Department of Public Works.

Both agencies are located on land off Route 440 further south that is part of a deal the city has struck with Honeywell International to develop roughly 100 acres of chromium-tainted land.

The other half of the PJP landfill site is being turned into a warehouse.

Waste Management is responsible for the clean-up plan on the Seigel property, which was the site of underground fires for several years.

The state Department of Environmental Protection has already signed off on Waste Management's clean up plan. But that plan was designed for "no further use" at the site.

Now that the city wants to use the site to house two agencies and create open space, the city wants DEP to reopen negotiations with Waste Management.

Hiring the appraiser is on the agenda for tonight's meeting, to be held at 6 p.m. at Middle School 4, 107 Bright St.

EARL MORGAN can be reached at emorgan@jjournal.com

JCMAN320

May 14th, 2008, 04:21 AM

May build adjunct City Hall next to the Med Center

Wednesday, May 14, 2008

A plan to build an adjunct Jersey City City Hall on a site adjacent to the Jersey City Medical Center was unveiled at Monday's City Council caucus meeting.

In the planning stage, the four-story development would be built on city-owned property on Jersey Avenue behind the Jersey City Medical Center and would include 120,000 square feet of space to house city departments and offices, and a parking deck with 130 spaces plus 50,000 square feet of retail space on the ground floor, said representatives of DMR, a Hasbrouck Heights developer.

The parking facility and the retail space would most likely be managed by private firms, officials said.

There's also the possibility the JCMC would construct a medical arts building to house office to serve doctors affiliated with the hospital, officials said.

Numbers are still being crunched to determine the cost of the project, said City Council President Mariano Vega.

EARL MORGAN

nafco

May 14th, 2008, 01:55 PM

photo looks fine ianmac. plus, when its blown up, the resolution is pretty good for a camera phone.

tbal

May 15th, 2008, 12:39 AM

ianmac47 said:

Consider the project on Newark Avenue -- 361 Newark I believe. That is now for sale after getting a variance for a 12 story tower. Had the developer gone ahead with the original six story building, there would be people living there already instead of another empty lot.

I agree. The same type of situation resulted at a sizable lot on Bay Street near Grove Street. The site was transferred to a second developer after the original developer obtained a variance for changing the allowable height from 4 to 5 stories. The second developer told the Zoning Board back in the Fall he would begin construction right away (after they granted him a variance for increasing floor-to-ceiling height), but almost 9 months later, construction has yet to begin.

Regarding the Monaco/San Remo/Double Tree - the Double Tree is to be expanded (horizontally) as part of the master plan for the site (if I'm not mistaken, the plans call for the addition of 100 rooms (?)). The 'Double Tree' building itself is being leased out by Roseland to the Hilton hotel chain (of which Double Tree is a member).

JCMAN320

May 19th, 2008, 06:17 PM

'World class' waterfront park planned

Monday, May 19, 2008
By MEGAN DeMARCO
JOURNAL STAFF WRITER

Jersey City residents may have access to a world-class waterfront park within five years.

The Jersey City Waterfront Park Conservancy, a non-profit group formed at the end of 2007, is working to connect several properties along Jersey City's waterfront to make one contiguous park.

Councilman Steve Fulop said the park would offer spectacular views of Lower Manhattan and the Statue of Liberty.

"It's one opportunity the city and state has to create a world-class park," Fulop said. "There's no other piece of property like it."

The area spans over 10 acres, according to Matthew Johnson, JCWPC president, and includes several parcels of land that are owned by the state, the city, and the property owners association of the Colgate Center.

"Essentially what we're trying to do as an organization is be the entity that pulls this vision together for the community," Johnson said.

Johnson said the JCWPC has considered several park designers, but they've narrowed the list to the final five. He hopes to have the winner picked by July.

Bill Gray, JCWPC treasurer, said the conservancy does not have a preconceived idea of what the park will look like, but is only trying to facilitate the process. Once the park designer is chosen, he said, they'll hold public workshops to discuss ideas.

Gray estimated that the project will cost more than $20 million. He said after a park designer is selected, the JCWPC will go to the city for money, as well as apply for Green Acre grants.The Green Acres program, part of the state Department of Environmental Protection, provides low interest loans and grants to municipal and county governments to acquire open space and develop outdoor recreational facilities.

The state of New Jersey has committed $15 million to complete a 20-mile walkway which will stretch from Hoboken to Bayonne and go around the new park, Fulop said. The walkway is currently 14 miles and ends north of the Goldman Sachs building in Jersey City.

Goldman Sachs is also contributing $1 million which was put away when the building was constructed for the piece of property, Fulop said.

The JCWPC has been fundraising to raise private funds. Scheduled events include a clam bake in June and a "Race for Open Space" in October.

Johnson said issues of maintenance and upkeep for the park will be negotiated among the various property owners later in the process. For now, he said, the focus is on the design.

Gray said if the state contributes money, he hopes construction on the park will begin in the next two years and the park will be completed within five.

"It's a great thing for Jersey City as a whole," Fulop said. "I'm super excited about it."

JCMAN320

May 20th, 2008, 07:54 PM

Our Towns
Adjusting Vision of Waterfront Arts District to Include High Rises

By PETER APPLEBOME
Published: May 15, 2008

JERSEY CITY - Across the street from the hulking remains of the Hudson & Manhattan Powerhouse, which once provided electricity for what is now the PATH rail system, is a mountain of bricks and rubble in the middle of a sprawling vacant lot.

Once it was the site of the Lorillard Tobacco and Snuff Manufactory, the largest tobacco factory in the country. Later it was a thoroughly magical warren for hundreds of artists, and the inspiration for an arts district envisioned as a way to revive a decrepit, forgotten warehouse district near the Jersey City waterfront. Current plans call for it to become a 52-story residential tower designed to look like a precarious stack of blocks.

Whether or not you care to see Jersey City as New York’s sixth borough, you could write a pretty interesting urban history centered on the 12 or so blocks now designated as its Powerhouse Arts District. But before you did, you would have to sort through two distinct story lines about how the tale has evolved.

One is a story of betrayal, how almost two decades of hard work and advocacy that produced a visionary plan for a low-rise arts district that preserved the area’s past was shunted aside in favor of plans for megatowers and cookie-cutter urban development. The second is a story about the malleability of urban life, how neighborhoods always evolve and how no planning document can ever be exempt from the vagaries of market forces and social trends.

It’s probably appropriate that either narrative culminates at the same point: a shootout over an abandoned matzo factory. In this case, it was a bitterly contested decision by the City Council last month to approve a proposal by the giant home builder Toll Brothers to construct three residential towers of 30 stories or more. Two would be on the site of an old Manischewitz factory; one would be across the street.

It came after a heated meeting at which nearly all the 45 or so people who spoke opposed changes in the plan. Nearby residents have threatened lawsuits to stop the project.

“We’re insulted by this scheme,” said Jill Edelman, president of the neighborhood association in the area. “It’s not only not in keeping with the vision of the redevelopment plan, but it goes counter to it and it destroys it.”

The current chapter of this saga dates back to the early 1980s, when Jersey City’s real estate boom seemed a contradiction in terms. Led by a painter named Charles Kessler and inspired by a burgeoning downtown art scene, residents and officials began thinking of redeveloping some of the most hopeless real estate in the city as an arts district with galleries and housing for artists.

After various iterations and much high-level study, including an enthusiastic report by the Urban Land Institute, the result in 2004 was designation as the Powerhouse Arts District, with a plan designed to maintain the district’s historic character, low-rise feel and mix of art and housing.

In retrospect, that plan probably died with the pile of rubble at the old tobacco factory when the city — facing lawsuits from the developer who owned the building, which had since been converted into artists’ studios — allowed him to knock down the building and build a high rise instead. “That was the first domino,” said Mr. Kessler. “So now we have Toll Brothers.”

But city officials say that in truth, the plan, however romantic it seemed, was flawed from the start. It didn’t provide enough critical mass for a successful district, it couldn’t generate enough revenue to support retail projects envisioned for the area, it didn’t support renovation of the one truly iconic building — the powerhouse — and it didn’t provide enough density for the rail service now in place.

“The idea of keeping density extremely low on a PATH stop is a luxury the city can’t afford,” said Robert Antonicello, executive director of the Jersey City Redevelopment Agency. “It’s not consistent with smart growth, and it’s not what’s best for the whole city. What’s disappointing to me is that instead of embracing what’s best for the entire city you’ve got a group that instead has taken a more myopic Nimby approach.”

AND so it will go.

The city talks about a broader district, covering 25 blocks instead of 12, an arts district with entertainment space, not just visual arts. Critics point out that the city isn’t hurting for high-rise development, it’s drowning in it. What it almost had, they said, was something distinctive, something based in the city’s old industrial past — not a substitute for high-rise development, but a bit of diversity that’s an alternative to it.

In the Kabuki world of development fights, it’s hard to be too surprised at how this chapter played out, but Mr. Kessler said he was still disappointed. “We have plenty of high rises, we have an entire waterfront that’s suitable for high rises,” he said. “I expect a developer to try to make as much profit as he can. But here we had an incredible resource that speaks to Jersey City’s history like nothing else — railway history, industrial history — and rather than fight to save it, the city just folded.”

E-mail: peappl@nytimes.com

JCMAN320

May 23rd, 2008, 06:36 PM

MAKEOVER UNMASKS CHAMBER'S WONDERS
Back to 1896 elegance, plus air conditioning

Friday, May 23, 2008
By MEGAN DeMARCO
JOURNAL STAFF WRITER

When the renovation of the Jersey City City Council chamber is complete in the fall, council members and the public will get to experience the room just as it was in 1896 - with a few high-tech amenities.

The renovation is intended to "make (the room) look and feel like the original room" but still "accommodate it for modern use," said architect Eric Holtermann, of Holt Morgan Russell Architects.

"This is a long overdue project," Mayor Jerramiah Healy said. "It's going to be a resplendent, beautiful old reception room."

The walls of the new room will be painted light red, the original color, and the original stained glass panels in the domed ceiling will be cleaned and restored.

Four chandeliers are undergoing restoration in Philadelphia and will hang from the ceiling, Holtermann said.

Aesthetics aside, members of the council and the public alike will appreciate a feature that wasn't available in 1896 - air conditioning.

The $1.9 million renovation began in January and some surprises have been uncovered, literally. Holtermann said beautiful recessed arches were discovered on the original side walls that had been obscured under layers of later renovations.

In a back corner of the chamber, a decorative stencil was revealed on the wall as well, Holtermann said. The original stencil will be replicated on the walls in the finished room. He said the chamber had accumulated several layers of wall coverings from different renovations since the turn of the last century - including a carpet layer that was installed in the 1960s.

The chamber had become a "hodgepodge of different styles," Holtermann said.

The council chamber's new features will include a projector over the door pointed at a large screen in the front of the chamber. Each council member will also have a computer monitor with a touchpad. Modern lighting will be added.

The project is on schedule and on budget, Holtermann said.

Glenn Wrigley, chief architect for the city, said the project is funded by $1.6 million from the city's capital improvement funds and a $300,000 grant from the Hudson County Open Space, Recreation and Historic Preservation Trust Fund.

JCMAN320

May 23rd, 2008, 10:11 PM

Answers still sought about deteriorating cemetery

by Paul Koepp Friday May 23, 2008, 5:56 PM

There is still no one running the Jersey City-Harsimus Cemetery -- and no accounting for its almost $100,000 in funds -- but details are emerging about the manner in which the cemetery was apparently abandoned.

Hector Sullivan, 28, of Jersey City, said in a recent interview that he had been doing maintenance work at the cemetery over the past three years, along with a homeless man known as "Viggy."

"I got paid $125 a week to cut the grass and do weed-whacking," Sullivan said. "I dug graves for eight people there last year."

He said Jorge and Flor Peralta, the caretakers who lived with their two sons in the house at the Newark Avenue entrance, kept the cemetery's records in a sloppy array of binders, locked away in a safe. Those records have not been retrieved, although state officials say they have keys to the house.

After the president of the board of directors, Maureen Burgess, died last December, the Peraltas told Sullivan they no longer wanted to run the cemetery and moved to the New Jersey Shore, though he said he doesn't know exactly where.

Efforts to reach the couple have been unsuccessful.

Sullivan said he has been unemployed since they left, and that the equipment he bought at his own expense is locked in the cemetery's shed.

Other people have also filled in some parts of the cemetery's past.

Jersey City resident Beatrice Scala says her nephew, Anthony Fiola, who owned an appliance store at Five Corners and headed several merchant associations, served on the board until his death in 1995.

In addition, several people remember dealing with a former groundskeeper, Louis Sandomenico Jr., who was disciplined by the state board in 2001 after charging excessive burial and upkeep fees.

Five directors are listed on the cemetery's most recent annual report, filed in January 2007: Maureen Burgess, Rita Goscinski, Olga Mistarila, William De Noble and Pauline Markowicz.
Burgess, Goscinski and De Noble, who were related, all died last year, and Mistarila is elderly and has said she can not run the cemetery. Markowicz could not be contacted.

What lies ahead for the cemetery will be discussed at the next meeting of the New Jersey Cemetery Board, June 12 at 9:30 a.m. at 124 Halsey St. in Newark.

Questions about the cemetery should be directed to the NJCB at (973) 504-6553.

JCMAN320

May 27th, 2008, 06:04 PM

Powerhouse abatement pact ready

Tuesday, May 27, 2008
By CHARLES HACK
JOURNAL STAFF WRITER

The City Council is set to stamp its approval tomorrow on a 10-year-tax abatement for a 35-story rental building in the Powerhouse Arts District.

Council members introduced the tax-abatement ordinance with an 8-0 vote - Councilman Michael Sottolano was absent - at their last meeting and the planning board approved site plans for the building at 110 First St. in January.

The abatement is part of a settlement worked out in U.S. Federal courts in 2006 between New York-based Goldman Equities Corp. and the city, which also includes neighboring 111 First St. where the developers plan to build the Rem Koolhas-designed 52-story "vertical city." The agreement ended a years-long struggle between Goldman and artists with studios in 111 First St., who had sought to preserve the former warehouse.

Under the agreement with the city, property developers Athena BLDG 110 Urban Renewal, LLC - a partnership between Athena and Goldman Equities Corp. - have agreed to pay the city around $1.59 million in lieu of taxes to the city- at least 10 percent of its annual revenue.

However, former Assemblyman Lou Manzo accused the city of playing a "shell game" with the public, saying that other Jersey City taxpayers are hit by higher taxes, because property owners in tax abated properties do not contribute to the school district and pay just 5 percent of county taxes.

City officials counter that the tax abatements allow the city to keep more of the money raised by the properties, and lower municipal taxes offsets any increase in burden on taxpayers for school and county taxes.

The city originally agreed to 345 units, with 10 percent of those units set aside for low-income artists. The project now has 420 units, with 25 affordable units on the site and another 25 in another development.

The second reading will be held at the Frank R. Conwell Middle School 4, at 107 Bright St., at 6 p.m.

kljc

May 27th, 2008, 07:43 PM

On the Planning Board agenda for May 27th

Case: P08-055 Preliminary & Final Site Plan Interim Use Sales Center
Applicant: Secon Street Waterfront Partners, LLC
Attorney: C. Harrington, III
Reveiw Planner: Bucci-Carter
Address: 80 First Street & 246 Green Street (triangle @ the
Powerhouse)
Block: 77 Lots: 57.99, 59
Zone: Hudson Exchange Redevelopment Plan
Description: Sales Center for 2 Second Street building

NOT SURE if this is the triangle that the PA wants to put power
transformers at (and also was up for city green park) or the property
directly behind Powerhouse (currently used as a parking lot for Trump
Tower contractors).

I wonder how long a sales center will be allowed to occupy this lot?

JCMAN320

May 27th, 2008, 07:57 PM

tbal

May 28th, 2008, 12:22 AM

Construction began this morning at a large lot at Third Street and Newark Avenue in Downtown. Pilings were being driven into the ground after several weeks of clean-up. Soil testing took place at the site back in the Autumn. The construction of this building follows a growing trend in the lowrise districts of Downtown - the development of buildings in the 10-20 unit range.

This lot, as I mentioned in previous posts, is very close to (within half a block of) 274 Newark Avenue, where construction of the foundations for a 5-story building is progressing (slowly).

The entire foundation for 274 Newark Ave should be complete by the end of this week, and a steel support structure (similar to the one used to build 369 Fifth Street) should rise within the coming weeks.

Side note: I find it very strange that Fisher Dev. (developer of 2 Second Street) is putting a sales center on the triangle; about a year ago, there was an article in the Jersey Journal stating how the City would allow a sales office for the Athena to be built there in exchange for BLDG leveling the site. Does this mean that BLDG is leasing the lot to Fisher??? Makes me wonder...

tbal

May 28th, 2008, 10:53 PM

It looks like the Monaco Towers won't be the only major project breaking ground in Downtown between now and the end of the year. According to the Mushroom Development website (www.mushroomdevelopment.com (http://www.mushroomdevelopment.com)), the Bates Project will begin construction in the Fall of this year and should be completed sometime in 2010.

nafco

May 29th, 2008, 02:14 PM

where is the bates proposd to go again? i always forget

kliq6

May 29th, 2008, 03:19 PM

Can anyway provide me a list of any office buildings currently under construction in JC?

JCMAN320

May 29th, 2008, 03:34 PM

The Bates project is going to be just West of the Old Colony Shopping Plaza off of Grand Street.

Kliq currently there are no office buildings being constructed in JC; however the one coming closest of all the approved ones waiting construction to happening, is Harborside Plaza 4. It keeps resurfacing in the planning board dockets, so that leads me to believe once the back office market comes around, it will be the first to start.

Here is a list of the ones approved for construction, but are waiting for the correct market conditions; from south to north:

50 Hudson St. - Goldman Sachs
99 Hudson St. - Merrill Lynch
Harborside Plaza 4 - various tenants
Harborside Plaza 6 & 7 - various tenants

I'm certain that there are no more office buildings planned for Newport as of now, but that may change in the future with the eventual development down the road of the Modells/Staples and A&P, Linen & Things, Pier One Imports, Golf Shop strip mall centers get developed.

Journal Square has long has approval for JSQ Plaza 3 on Kennedy Blvd, but does not seem close at all to ever beign cosntructed. Conversely, there are plans to develop the lots that a Burger King and Dunkin Dounts occupy on Summit Avenue just behind the Journal Square Transportation Center for what seems like a btwn 5-10 story office building.

Hope that helps buddy. :) If you need any more info just let me know.

kliq6

May 29th, 2008, 04:53 PM

I knew you would cover this for me, thanks man!

JCMAN320

May 29th, 2008, 07:21 PM

You got it. :)

tbal

May 31st, 2008, 12:00 PM

Don't forget that Panepinto Properties is in early talks with the Port Authority to construct an office building above the PATH tracks next to the Journal Square PATH station.

And, Goldman Sachs owns the lot between 77 Hudson and Liberty Towers (directly across the street from the 50 Hudson Street site). I believe the zoning for that lot allows for a tower of up to 1000' in height.

Did anyone go to/hear about the outcome of the City Council meeting where the altered abatement deal for the Monaco Towers was discussed? I haven't heard/read of anything about it, but I am assuming that a deal was reached between the City and Roseland.

JoeSas

June 2nd, 2008, 10:28 PM

Just west of the Pathmark. Not the greatest area so I won't hold my breath that it breaks ground in this market. I bet it will be rental if it does.

JCMAN320

June 2nd, 2008, 11:56 PM

Well that just the thing, it's wedged between the Turnpike and it's off ramp to C. Columbus Dr, the Old Colony Shopping Plaza and low income housing on Montgomery. Yea it seems like a rough area to start to develop, but it needs to be done.

JCMAN320

June 3rd, 2008, 10:42 PM

City slapped with Powerhouse Arts District lawsuit

by Charles Hack Tuesday June 03, 2008, 7:27 PM

A neighborhood group has filed a lawsuit to invalidate an amendment to the Jersey City's Powerhouse Arts District development plan that would allow a developer to build three towers of 30 or more stories.

Attorney Michael B. Kates, an attorney for the Powerhouse Arts District Neighborhood Association, said the lawsuit against the city was filed Monday.

The suit seeks to invalidate an ordinance passed by the City Council in April that would allow the developer Toll Brothers to build three towers 30 or more stories -- two of them at the site of the old Manischewitz factory at Morgan Street and Marin Boulevard and one across the street at Morgan and Warren streets.

The original redevelopment plan approved in 2004 called for projects limited to 10 stories filled with spacious "live/work" units for artists. This plan calls for 950 residential units, 12 of which would be live/work units, and 32 affordable housing units. Toll Brothers is also providing $2.8 million for affordable housing.

It also envisions a 550-seat performing arts theater with a $1.5 million subsidy from Toll Brothers, extensive gallery space, and the 24,000-square-foot Provost Plaza.
The suit alleges that the city did not follow proper procedures, and the outcome is not consistent with the city's Master Plan.

"This ordinance could not be adopted without first going back to the planning board to evaluate whether this is still an an area of redevelopment," Kates said.

City attorney Bill Matsikoudis and Toll Brothers officials would not comment because they said they have not seen the lawsuit.

"We firmly believe that the amendments were appropriate to further Jersey City government's legitimate interests and we were completely within our right to do so," Matsikoudis said.

The suit also seeks unspecified compensation, punitive damages and costs.

kljc

June 4th, 2008, 06:26 PM

City slapped with Powerhouse Arts District lawsuit

It's not about NIMBYs.

It's about preferential treatment to a national developer - inconsistent planning and zoning.
It's about the domino effect that city council said wouldn't happen.
The city is setting itself up for more amendments by the smaller local developers. It's the city that is holding up the construction. Not the PAD.
No one is against new construction - just keep it in scale to what surrounds the properties.

ASchwarz

June 4th, 2008, 06:43 PM

It's not about NIMBYs.

No one is against new construction - just keep it in scale to what surrounds the properties.

Huh? If you require that all new construction match existing scale, you would barely have anything built. There would be no cities anywhere if the construction were required to match the existing landscape.

Typical NIMBY response.

kljc

June 4th, 2008, 07:24 PM

Huh? If you require that all new construction match existing scale, you would barely have anything built. There would be no cities anywhere if the construction were required to match the existing landscape.

Typical NIMBY response.

40 story tower across the street from a 3 story building - this is normal?

giselehaslice

June 4th, 2008, 07:36 PM

^In one of the largest metropolitan regions in the world, yes.

kljc

June 4th, 2008, 09:11 PM

^In one of the largest metropolitan regions in the world, yes.

Have you stood on the corner of Bay and Marin? Everything to the north and west is low rise.
Put 40-story tower on Warren; build the 30-story on Marin. I don't care what metropolitan city it's across the river from - building along Marin should be the transition zone it was intended to be.

giselehaslice

June 4th, 2008, 11:04 PM

Maybe there should be a transition zone, but still if you live in a city you should expect high rise buildings,and its not worth getting all worked up about.

nafco

June 5th, 2008, 01:36 PM

kljc

June 5th, 2008, 05:58 PM

correct me if im wrong but arent there (3) 35+ story towers already 2 blocks away with two more planned? i dont understand how everyone thinks that these new towers will be completely out of context with the surrounding area. maybe the existing towers arent technically in the PAD, but im pretty sure new high rises wont really hurt the feel of that area, which otherwise is surrounded by empty lots.

The high rises are along Washington and Christopher Columbus Boulevards. High rises near the PAD are to the east and south. The Toll Brothers' towers will be built in the center of PAD; they will be surrounded by low and mid rise buildings. All the existing residential buildings will be looking into parking bases (eight to nine stories) on narrow local streets. None of these buildings are over ten stories.

Every new high rise has these 24-hour brightly lit parking bases (six to 11 stories). An unfortunate reality - very $$$ to build underground parking garages because most of the waterfront property, especially north of Paulus Hook is landfill.

ASchwarz

June 6th, 2008, 01:51 AM

40 story tower across the street from a 3 story building - this is normal?

Yes! It's called a big city. Big cities have many buildings of all shapes and sizes.

Anyways, if there is a three floor building and a forty floor building, why is the forty floor building out of context? Maybe it's the three floor building that needs to be demolished and replaced by a more contextual tower.

Anyways, you are just taking the wild extremes. The WTC will have a 1,776 foot tower across the street from a one-floor fire station. I'm amazed the NIMBYs aren't complaining about that one.

ASchwarz

June 6th, 2008, 01:53 AM

maybe the existing towers arent technically in the PAD, but im pretty sure new high rises wont really hurt the feel of that area, which otherwise is surrounded by empty lots.

Well, using the NIMBY logic, if there are empty lots, then even a one floor building is out of context because it is taller than anything surrounding it.

kljc

June 6th, 2008, 10:50 AM

So you think a high rise should be built anywhere absolutely anywhere at anytime? Why? What's the this obsession that EVERY building must be a high rise?

JCMAN320

June 6th, 2008, 01:13 PM

Well look at what's happening in Brooklyn and LIC. In Greenpoint they are building 20-30 story buildings in low-rise neighborhoods. Look at Downtown Brooklyn, they are building high-rises just steps from low-rise brownstones and buildings. As much as I want the Nets to stay in Jersey, if this AYs thing happens your going to have highrises as high as 500 ft next to historic brownstones. We live in a growing city and this is going to happen.

ianmac47

June 6th, 2008, 02:05 PM

Not every building should be tall. But every building near mass transit should be. Every building in a major city should be. Anywhere that there is a housing shortage there should be.

The powerhouse district is not some rural backwater; the land is under 2 miles from the heart of one of the most important cities in the world. Its essentially adjacent to a subway station and a stone's throw from a light rail station. This is exactly where high density development should be.

High density development should not go near the watershed of reservoirs that supply our city with drinking water. High density development should not go 30 or 40 or 100 miles from an urban center so that residents must travel great distances, consuming fossil fuels in the process.

bigbaldman

June 7th, 2008, 12:27 AM

Tell 'em Ian. Enough with all the complaining. The bigger travesty is the city allowing Toll to build the artist inclusion and affordable housing in other places....

kljc

June 7th, 2008, 01:13 PM

In Greenpoint they are building 20-30 story buildings in low-rise neighborhoods. Look at Downtown Brooklyn, they are building high-rises just steps from low-rise brownstones and buildings.

Like I said - build the lower high rise (20-30) near the low rise buildings, and the 40 story closer to other taller buildings.

This is the last I will discuss this topic (sighs of relief heard throughout the forum) -

I'm not against the tall buildings and density, I just hate the six to 11 stories parking garages that are filling every block of new construction. The taller the building the more floors of parking lots - Have yet to see a decent design. It's not very welcoming to the eye of the pedestrian.

If Jersey City could provide huge (2000+) parking near downtown, maybe near the Light Rail / Greenville warehouse area (maybe off Pacific and Forrest? more riders for that threatened bus route) - like the parking facility on the West Side Hwy. and Houston in Manhattan (3500+ spaces). This would allow longterm parking for people who only use their car occasionally. This could allow more alternate-side street cleaning (a cleaner city), more metered parking (good for businesses.)

I think a parking space for every (?) unit requirement for new construction is excessive. So many of the new tenants don't have cars, and private parking in some high rises is exclusive to those who live in the building - no benefit to the public. A waste of valuable real estate.

ianmac47

June 7th, 2008, 06:27 PM

I agree that the parking garages are a problem and in fact I would support ordinances prohibiting any above ground parking garage, or at least any garage that was visible. However, the PADNA is not fighting the parking garages. They are suing to stop the development.

JCMAN320

June 7th, 2008, 07:00 PM

Bigbald they are building the artist housing in the development and teh affordable housing is being built across the street on the corner of Marin Blvd next to 150 Bay St.

kljc

June 8th, 2008, 02:04 PM

Bigbald they are building the artist housing in the development and teh affordable housing is being built across the street on the corner of Marin Blvd next to 150 Bay St.

Not artists, but "workforce housing". Apparently there is a difference. Affordable is going off site elsewhere in Jersey City.

Ian - Parking garage mania is a downtown problem, not exclusively a PAD problem.

JCMAN320

June 8th, 2008, 04:55 PM

Its the watertable. If you go to the corner of Grove St. and 10th, there are steps at the corner leading up to the sidewalk to a row of brownstones. It is because of the watertable that the garages are built above ground. There is a similar problem in LIC and parts of BKLYN, this is not a problem exclusive to Jersey City. People have complained of developments in LIC with garages above ground.

That is why there are steps at Grove Pointe, Columbus Tower, and Harborside Plaza 4A.

JCMAN320

June 8th, 2008, 06:57 PM

Jersey City considers land swap with P.A. to redevelop Powerhouse

Sunday, June 08, 2008
BY RUSSELL BEN-ALI
Star-Ledger Staff

The mammoth Hudson & Manhattan Railroad Powerhouse in Jersey City has long stood as a rusting symbol of the once-mighty industrial age.

And as various city administrations moved to remake the downtown into a booming segment of New Jersey's Gold Coast, the 100-year-old building had proved a bit of an obstacle.

On Friday city officials announced they have figured out a way to overcome it: a carefully crafted land swap with the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, which, along with the city, has owned the Powerhouse for decades.

The deal will be considered at a city council caucus tomorrow and by the full council on Wednesday.

Jersey City plans to transform the massive structure into a retail and entertainment mecca, a showpiece for the Powerhouse Arts District, where renovated and abandoned warehouses sit amid new luxury high-rise towers.

The city will take ownership of the building, in exchange offering the Port Authority a nearby plot of land suitable to move its PATH train substation and transformers, said William Matsikoudis, corporation counsel for Jersey City. The power supply for the PATH train now sits directly in front of the Powerhouse on Washington Boulevard and next to the new Trump Plaza residential tower.

It is across the street from a planned 52-story "vertical city" of condos and art studios being designed by renowned Dutch architect Rem Koolhaas.

The coal-powered turbines of the Powerhouse -- built in 1908 but obsolete two decades later -- provided electricity for a predecessor of the PATH train, the Hudson & Manhattan Railroad, the first underground link between New Jersey and Manhattan. It is currently used for railroad storage.

The agreement hammered out by the city and Port Authority over 16 months lays out a step-by-step transition for moving the electrical system, testing the polluted soil beneath the Powerhouse, stabilizing the building and restoring it.

Stabilization alone is expected to cost $3 million, with Beyer Blinder Belle Architects & Planners, which will conduct a $250,000 survey of the structure in advance of the work.

The actual renovation will be done with developer David Cordish, head of the Baltimore-based Cordish Co., known in part for its renovation of a Baltimore powerhouse that helps anchor the city's popular Inner Harbor.

"While power plants do present challenges, we have had great success redeveloping them elsewhere," Cordish said in an e-mail. "The end product is worth the effort as people react wonderfully to restored, unique historic structures."

Robert Antonicello, executive director of the Jersey City Redevelopment Agency, said the plans will likely include retail stores and restaurants on the ground and second floors. Office space will be provided on the third and fourth floors with room for a large restaurant and bar on the fifth.

City officials are hopeful the Powerhouse would similarly anchor a large downtown restaurant, cultural and entertainment district, something that has been sluggish to develop.

"Combined with Rem Koolhaas' planned tower, a new theater and a plaza surrounded by restaurants, cafés and galleries, this district will prove to be a world-class cultural destination," said Mayor Jerramiah T. Healy.

Despite such optimism, however, there are still hurdles to overcome.

The city wants to move the PATH power station to 350 Warren Street, site of the 1905 Butler Brothers warehouse. But property owner and developer Bob Lehrer has so far rejected the city's offers for part of the warehouse space.

An alternative site -- a triangle of land just across the Bergen-Hudson Light Rail tracks from the Powerhouse -- has drawn criticism from neighbors, including ones in a luxury high-rise called Marbella.

Perhaps more pressing, the city must raise between $40 million and $50 million to finance its share to clean up, shore up and rehabilitate the Powerhouse.

Antonicello, said the city plans to use a combination of public and private funding.

"There's not a doubt in our mind that, at the end of the day, we'll move forward and be successful," Antonicelli said. "The only question for us is how quickly we can do it."

Russell Ben-Ali may be reached at rbenali@starledger.com.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------

Tomorrow's council caucus is scheduled for 5:30 p.m., City Hall, 280 Grove St.

trukie4evr

June 9th, 2008, 04:25 PM

I know the housing market is slow, but, has anyone heard any updated information on such projects as 70-90 Columbus, Trump's 2nd tower, and the three tower's that are suppose to be going up in Liberty park?

ianmac47

June 10th, 2008, 12:42 PM

I think its a safe bet that 70 and 90 Columbus are not breaking ground anytime soon. As 50 Columbus was finished, a new fancy, black metal fence was installed around the property with concrete footings. And recently they installed shrubbery around the property too. So basically, I thinks its a safe bet they are planning on sitting on that property for a few years.

JCMAN320

June 11th, 2008, 12:10 AM

In talks on tax break for Square towers

Tuesday, June 10, 2008
By KEN THORBOURNE
JOURNAL STAFF WRITER

A proposed 30-year tax break for a landmark development in Jersey City's Journal Square would be a huge money loser, costing the city nearly $500,000 in the first year alone, according to a memo by a city official.

While the deal would bring in $323,000 to the city in the form of payments in lieu of taxes and other fees during the first year of the abatement, the city would have to shell out $793,000 for various government services, according to the May 20 memo by Stephen J. Skrocki, the city's division director of abatement management.

And the years following Year 1 don't look too hot either, according to a copy of the memo obtained by The Jersey Journal.

Although "it is not possible to project past the first year . negative results can be expected over the life of the tax exemption unless the revenues from the Master Lease are improved," Skrocki wrote.

The proposed abatement calls for payment in lieu of taxes to the city of 10 percent of gross annual revenue.

But to maximize profits for the project's majority investor - the Bethesda, Md.-based Multi-Employer Property Trust, a national real estate equity fund that invests union pension funds - the development partners plan to create a company to lease the building.

The city's 10 percent would be based on the lease agreement, not the far greater amount collected from the building's residential and commercial tenants.

City officials and a representative of the developer - MEPT Journal Square Urban Renewal, LLC - were quick to emphasize last week that the tax abatement is still being negotiated.

"My hope is those discussions will conclude shortly," said Alan Marcus, a spokesman for MEPT. "It would not be appropriate to describe something that is at best ethereal right now."

Business Administrator Brian O'Reilly said the city might have to stomach a property tax loss to get the signature, $500 million project, next to the PATH Transportation Center, built.

"The renaissance of Journal Square is a priority of my administration," Mayor Jerramiah Healy said. "The benefits (of this project) for the entire city will be increased tax revenue, the creation of hundreds of construction and permanent jobs, and the jump-starting of the revitalization of Journal Square."

Lowell Harwood, one of the development partners, had predicted completing demolition of the 1.5-acre site by May and starting construction this summer.

"We all want this to happen. But it has to be favorable to us," said City Council President Mariano Vega, a member of the committee negotiating with MEPT. "We are not just surrendering."

JCMAN320

June 11th, 2008, 07:44 PM

Honeywell closes on west side land sale, pays Jersey City $15M up front

by Ken Thorbourne Wednesday June 11, 2008, 4:58 PM

As part of the settlement struck earlier this year between Jersey City and Honeywell International, roughly 35 acres of city-owned land were transferred to the Morristown-based company last week.

In return, Jersey City received an eight-figure check.

The property, along Route 440, is home to the city's Department of Public Works and the Jersey City Incinerator Authority and is supposed to be part of new community the city is building with Honeywell's help on the west side.

As part of the settlement, Honeywell has agreed to clean up and sell development rights for roughly 100 acres of chromium-tainted land. Based on the city's land contribution, profits from the development rights will be split with the city on a 60-40 basis, with the city receiving 40 percent.

At the closing on Friday, the city received a $15 million advance on those profits, which is being used to avoid a tax hike in this year's budget.

City officials intend to relocate the DPW and JCIA, and shrink the size of the adjacent Municipal Utilities Authority.

The city is looking at two privately-owned sites to relocate the agencies -- a chunk of land at the old PJP landfill site under the Pulaski Skyway and a property along Commercial Street.

In the meantime, the city will pay Honeywell $100 a month to rent space for the DPW and JCIA at their current locations. Beginning July 1, Honeywell will pay conventional taxes on the properties, officials said.

The overall agreement calls for the chromium cleanup to be completed by 2011.

JoeSas

June 17th, 2008, 09:14 AM

I noticed that the Aqua has about two floors of glass now on the bottom. It looks like it is progressing slowly.

JCMAN320

June 23rd, 2008, 10:20 PM

Power station to be relocated
First step in new 'Powerhouse' community...but work still ahead

Ricardo Kaulessar
Reporter staff writer

http://images.zwire.com/local/Z/ZWIRE1291/zwire/images/2008/06/story/06powerhouse15A_story.jpg
A POWERHOUSE PRESENTATION – Robert Antonicello, executive director of the Jersey City Redevelopment Agency, made a presentation to the City Council on Monday regarding plans to develop the old Hudson and Manhattan Powerhouse. However, they must first figure out where to relocate the smaller substation that is presently in front of it.

Can an area near a former railroad power station be transformed into a vibrant retail and residential community similar to Baltimore's Inner Harbor?

The City Council approved a resolution 9-0 at its Wednesday meeting that is the first step toward the long-awaited development of the old Hudson and Manhattan Powerhouse building on Washington Blvd. in downtown Jersey City.

The resolution calls for local agencies and the city to split the initial $600,000 cost of relocating a smaller power substation located directly in front of the Powerhouse, and stabilizing the old Powerhouse that has been abandoned for nearly 80 years.

The relocation of the smaller substation, which provides power to the PATH subway system, would then allow the city to acquire full ownership of the main Powerhouse building, which the city and the Port Authority currently co-own.

The Powerhouse building would be restored and converted to a shopping and entertainment complex, similar to what was done with the old Baltimore Power Station on Baltimore's inner harbor.

But the arrangement, which has been referred to as a "land swap" in the press, is complicated.

Where to move substation?

During the Wednesday council meeting, city Corporation Counsel Bill Matsikoudis said if the Port Authority and the city cannot agree on a relocation site, then the substation will have to stay in its current location.

Then, there is the issue of stabilizing the main Powerhouse building, which could take 36 to 48 months, according to Robert Antonicello, executive director of the JCRA.

However, city officials are willing to take on the complicated project for the possible payoff: they believe it could take five years to transform the Powerhouse into its new purpose.

History of the Powerhouse

The old Hudson and Manhattan Powerhouse building on Washington Blvd. once provided electricity for the massive Hudson Manhattan railroad (the precursor to the PATH system).

Construction of the original Powerhouse building started in 1906 and was completed in 1908. It's a steel-framed, 200,000-square-foot edifice with 28-inch-thick brick walls.

But it only operated until 1929 and was abandoned for many years, although the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey still used it as a power station.

There have been efforts since 1999 by the Jersey City Landmarks Conservancy to preserve the building.

In July 2006, the JCRA designated Baltimore-based developer David Kordish as the developer of the Powerhouse building. Kordish developed the old Baltimore Power Plant on the waterfront into the ESPN Zone Restaurant and a Barnes & Noble bookstore.

Kordish will develop the Powerhouse after relocation of the substation and stabilization of the main Powerhouse take place.

The residential component

The Powerhouse is also considered the anchor for the Powerhouse Arts District (PAD), an 11-block area that stretches east to west from Marin to Washington boulevards and from north to south from Second to Bay streets. The PAD would have low-rise residential buildings including 10 percent affordable housing for artists, but would also be a restaurant, cultural and entertainment center for Downtown Jersey City.

John Gomez, founder of the Jersey City Landmarks Conservancy, attended Wednesday's council meeting and said after the meeting that the council's resolution about the relocation was a "great step in the right direction."

Creating a new Powerhouse

Antonicello made a PowerPoint presentation at the council caucus on Monday.

There, he showed plans for the relocation and renderings of what the Powerhouse will look like when developed. He explained that the Powerhouse would be one part of a larger redevelopment effort that would connect the waterfront to the rest of downtown Jersey City.

Some on the council posed questions on the cost of remediation work that would need to done, the feasibility of stabilizing the Powerhouse building, and the issues of relocation.

Pro and con

After the meeting, Antonicello said, "This is an iconic landmark that if restored to its former glory can be a marquee destination for Jersey City."

But not so enthusiastic was Bob Lehrer, owner of the old Butler Brothers warehouse at 350 Warren St., one of the locations where the city may want to move the power station.

"[The city] has had one meeting with me," Lehrer said, "and they have not made me an offer for the building."

Comments on the story can be sent to rkaulessar@hudsonreporter.com.

JCMAN320

June 23rd, 2008, 10:37 PM

WATERWORKS!
Park upgrades include cool new fountain

Monday, June 23, 2008
By TERRY TORRES
JOURNAL STAFF WRITER

Parents and children in Jersey City's Country Village enjoyed good, clean, and wet fun Saturday as they celebrated the official start of the summer season at the renovated Victoria Anne Horvath Playground at Thomas McGovern Park.

The park's upgrade was sponsored by Morristown-based Honeywell International Inc.

The centerpiece for the playground is a state-of-the-art sprinkler fountain that recycles water. Children and parents can activate it by placing their hand on a touch-sensitive pedestal.

Though the fountain had been in use during the recent heat wave, Saturday was its official unveiling.

"It's one hundred percent better than it was before," one mother said about the renovated park. Weeds and rusted equipment have been replaced with new swings and slides. Other improvements include graffiti-proof play structures, rubber surfaces, new lights, new fences and a gate that is locked at 9 p.m.

One grandfather of a child playing in the fountain was skeptical of the renovation's lasting value.

"You put a new park here, it's going to get messed up anyway," he said. "In a year or two, it'll show."

Jersey City Councilman Peter Brennan said the city would help maintain the park with daily cleanings and provide more police patrols.

JCMAN320

June 25th, 2008, 09:55 PM

Ribbon cut for Jersey City's latest affordable housing

by Ken Thorbourne Wednesday June 25, 2008, 5:47 PM

The two-story warehouse at the corner of Bergen and Virginia avenues in Jersey City used to house toy trains.

Now renovated with a third-floor and courtyard added, it's housing real families at an affordable price.

"This is 46 units of residential affordable rentals," Jersey City Mayor Jerramiah Healy said today, joined by state Department of Community Affairs Commissioner Joseph V. Doria Jr. and other officials, at a ribbon-cutting ceremony for the Toy Factory Apartments. "It's a great deal."

Nearly three years in the making, the Toy Factory Apartments were developed by JP Affordable Housing of Jersey City.

The project is owned by Jersey City Community Housing Corp., a nonprofit headed up by former NBA player and current school board member Terry Dehere.

One-bedroom apartments at the complex rent for $555 a month, plus utilities; two-bedrooms for $668, and three-bedrooms for $765. They all feature high ceilings, plenty of light, hardwood floors, large closets, new kitchens and baths. Some even have a patio.

Since the $9.7 million development was mostly financed by a state tax credit program, it is only available to those making 50 percent or less of the area's median income.

In Hudson County, the median income is $24,350 for a single person, $27,800 for a couple and $31,300 for a family of three.

The development sits next to 11 single-family homes JP Affordable finished last year. Eight of these homes sold for $139,900, while three sold for $119,000, said Eugene O'Connell, JP Affordable's principal.

"It's difficult to find affordable housing in the inner city," said Kendra Law, a 21-year-old college student, as she showed off the 2-bedroom apartment she and her 3-year-old son, Kymir, are about to move into. "The closer you get to New York City the more expensive it gets."

JCMAN320

June 25th, 2008, 09:57 PM

Council to use 'HOME' funds for senior housing

Wednesday, June 25, 2008

The Jersey City Council is expected to vote to reallocate $3.5 million in federal "HOME" money at its meeting tonight to help a nonprofit build 68 units of affordable housing for seniors.

In addition, city officials plans to contribute $1 million from the city's affordable housing trust fund to the project at Martin Luther King Drive and Warner Avenue.

The project is being built by the Jersey City-based Community Outreach Team Inc., headed up by the Rev. Kevin E. Knight.

Construction of the $21 million development is expected to start later this year and will be completed within 18 months, Wright said.

Sixty-five percent of the financing for this project is coming from a tax credit program run by the state.

The City Council meets tonight at 6 at Middle School 4, 107 Bright St.

KEN THORBOURNE

JCMAN320

June 25th, 2008, 10:09 PM

Aqua Blue is first to comply with city's 'project labor agreement'

Wednesday, June 25, 2008
By KEN THORBOURNE
JOURNAL STAFF WRITER

The Aqua Blue rental development in the Newport section of Jersey City is set to become the first to comply with the city's "project labor agreement," enacted last year.

The agreement applies to tax-abated developments that cost more than $25 million to build. Developers are obligated to have their construction unions sign the agreement.

In return for having the job guaranteed to be union, the unions agree to hire apprentices who live in Jersey City to work 20 percent of the labor hours.

As of last night, 18 of the 19 labor unions involved in the project had signed the project labor agreement - the lone hold-out was the elevator's union, said James McCann, the attorney representing the LeFrak Organization, Newport's builder.

The City Council is expected to approve the project labor agreement for the Aqua Blue tonight, as well as changes to the number of units and amount of commercial space at the development.

The number of residential units is being reduced from 358 to 355, while the commercial space is increasing from 16,000 to 34,610 square feet. The project's contribution to the city's affordable housing fund is also jumping, from $561,000 to $584,415.

Construction on the $51 million development is expected to be completed next year. The project has a 10-year abatement paying the city 10 percent of annual gross revenue in lieu of conventional taxes.

Tonight's City Council meeting is at 6 at Middle School 4, 107 Bright St.

JCMAN320

July 2nd, 2008, 12:27 AM

DonJ81

July 2nd, 2008, 10:59 AM

http://jcconstruction.blogspot.com/

Check out the Emankmenpark, housing, lightrail, and Dubai like skyscraper vision for Jersey City. Also browse through Aqua photos and local insight of how great JC is. More construction photos as well.

That skyscaper is an eyesore. Hopefully they come up with a new design. I like the overall concept though.

ianmac47

July 2nd, 2008, 02:48 PM

I don't think there is any fear / hope that the 6th street project will go forward in the way that it is conceived there. Even if the legal obstacles were out of the way (which they are not), obtaining financing for a project of that scale would be difficult.

66nexus

July 2nd, 2008, 02:57 PM

Still, that thing looks waaaay better than that Koolhaus (sp?) building, the one with the three 'squares' stacked like a jenga tower on its way down.

DonJ81

July 2nd, 2008, 03:47 PM

Still, that thing looks waaaay better than that Koolhaus (sp?) building, the one with the three 'squares' stacked like a jenga tower on its way down.

haha yeah that Koolhaus building was horrible.:D

JCMAN320

July 3rd, 2008, 12:39 AM

Was?!?! Its stil going to get built. It is final and the site is not up for sale.

66nexus

July 3rd, 2008, 02:56 AM

http://www.newyorkssixth.com/2008/07/77-hudson-street.html

A city with structures like the 77Hudson getting built in them should not have unworthy structures designed by washed-up architects built in them. Jersey City aside, I can't think of one American city where that thing would fit correctly.

I hope they are unable to build it

JoeSas

July 3rd, 2008, 10:05 AM

I think the Koolhaus building will add something interesting to the skyline. I also like the idea that they are planning a skywalk over to the powerhouse. I think it would attract a great number of people who wouldn't necessarily come to JC to this city and spend some money.

DonJ81

July 3rd, 2008, 11:52 AM

A Skywalk is a great idea.

JoeSas

July 3rd, 2008, 08:58 PM

There was some action in the North parking lot of the Double Tree Hotel. It looked like a crane and a small pilings driver were being operated.

Malcontent

July 4th, 2008, 02:28 PM

Yeah, it looks like construction is starting on the San Remo I think. Can anyone else confirm?

JCMAN320

July 10th, 2008, 12:32 AM

I walked by there today, saw some beams but not much else. Well see...

Ribbon cutting at new MCDC headquarters

by The Jersey Journal Wednesday July 09, 2008, 9:58 AM

Today at 3:30 p.m. Mayor Jerramiah T. Healy, members of the Municipal Council and representatives of the Economic Development Corporation will cut the ribbon to the new offices at the Monticello Community Development Corporation Headquarters, located at 99 Monticello Avenue.

All are invited to a reception following the ceremony with Mayor Healy, elected officials, business owners and residents to celebrate another MCDC milestone in the revitalization of the once thriving commercial district.

"Historically, Monticello Avenue has once been a vital economic corridor for Jersey City," said Mayor Healy."The revitalization efforts of the Monticello Community Development Corporation are focused on making Jersey City greater and serve as a catalyst for other businesses in the area to restore or renovate their sites."

The Monticello Avenue rehabilitation project is being managed by the Monticello Community Development Corp. (MCDC), a nonprofit group of local residents, business and property owners and other stakeholders dedicated to revitalizing the area and stimulating economic growth.

MCDC's goal is to establish a historically preserved neighborhood shopping district with a mix of retail, restaurant and service businesses, as well as arts-related venues and activities that reflect the diversity and strong sense of community that prevail in the area.

The Main Street program is a comprehensive, community-driven revitalization program that focuses on revitalizing traditional business districts in New Jersey. Their incremental approach is designed to benefit every segment of the community.

The department plans to revise the Monticello Redevelopment Plan and address the design and construction details lacking in the original plan of 1987.

JCMAN320

July 10th, 2008, 12:33 AM

Restored J. Owen Grundy Park set to open tomorrow on Jersey City waterfront

by The Jersey Journal Wednesday July 09, 2008, 12:58 PM

Mayor Jerramiah T. Healy, members of the Municipal Council, the Departmentof Public Works, and the Division of Architecture will join Nanette Grundy, widow of famed preservationist J. Owen Grundy, in cutting the ribbon at 11 a.m. on Thursday, July 10, at the restored J. Owen Grundy Park, Exchange Place.

"J. Owen Grundy was an exemplary citizen who is also part of our city's great history," said Healy. "This restored and updated park and pavilion will allow residents and visitors to enjoy the amazing views of the Hudson River, the New York City skyline and will also serve as a fantastic gathering place for festivals, concerts and other cultural events."

With historic-styled lighting, as well as a new railing that will frame views of the skyline on both sides of the Hudson River, Healy noted the newly redesigned park will serve as a suitable reminder of Grundy's many accomplishments and dedication to Jersey City.

"J. Owen Grundy is one of our city's greatest historic preservationists and his spirit is alive today in allof the work we as a city continue to do to preserve our landmarks and our history," Healy said.

The J. Owen Grundy Park, after 23 years of use and weathering, was in need of substantial repairs.

As a result of extensive renovation, including a redesigned seawall and promenade extending from Exchange Place to York Street, the new J. Owen Grundy Park now features seating for lunch and relaxation, game tables, and a new performance and entertainment pavilion at the end of the park.

Following this event, the Division of Cultural Affairs will kick-off the Jazz for Lunch Concert Series featuring David Robinson.

Performances will be returning to the J. Owen Grundy Park every Thursday, from 12 noon to 2 p.m. during the months of July and August.

The concerts are sponsored by Goldman Sachs and are free and open to the public.

JCMAN320

July 10th, 2008, 12:41 AM

More tax breaks to get Lehman jobs

Wednesday, July 09, 2008
By DUNSTAN McNICHOL
NEWHOUSE NEWS SERVICE

New Jersey continues to raise its stake in financial giant Lehman Bros., offering the struggling Wall Street firm about $20 million in tax breaks for bringing 500 jobs to Jersey City.

The Business Employment Incentive Grant approved yesterday marks the second time in a month state officials have extended a helping hand to Lehman, which has been battered by huge losses, shortages of capital and rumors it may be a takeover target.

In June, managers of the state's $80 billion pension fund agreed to a high-profile transaction in which they bought $180 million worth of Lehman stock at $28 a share to help shore up the firm's sagging finances.

To date, that investment has been a loser, with Lehman stock trading below $20 a share yesterday before rebounding to $22.27 when markets closed. That translates into a loss of more than $36 million in the value of the original investment.

"It's a long-term investment," said Tom Vincz, a spokesman for the state Treasury Department, which oversees the Division of Investments.

Internal e-mails obtained through a public records request show the state's investment managers were approached by Lehman regarding a potential investment in early June, even as company officials were publicly denying reports the firm needed to raise cash.

Within a week of the initial June 4 contact, the state's investment managers had signed on for the $180 million stock purchase. On June 9, Lehman announced a $2.8 billion loss and revealed it was raising $6 billion in new funds.

Despite the firm's financial problems, Vincz said the state remains confident in Lehman's management and business model.

The grant approved yesterday marks the fifth time the N.J. Economic Development Authority has approved tax breaks to induce Lehman to invest in New Jersey.

Since 2002, the company has collected $1.6 million through two BEIP grants designed to lure 750 Lehman workers to Jersey City and Cranford. So far, the firm has created 453 of those jobs, EDA reports show.

Yesterday's grant would reward Lehman for creating 500 jobs in Jersey City, including 400 information technology jobs moving from New York City. The firm already employs about 1,700 in New Jersey.

JCMAN320

July 11th, 2008, 12:35 AM

SAVING THE HOUSE THAT SYRUP BUILT

Thursday, June 26, 2008

http://www.nj.com/news/jjournal/photos/gallery.ssf?cgi-bin/view_gallery.cgi/njo/view_gallery.ata?g_id=9941
EDITOR'S NOTE: This is the first of "The Restorers," a special Legends and Landmarks series highlighting outstanding restoration projects in Jersey City.

Some works of architecture are merely remembered, eventually forgotten - others are etched and burned in our memory, taken with us wherever we go.

At the northeast corner of Summit and Manhattan avenues in the Jersey City Heights across from Pershing Field Park, the Joseph H. Rudiger Mansion has made itself known to citizens and passersby for well over a century. If you are from Hudson County, you might even know it as well as you know the Loew's Jersey Theatre in Journal Square or the old Jersey City Medical Center in Bergen Hill.

The mansion's formidable Queen Anne form is inescapable; its presence amid the sycamore tents of the streets and nearby park powerfully felt.

But there is more to this iconic landmark than its soaring pillar-rimmed rotunda reveals from the sidewalk.

Fate fills its timber frame. Names, faces and voices from different eras emerge and converge under its front portico. Three extraordinary stories, separated (and yet linked) by a hundred years, are superimposed on site - that of its turn-of-the-century rags-to- riches builder, Joseph Rudiger, who made a fortune in syrup; its talented Ogden Avenue- based architect brothers, Herman and William Nuemann, who designed some of Hudson County's most magnificent homes, churches, bank buildings and factories; and its passionate 21st-century restorer, Hope Susan Baratt, who despite the challenges of bricks-and-mortar conservation has persevered and given new life to one of our finest and most architecturally significant mansions.

THE SYRUP CZAR

In April 1907, what was then The Evening Journal The Jersey Journal's predecessor - took notice of the 21/2-story hipped-roof, conical-towered manor rising at 880 Summit Ave. in the shadow of the newly landscaped Pershing Field Park.

"There are numerous residences in that locality," the newspaper wrote, "but this will surpass all, and doubtless do much to improve the neighborhood and inspire the property owners to follow Mr. Rudiger's example and build equally handsome homes in the vicinity."

Surpass all it did.

Rudiger, self-made, was determined to seriously show off his wealth and reflect through grandiloquent vernacular architecture the hard work that was its foundation. His narrative, he felt, was worth celebrating, even if in timber columns.

In the late 19th century he peddled syrup on Central and Webster avenues every day and eventually expanded the business across the Hudson River. His Standard Refining Company of New York became one of the region's largest and most successful sugar refining firms, making him a millionaire and allowing him to retire at the age of 50.

The house had to be over the top and worthy of his name, so he hired two of Hudson County's most prominent architects, Herman and William Nuemann, who had just completed the exquisite St. Paul's Lutheran Church at Five Corners and were working on the First National Bank of Guttenberg.

Herman, the older brother, was born in Germany and settled in America with his parents in the 1870s. In 1874 William was born, in Hoboken, and the next year the family moved to the Heights. Herman started the firm in 1887 at 202 Ogden Ave. and accepted William as partner in 1895 after his return from Berlin, where he had gone to study architecture at the Royal Technical College.

Rudiger's mansion, it turned out, would be Herman's last commission. He died a few months later, before its completion, of pneumonia, leaving William to fend for himself in the brutally competitive architectural scene. When the house was occupied by Rudiger and his family in 1908, the pillars bracing the rotunda loomed large and drew the attention of all who walked by.

THE OWLS

Exactly a century later, Hope approaches the restoration with a knowledge of what is at stake on Summit Avenue - a standing testament that could easily have been erased and replaced with the type of horrendous cookie-cutter housing we have come to expect.

As she turns the mansion into a three-unit condominium complex, she has accepted the calling of heritage conservation. Her tradesmen on the job have, too, working long hours and crafting missing elements presumed extracted and discarded decades ago to make way for a dreary rooming house.

The mansion's transformation is noticeable from afar. We see hard-hatted workmen moving across the sumptuous grounds. We hear saws and drills droning. Walls are stuffed abundantly with insulation. A three-story steel balcony addition is rising and will blend in with the main edifice.

Outside, a series of cast-stone owls, which once lit up with glowing electric eyes, guard the house. Their vandalized orbs are now empty. Their exposed copper circuitry begs to be rewired - and Hope, cell phone and architectural destiny in hand, is more than willing.

JOHN GOMEZ, founder of the Jersey City Landmarks Conservancy, graduated last month from Columbia University's Graduate School of Architecture, Planning and Preservation. He may be reached at historyrules1999@gmail.com.

UrbanFuture

July 11th, 2008, 12:37 AM

There have been a lot of postings with exterior shots of buildings in Jersey City. Very few, if any, have depicted what it's like to experience living in one of the new high rise condos on this side of the Hudson River.

These are interior pictures of a unit within The Shore South Tower in Newport --

http://img301.imageshack.us/img301/8144/shorelryw1.jpg (http://tinyurl.com/4mdxo5)

http://img237.imageshack.us/img237/1469/balconydoorfa6.jpg (http://tinyurl.com/4mdxo5)

JCMAN320

July 11th, 2008, 12:51 AM

NABE'S FUTURE LOOKS MUCH LIKE 19th CENTURY
Restoration brings home back to its Victorian splendor

Thursday, July 10, 2008

http://www.nj.com/news/jjournal/photos/gallery.ssf?cgi-bin/view_gallery.cgi/njo/view_gallery.ata?g_id=9945
EDITOR'S NOTE: This is the second installment in "The Restorers," a special Legends and Landmarks series highlighting outstanding restoration projects in Jersey City.

Lafayette on a Sunday morning:

Sunlight pushing through receding cloud cover. The sharp reek of Hudson River salt crystals in the air. A faint flash of lightning over the water's edge in nearby Liberty State Park.

Side streets - Manning, Van Horne, Halladay, Whiton, Pine - dampened by quick downpours, their bluestone-flagged curbs glistening in post-storm gloom.

The powerful sense that down these tree-lined streets there is nothing else quite as architecturally intoxicating in all of Hudson County.

PARAGON ON PINE STREET

This morning, as congregations file in and out of the neighborhood's many houses of worship, I walk down Pine Street, a dead-end lane that becomes, with every step, serene, bucolic, out of place for Jersey City.

Slate sidewalks and picket fences. Nineteenth-century homesteads set back, their rear barns and carriage houses visible from the street. Clapboard siding. Column-braced verandahs. Landscaped gardens. Mansard and gabled roofs.

The architectural fabric here was created between the 1850s and '70s by Lafayette developers William Keeney and John Halladay as they set out to establish a riverfront resort - a rich spirit that persists nearly 150 years later regardless of the recent arrival of speculators who have, with the city's blessing, carved and subdivided the neighborhood's famous pastoral lots, resulting in the large-scale replacement of perfectly intact mansions with cookie-cutter rectangles.

Pine Street, one of the oldest lanes in Lafayette and the only one still interlaced with a storybook collection of Victorian Second Empire homesteads, is somehow holding on.

Hope lies in historic preservation. At 175 Pine, the circa-1873 home of Miles Poindexter, Lycel Villanueva and their 2-year-old son Roame stands as an eye-popping paragon of architectural strength, endurance and beauty.

TRANSFORMATIONS

Five years ago, Miles, after restoring a circa-1880 brick townhouse steps away on Communipaw Avenue, purchased the Pine Street residence.

At that time the house was dilapidated. Its porch sagged. Pieces of its diamond-patterned siding were chipped and scaling off. Cornice brackets were missing. The house leaned slightly. The rear yard was strewn with debris and lacked a lawn. The interior was just as depressing: poor plumbing, drafty windows, leaking roof, inadequate circulation of space and light.

In 2006, with the arrival of his retired father, Robert, and his new wife, Lycel Villanueva - a registered architect and preservationist who grew up in the Jersey City Heights - the project was injected with inspiration and drive. Serious restoration began.

Lycel drew intricate plans for the house's transformation. A dedication to green sustainable living and adaptive reuse figured into the overall restoration. Walls and doorways were reconfigured to allow for cross lighting and ventilation. Original pine plank floors were kept, while eco-friendly bamboo flooring was added to the living and bedrooms. Brick fireplaces were exposed. A central stairway leading from the second floor to the mansard roof was extracted from gypsum walls and ornamented with wrought iron railings Lycel designed.

The large backyard was cleared of garbage and paved with rescued foundation brick. The columned porch was rebuilt, the house resplendently repainted. The vibrant color palette for the exterior - green, yellow and burgundy - was inspired by the gingerbread Victorians of Cape May that the couple visited.

ROAME THE RESTORER

Roame, at 2 years old, is the underlying impetus for the restoration of 175 Pine St.

Lycel and Miles were determined to give their son a home in Lafayette that was safe, environmentally conscious and fun. Special dens, playrooms, bathrooms and interior color schemes were configured and devised for him. Even the exterior pigments were decided upon to catch Roame's eye and help him to remember the special site.

As the years pass, though, he will not be alone in remembering the house.

The home's new position as Lafayette's leading landmark - a timeless gift from Lycel and Miles - will soon be shared by a baby sister - and the now-vibrant light this Sunday morning will continue to illuminate the way.

JOHN GOMEZ, founder of the Jersey City Landmarks Conservancy, graduated this year from Columbia University's Graduate School of Architecture, Planning and Preservation. He may be reached at historyrules1999@gmail.com.

kljc

July 15th, 2008, 02:37 PM

Yes Kljc that is what is either going to be a park of a place for the power transformers. The good thing is that this will clean up the lot and bring in some taxes. What I hope is that it a temporary combination of trailers, the way the Liberty Harbor project sales center is set up, then used for either a park or substation.

the sales office is indeed going this space. Guys are constructing now. The man I spoke with said they are only responsible in the up keep of the property they have blocked off. Which is too bad; the weeds and trash are out of control throughout the entire lot.

Don31

July 21st, 2008, 04:07 PM

A Skywalk is a great idea.

I'm not so sure about that. The Powerhouse is such a beautiful building, I'm afraid a skywalk would ruin it, like Newark Penn Station's skywalk.

lammius

July 25th, 2008, 03:43 PM

I'm not so sure about that. The Powerhouse is such a beautiful building, I'm afraid a skywalk would ruin it, like Newark Penn Station's skywalk.

Words out of my mouth. When I saw the remark about skywalks, my first thought was "What?? This ain't Newark!"

Don31

July 25th, 2008, 05:01 PM

Words out of my mouth. When I saw the remark about skywalks, my first thought was "What?? This ain't Newark!"

I couldn't agree more!!

macmini

July 30th, 2008, 09:28 PM

lammius

August 1st, 2008, 02:01 AM

I haven't been here in awhile is their any thing happen with the Journal Square project. I passed by last week and nothing has changed I know their is a credit crunch right now, but they could at least finished the deconstruction of the remaining buildings.

Last I heard, the developer was still trying to negotiate a sweeter PILOT deal with the city. Nothing has happened on the site since the fence was erected in March.

In other JSQ news, Hudson County Community College's Culinary Park is under way at the funky intersection of Sip Ave, Van Reypen St, and Newkirk St. The parcel was formerly a parking lot. Fences are up and gravel and sand are on the site, along with a banner showing a rendering of the park. I'm not really sure what a culinary park is. I hope it means food vendors?? :D

JCMAN320

August 1st, 2008, 07:47 PM

Iammius your right and Bally's is opening up soon. That park is another great step for the Sqaure. Sorry guys for beign away so long, I have a laundry list of things that I have to post so here it goes. Harbor Lights in the Powerhouse Art District is going to start construction in September.

Harbor Lights, how artistic!
September start for Powerhouse District's first condos

Thursday, July 31, 2008
By CHARLES HACK
JOURNAL STAFF WRITER

Who said the Powerhouse Arts District is dead? Developers broke ground yesterday on the first condominium project to be developed under the current plan for the district.

Despite the gloomy nationwide real estate market, developers are pressing ahead with the Harbor Lights 153-unit condominium project at 160 First St., saying they "remain bullish" on the Downtown Jersey City market.

"We think that Jersey City is the hottest real estate market in the United States in the next 10 years," said David Pazden, the managing member of Waldo Jersey City LLC, a group of 37 Ivy League investors. "That is why we are here."

When complete, the three buildings will offer artists live/work loft spaces - with flexible floor plans, a private rooftop swimming pool, underground parking, ground-floor stores, galleries and a publicly accessible central courtyard.

Work will begin next month on demolishing a Ramp Auto Parts building on Second Avenue. Work on the foundations of the first two buildings will start in September - when the sales office is set to open.

First to be built will be a six-story, 16-unit building next to P.J. Ryan's Pub on Marin Boulevard, then an 11-story, 42-unit building on Second Street.

Under the Powerhouse Arts District plan, around 75 percent of the units must be at least 1,200 square feet. The remainder are planned for 900 square feet, with a few penthouse apartments at 1,700 square feet.

The market-rate units are expected to sell for between $600,000 and $1.2 million.

The Powerhouse Arts District plan also requires units to be marketed exclusively to artists for the first three months, and at least 10 percent must be affordable units to be sold to certified artists on the Jersey City Planning Department's waiting list. A company spokesman said they also have a list of more than 2,000 interested artists.

"This follows the PAD plan to a T," David Pazden said.

Developers have applied for an amendment to allow them to build smaller units by the time the construction begins on the third building, on First Street, which now is planned as a 11-story building with 95 units.

Michael Pazden, the director of construction and David's father, said buyers will be able to customize their fixtures, fittings and finishes.

JCMAN320

August 1st, 2008, 07:57 PM

Developer, city at odds over 'ready to collapse' warehouse

Thursday, July 24, 2008
By PAUL KOEPP
JOURNAL STAFF WRITER

Before the Powerhouse building on Washington Street can be remade into the jewel of Jersey City's new Downtown arts district, it will have to shed the humming transformers that it houses - they power the PATH trains.

That means moving them elsewhere, but the owner of the city's preferred destination is not welcoming them with open arms.

Developer Bob Lehrer, principal owner of the 1905 Butler Brothers warehouse at 350 Warren St., asked the city July 2 for immediate approval to demolish his building, saying its entire front wall had shifted toward Morgan Street by as much as 7 inches.

He says Allied Engineering, of Franklin Lakes, found the warehouse, also known as the Morgan Building, to be in danger of imminent collapse, although he declined to share the report with The Jersey Journal.

In a written response, city Construction Official Ray Meyer said he found Lehrer's "logic and explanation to be quite alarming" because he did not include the engineer's report or a plan to stabilize the building before demolition.

Yesterday, unicipal Court Judge Nesle Rodriguez said the city should inspect the building immediately and report back to her today, calling cracks in the structure a "serious situation."

Lehrer said he expects the city to "do the right thing."

But city officials questioned the timing and seriousness of the alleged structural problems.

"For the last two to three years, as Mr. Lehrer has formally or informally communicated with the city in regards to that property, he has never once indicated in the slightest that it was suffering from structural duress," said Jersey City Corporation Counsel Bill Matsikoudis.

He said Lehrer only raised the issue when he encountered resistance to his plans to erect a residential tower in the middle of the building, which the city is trying to have registered as an historic site.

Lehrer is also suing the city in an effort to force the Planning Board to act on his application, filed 17 months ago, to convert the warehouse into condominiums with a maximum building height of 550 feet.

That would mirror changes on surrounding parcels of the Powerhouse Arts District.

Matsikoudis said the city has not considered Lehrer's request because the developer did not pay a required $10,000 fee, and added that even if the fee is paid, the application would not necessarily be approved.

In the meantime, the Port Authority has hired an engineering firm to look at other potential sites for the substation between Washington and Grove streets, including a previously considered triangular piece of land just north of the Powerhouse building, said Jersey City Redevelopment Agency Executive Director Bob Antonicello.

Journal staff writer Lisa Zimmerman contributed to this story.

JCMAN320

August 1st, 2008, 08:01 PM

City and developer clash over 'danger' warehouse poses

Friday, July 25, 2008
By PAUL KOEPP
JOURNAL STAFF WRITER

Is the Morgan Building in Downtown Jersey City really in danger of collapse?

Jersey City Municipal Court Chief Judge Nesle Rodriguez will take up that question in three weeks, as the city and the building's owner, developer Bob Lehrer, clash over differing engineers' reports.

City attorney Martin Dolan told Rodriguez yesterday morning that the warehouse, which occupies the block between Warren and Washington streets and Morgan and Bay streets, is in "no imminent hazard of collapse."

The city wants to relocate transformers that power the PATH train system from the nearby Powerhouse building to the Morgan Street warehouse in order to make the Powerhouse the entertainment and retail centerpiece of an emerging arts district.

Bill Halkiadakis, an engineer hired by the city to do an inspection Wednesday, did note "some movement in the building" that should be addressed by Lehrer, Dolan said.

Lehrer, who wants to develop the property, told Rodriguez Wednesday his engineer found serious structural flaws requiring the building to be demolished immediately, adding the city's engineer is "out of his mind."

The judge ordered the two sides to exchange reports and appear before her on Aug. 13 at 9 a.m., saying that by then she can digest the dueling analyses.

The matter originally came before Rodriguez when the Fire Department cited Lehrer for not having a fire suppression system in the building, but she decided not to rule until its structural stability is determined.

"It doesn't make sense to remediate the fire violations if the building is going to be demolished," Rodriguez said.

Under a recently inked agreement with the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, the city will find a new location for the power station. The Powerhouse is currently jointly owned by the Port Authority and the city.

The city is moving to preserve Lehrer's 103-year-old warehouse as an historic building, while the developer wants to replace it with two condominium towers climbing as high as 55 stories.

Lehrer said the warehouse has shifted as much as 7 inches.

JCMAN320

August 1st, 2008, 08:05 PM

SQUARE VISIONS

Wednesday, July 23, 2008
By ABRAM MANALASTAS
JOURNAL STAFF WRITER

Journal Square may be on its way back to becoming the thriving center of Jersey City.

A 21/2-hour public workshop entitled "Community Visioning for the New Journal Square Public Visioning Workshop" was held last night at the Hudson County Community College Culinary Arts Building, on Newkirk Street.

Sponsored by the Jersey City Redevelopment Agency, workshop showcased images on what the Journal Square area could potentially become.

"For the past 20 years, Journal Square has been in a period of decline," Mayor Jerramiah T. Healy said. "What we want to do is get rid of ugly, old, unproductive eyesores that have marked Journal Square for the past two decades."

The images of buildings and streetscapes - some of them taken from other cities - were prepared by A. Nelessen Associates, a planning firm based in Belle Mead, and shown to about 100 attendees on a large screen.

Workshop attendees registered their opinions on the designs by completing a questionnaire and visual preference survey. Their opinions will be incorporated into future plans, officials said.

"The key to making these plans happen is you (the community) telling us what you want to happen," said Anton Nelessen, founder of A. Nelessen Associates. "No one can know a community better than those that live and work there."

Jersey City resident Janey Rotondo oohed and ahhed as various images flashed on the screen.

"This project is going to bring in better quality (of living)," Rotondo said. "It's going to enhance the living quality and would make people actually want to live here."

Council members Bill Gaughan, Steven Fulop, and Journal Square Councilman Steve Lipski attended the workshop.

QHIPHOP

August 7th, 2008, 03:16 PM

Hi,

I'm about to purchase a property around Journal Square and need a good real estate lawyer today. Can anyone give me a recommendation and a general sense of how much they charge?

Thanks much.

tbal

August 7th, 2008, 09:29 PM

brianac

August 9th, 2008, 08:47 PM

Hipster neighborhoods: Journal Square, Jersey City

Published: 08/01/2008 16:09:34

Three years ago, Journal Square was a neighborhood full of South Asians and Pakistanis. Small restaurants, phone card sales, and movie rental boutiques filled with Bollywood's latest sensations were as prevalent as inexpensive rentals. Recently, however, the cool crowd priced out of downtown Jersey City and Hoboken have come in droves, pushing the living envelope as far as Harrison and parts of Newark. This bodes well for small town Jersey looking for an economic shove. You can still score a one-bedroom for as low as $875. (Call 646-696-0244 to see it.) Expect to pay around $2,000 for a completely renovated three-bedroom. The coffee shops and local bars need a little work, but most local drinking holes have a jukebox and some crusty old regulars. It's a 20 minute train ride to Manhattan.

http://www.nydailynews.com/img/2008/08/01/t10_journal-square.jpgCredit: Dabin for News
Intersection of Kennedy and Bergen Boulevards

© Copyright 2008 NYDailyNews.com.

JCexpert558

August 9th, 2008, 11:19 PM

What will happen when Jersey Citys Skyline gets so crowded that nowbody can see Lower Manhattan

66nexus

August 10th, 2008, 10:38 AM

What will happen when Jersey Citys Skyline gets so crowded that nowbody can see Lower Manhattan

A celebration from points west of the Hudson.

QHIPHOP

August 11th, 2008, 03:15 PM

That's all great that they are trying to master plan (not like this administration has a good track record of answering to the public on development issues though), but what the heck is going on with the epicenter of Journal Square's revitalization?? Weren't they supposed to have broken ground on the City Center project by now?? I thought the city brokered a sweet deal with MEPT to get the ball rolling? Does anyone have any info?

Geez, they have been pushing back the start date of that project for 3-4 years now...

This is causing the delay right now.

Journal Square: City may not see revenue for decades

Monday, February 11, 2008
By KEN THORBOURNE
JOURNAL STAFF WRITER

A Jersey City developer who has already received a 30-year tax abatement to help build an ambitious twin tower project in Journal Square - and has recruited a deep pockets partner to the deal - is now asking the city for a multi-million low-interest loan, city officials said.

Lowell Harwood, managing partner of Jersey City-based Harwood Properties, is asking the city to lend the project $20 million to $40 million by floating "revenue allocation bonds," city officials said.

In keeping with state guidelines, the developer would repay the loan, plus interest.

But with revenue allocation bonds, the developer deducts the costs to cover the loan from whatever taxes are owed the city. This means it could be years, even decades, before the city sees any revenue from this $500 million, mixed-use development planned for the block adjacent to the PATH Transportation Center, officials said.

Mayor Jerramiah T. Healy said his administration is hearing the developer out, but the public need not worry.

"I know they are looking for some kind of assistance having to do with infrastructure," Healy said. "Just because someone may be looking for assistance, the city is not obliged to tender that assistance. Before any agreement is struck, the city council and I will be most vigilant with the taxpayers' money."

Harwood, who has joined forces with the Multi-Employer Property Trust based in Bethesda, Md. - a union pension fund investment company with $6.2 billion in assets - to build the project, didn't return phone calls seeking comment.

But Elizabeth Opacity, his spokeswoman, said: "We have been working in partnership with the city on an ongoing basis to discuss the best way to move this overall program forward and revitalize the entire area. There have been no final determinations. Only discussions. There are no conclusions."

Journal Square Councilman Steve Lipski believes the city should give Harwood the money. "I support this one billion percent," Lipski said. "Helping the jewel of Jersey City and the only central business district of Jersey City is the right thing to do at this time."

Downtown Councilman Steven Fulop blasted the request for additional assistance, especially since the developer received a 30-year tax break calling for annual "payment in lieu of taxes" of 10 percent, the lowest PILOT rate handed out in recent years.

"The city is obviously broke and this is a dangerous door to open," Fulop said. "The next thing Lowell is going to ask for in a couple of months is for the city to build the building for him."

NYC4Life

August 17th, 2008, 10:52 AM

Jersey City's Crystal Point preps for opening

http://s3.amazonaws.com/trd_three/images/46415/Crystal_Point4_articlebox.JPG

Fisher Development Associates' Crystal Point condominium will open next month in Jersey City. The 42-story building designed by Gruzen Samton architects has 269 residences ranging from 800 to1,817 square feet. All units have SMART home technology and views of Manhattan. Amenities include a spa, game room, fitness center, screening room and lounge with a catering kitchen. The Marketing Directors are the exclusive sales and marketing agent. TRD

RYinNJ

August 17th, 2008, 11:59 PM

Curious how many feet does forty two stories equal? Around 400? If it is over 400 feet it will get listed in the World Almanac section of Tall Buildings for Jersey City....Right now currently listed for Jersey City are as follows:
30 Hudson Street 781ft---42 stories
101 Hudson 548ft---42
Trump Plaza 1 532ft---55
Newport Tower 528ft---37
Exchange Place 515ft---32 (includes spire)
77Hudson 500ft---48
77Hudson 500ft---48
Harborside Pl.V 480ft---34
Marbella Apts 427ft---40

Also, when they say 40 stories, does that mean on top of its base or is that included?

Thanks for any info provided....

tbal

August 20th, 2008, 09:57 PM

I believe the height of Crystal Point has been quoted as 456 ft. As usual, Globe St. managed to get their facts wrong (they meant that the sales center is going to open soon; the tower itself is nowhere near completion). Not surprisingly, they put an article out today with the 'breaking news' that Newport's Aquablu is now under construction (only a year and a half late on that one...not too bad :rolleyes:).

In other news, in a sign of hope for Journal Square, a new proposal for an 8-story building on Oakland Ave & Cook Street is to go before the Zoning Board tomorrow night. I believe this is the tallest building I've seen proposed for anywhere in Jersey City since Fall of 2006.

Link (see item #13): http://cityofjerseycity.com/uploadedFiles/Public_Notices/Agenda/Zoning_Board_Agenda/ZB%20AGN%202008%2008%2021.pdf

Shadly

August 28th, 2008, 05:23 PM

A celebration from points west of the Hudson.

Maybe then New York will have the balls to join the "Uber" tall building ranks. Just to stick it to Jersey.

Shadly

August 28th, 2008, 05:50 PM

Does anyone know what they are doing with that horrible little crack den alley that cuts from Newark to Columbus about a block down from Grove Street station?

JCMAN320

August 30th, 2008, 03:35 AM

Crack den alley??? LOL Please clarify. Here is some news:

FEELING ANY RICHER?
Census shows Hudson on the up$wing

Wednesday, August 27, 2008
By PAUL KOEPP
JOURNAL STAFF WRITER

Incomes are on the rise and the poverty rate has dipped in Hudson County, according to survey data released yesterday by the U.S. Census Bureau.

The figures compiled in the American Community Survey show there were 81,159 people in the county living in poverty in 2007, for a poverty rate of 13.7 percent. That's 8,723 people fewer than the previous year, when the rate was 15.2 percent.

The county's median household income last year was $51,656, a slight increase from $49,557 in 2006, but still below the state average of $67,035, which is second only to Maryland.

County spokesman Jim Kennelly credited the good news to programs that place teens in summer internships and provide job training through the county Schools of Technology.

"It's good that progress has been made, but we still need to do more," Kennelly said.

In Jersey City, the median household income in 2007 was $51,830, compared to $43,426 in 2006, while the poverty rate fell from 20 to 14.9 percent.

"We are pleased to see that in Jersey City more people and more families are prospering from the revitalization of the city," Mayor Jerramiah T. Healy said in a statement.

"I will continue to work to bring the poverty rate even lower by fostering education, job training - such as through our Apprenticeship Training Program - and by attracting development and new investment," Healy added.

Figures in Union City were more stagnant. Median household income dropped from $39,388 in 2006 to $38,164 last year, and the poverty rate inched up from 17.3 percent to 18.6 percent.

The survey only includes data for cities that have at least 65,000 people.

New Jersey's poverty rate of 8.6 percent is well below the national rate of 12.5 percent. The state's cities rank at both the high end and low end of the country's income spectrum.

With a median household income of $25,389, Camden was the third poorest city in the nation with at least 65,000 residents, and Passaic was tenth on that list with a $27,691 median family income.

In New Jersey, Hunterdon County's median household income of $100,327 was the highest of any county. Its poverty rate was a smidgen over 4 percent - the fourth-lowest for a county of its size.

JCMAN320

August 30th, 2008, 03:38 AM

Lovely, and lighted by sun
Lovely, and juiced by sun

Friday, August 29, 2008
By LYSA CHENJOURNAL
STAFF WRITER

The first phase of Jersey City's beautification program is complete, and the results - flowers, flags and solar-powered lights surrounding welcome signs at the city's edges - are not just easy on the eyes but on the environment too.

Solar panels used to light each display will save Jersey City $60,000 to $100,000 a year in electric bills, said Jose Arango, director of the city Division of Economic Development.

The $300,000 project, paid for with funds from the Urban Enterprise Zone Authority, is part of a larger effort to beautify the city to bring in more businesses and jobs, Arango said.

"Beautification is not only good for business and main streets, but also good for lowering crime and improving the quality of life," he added.

The next phase of the program will involve the installation of flags, representing sister cities, along Montgomery Street, West Side Avenue and Newark Avenue, and those will also be lit with solar power, Arango said

JCMAN320

August 30th, 2008, 03:52 AM

http://www.newyorkssixth.com/
http://jcconstruction.blogspot.com/

New developments on Crystal Point, 213 Newark Ave, Jersey Ave, Liberty Harbor, new bike shops, and new restaurants, and local insight.

tbal

August 30th, 2008, 09:00 PM

As much as I am happy about Jersey City's revitalization, the rise in income has nothing to do with - has no correllation at all with - an improvement of the quality of life of any individual in the city. The reason why per-capita income in Jersey City is higher now than it was a year ago is (I think pretty obviously) due to poorer families moving out (to part of Pennsylvania and more affordable areas) and wealthier people moving in. A lot of people in my old neighborhood in Harsimus Cove were working-class people who sold their homes at the peak of the market and moved out of the city. The Healy administration isn't doing s**t for improving the quality of life of our city's lower-income families, with the exception of having slightly more police on patrol to reduce violence.

When hundreds of families living paycheck-to-paycheck sell their homes to Goldman Sachs and other financial services employees making 6-figure salaries, of course Jersey City's per capita income is going to go up.

What Mr. Koepp says in the above article is as silly as someone who lives in the Grove Street area believing that homelessness no longer exists in downtown since no homeless are seen sleeping in the PATH plaza anymore. In reality, the homeless aren't there anymore because the police haved chased them out of the area (I remember seeing one poor dude sleeping on a matress when two cops came over to him and basically threatened to arrest him if he didn't head to some other location).

Tectonic

September 2nd, 2008, 09:16 PM

What's the name of the building rising just north of Plaza 10?

New Guy

September 6th, 2008, 02:59 AM

Things are slowing down a little from the frenzied building that was going on before. I even see it in this blog. There were multiple entries a day, now I go away for a few weeks, come back, and only a few new entries. Not to despair friends. JC is still an affordable alternative to the city. Its coming. Two more years my friends, the economy sucks I know, banks are not lending I know, but two more years and we're back at it again. Hang in there. I know these things.

Good comment Tbal, as far a the homeless in the Grove. But beleive me, we still have plenty in the Square. And as far as the police, I dont know where they are. They may have a stong presence in the Grove, but I dont see them in the Square, outside of the path itself. The only presence I have seen "away" from the path was on one occasion where there was some gang thing going on that the Jersey Journal had reported so heavily that they could not ignor it. They had two officers walking down Baldwin. The only time I ever saw a food patrole south of SIP. Then there was the wolf pack thing where the woman got her head bashed in by some punks, and the Chief denied it was a wolf pack. That anoys the hell out of me. I have no problem with the police, they are our friends, but I really wish they would show some more presence in the Square, and not just the 'pretty' part. I just had my second break in a week ago and its getting old.

On a more positive note, the governmental center is coming along well near Baldwin and Mill Rd. The new park is moving along well.

Hang in there all.

JCMAN320

September 6th, 2008, 08:12 PM

I beg to differ with the cops in the Square. I see cops there all the time and police cars there alot with cops walking around, also the JCPD turned the kiosk at McGinley Sq into a police kiosk. I have lived here my whole life, never had a break in or been jumped or threatened. Just dumb luck I guess. Just be safe, I honestly don't think JC is any less safe than Brooklyn or Queens or the BX for that matter. Also the smaller projects are going on and building, the larger projects have stalled, but I agree with New Guy 2 years it will swing up. Also more and more people I have noticed are renovating their properties very nicely, it is even being mentioned on JCconstruction: http://jcconstruction.blogspot.com/

JCMAN320

September 11th, 2008, 01:48 AM

On second thought. Beacon to go rental
Developer: Luxury condos a hard sell these days

Wednesday,September 10, 2008
By KEN THORBOURNE
JOURNAL STAFF WRITER

http://blog.nj.com/hudsoncountynow_impact/2008/09/medium_zbeac11.JPG

Saying banks won't finance condo projects in these rugged financial times, the developer rehabbing the old Jersey City Medical Center now wants to switch six abatement deals with the city from condos to rentals.

The length of each abatement would remain 30 years, George Filopoulos, president of New York-based Metrovest Equities and developer of the Beacon, told council members at their caucus on Monday.

But the percent of annual gross revenue paid to the city would change - probably amounting to a "couple hundred of dollars a year" less for the city, said Business Administrator Brian O'Reilly.

The $400 million Beacon - the nation's largest restoration project - is currently slated for 1,200 residential units in nine buildings.

The existing deals for the six buildings where renovations haven't started yet call for 12 percent gross annual payments to the city for 30 years. The proposed agreements call for 12 percent for the first 15 years and 14 percent for the next 15 years for three of the six buildings.

The other three buildings would pay 10 percent gross annual revenue for the first 10 years, 12 percent for the next 10, and 14 percent for the final 10 years, officials said.

Filopoulos insisted he's had no trouble selling 315 condo units at the more than 90 percent occupied Rialto-Capital buildings and said he intends to market and sell 103 units due to come on line next year at the Mercury as condos.

So once the six buildings are finished, Filopoulos said he intends to return to the city and redo the tax abatement deals as condos. "That's our profit center," he said.

Around the nation, single-family homes and condos are taking 11 months on average to sell, while the "absorption rate" for rentals is much quicker, said E. Robert Levy of the Mortgage Bankers Association of New Jersey.

In the meantime, Filopoulos acknowledged his architects are looking into ways to add rental units to the six buildings expected to receive the new abatements.

The six tax abatements are scheduled to be introduced at tonight's council meeting, at 6 p.m. at Middle School 4, 107 Bright St.

New Guy

September 11th, 2008, 03:58 AM

On the Beacon, thats not a JC issue. Thats just a liquidity issue systemic of the entire nation. Banks are in retrenchment, on the ropes covering up, getting pounded, and not lending. They will not be lending until the write downs stop. They are still dealing with these massive billion dollar bundles of worthless debt (Lehman is the latest 'victim'). I qualify the word 'victim' as my heart does not bleed for these banks. They made billions on these agressively insane instruments we all knew were stupid when the boom was on, and now they are wondering why they have debt that is worthless, and a note that was divided up 3 different ways and sold on the secondary market for a guy who makes $50,000 a year can support a property worth...$700,000 a year. Thats just the banks and mortgage brokers being stupid.

That being said, we are all have to deal with it...there is no letting them go under, as pissed off as you may be. Unfortunately that would cause greater problems. Good news is the Treasury appears to be bolsteing them up. I know this may seem a little off point for the topic of Jersey City. But is is really extremely ON POINT for Jersey City. If anyone asks how the sub prime effects us. Well this is it. Right in JCMan's article. The Beacon is a good example. And technically I always tell folks "it aint the sub-prime that gets ya, its the 'prime' that gets ya." The sub pime was 5%, these debts are hitting the prime markets. That is bad. But we will get thru it.

The banks dont want to lend until they get more capital. They will not get capital until the blood-letting stops. The BEACON cant get customers to 'buy' not because there is anything wrong with the Beacon, but becasue the Real estate bust happened in part because the banks stiffened up lending. But this too shall pass. Does anyone remember the S&L crisis of the early 90. Here we are again.

Like I said. Hang in there friends. Two years and we are out of this thing and JC is still a great alternative to the overly priced Manhattan market that has still not gone down that much in this crysis.

JCMAN320

September 11th, 2008, 10:11 PM

Jersey City Site to Become Hilton Hotel, Condos
Liberty Harbor North to be Redeveloped in 564,000-SF Property

A private investor purchased Liberty Harbor North, a 2.7-acre site at 333 Grand St. in Jersey City, for the purpose of constructing a 564,000-square-foot hotel and residential condominium building. The property sold for an undisclosed amount.

The 2.7-acre waterfront brownfield site is just off of the Hudson River was once home to Flintkote Co.'s manufacturing plant. The lot will be cleaned up and redeveloped into a Hilton hotel (313 units) and condominium building (470 units).

The buyer is recorded to have restored over 25 historic buildings and will add this project to its repertoire.

Please see CoStar COMPS #1567006 for more information on this transaction.

Early rendering and article here:http://www.costar.com/News/Article.aspx?id=99AF8A4A47A971A8F57DDF9D380566AF

JCMAN320

September 12th, 2008, 06:33 PM

Newark Ave. retail plan is stalled

Friday, September 12, 2008

A plan to spark retail and commercial development at the eastern end of Newark Avenue stalled this week, when property owners objected to the proposed use of their burned-out lot as an alleyway and the Jersey City City Council tabled the matter.

Larry Perlaki and Paul Del Forno, owners of 141 Newark Ave., told council members they had been in constant touch with city planners about their intentions to redevelop their property when a fire in October reduced their building to rubble.

City officials stopped returning their calls, the owners said.

And, Perlaki said, it was only 15 minutes before a meeting with merchants to describe the plan, which takes in two square blocks along Newark and Christopher Columbus Drive between Grove Street and Jersey Avenue, that he learned the finished plans incorporate his property as a public walkway between Newark Avenue and Christopher Columbus. His building is located between Grove and Barrow streets.

"We're ready to build," said Del Forno. "First and foremost, before the council votes, you should see what we are proposing."

City Planner Maryann Bucci-Carter told council members the redevelopment plans had been in the works for more than a year.

Heights Councilman Bill Gaughan and several members of the public endorsed the paseo concept, saying it would have a positive aesthetic impact. Business Administrator Brian O'Reilly suggested a community meeting.

If the city does pursue the idea, Del Forno and Perlaki would have to be paid market value for their property.

KEN THORBOURNE

JCMAN320

September 12th, 2008, 06:48 PM

Council goes with Beacon

Friday, September 12, 2008

The Jersey City City Council on Wednesday introduced six revised tax abatement ordinances involving the Beacon project at the old Jersey City Medical Center that switch the status of more than 700 planned units from condos to rentals.

George Filopoulos, president of New York-based Metrovest Equities, the developer, requested the changes, asserting that in the current financial climate, banks won't lend him money to build condos.

Earlier this week, Filopoulos told council members he's had no problem selling nearly 315 condo units at the Rialto-Capital, the first two of the nine-building renovation project to come on line.

The duration of the new abatements would remain 30 years. But the percent of annual gross revenue paid the city would change - amounting to "a couple hundred of dollars" less for the city each year, according to Business Administrator Brian O'Reilly.

The $400 million Beacon development is slated to have 1,200 apartments.

The new abatements come up for a final vote on Sept. 24.

KEN THORBOURNE

Malcontent

September 17th, 2008, 03:43 AM

A lot of activity on the corner of Grand and Marin today. The luxury rental may be breaking ground soon.

citybooster

September 17th, 2008, 12:52 PM

What is it that's supposed to go on the corner of Grand and Marin?Hopefully it's not just one of those things like just checking soil samples that lead nowhere,only to be quiet again for months afterward.

Anyone have any idea with the folding of Merrill Lynch into Bank of America,what the hell is going to happen with their lot on 99 Hudson?Bank of America going to try to junk it off on someone?

And with the Monaco supposed to be obligated to be completed by the end of October,2011 acccording to the abatement revision agreed to by the City Council(failure of which incurs financial penalties from the developer,Roseland Properties)shall we expect it to go forward as a luxury rental anytime soon,otr has Roseland shafted the city again making promises it cannot keep?

JCMAN320

September 17th, 2008, 11:33 PM

Workers, mayor worry city's giants may lay off thousands

Tuesday, September 16, 2008
By CHARLES HACK
JOURNAL STAFF WRITER

With the grim financial news from AIG, Lehman Bros. and Merrill Lynch, much of the speculation in the Downtown Jersey City financial district has concerned how many employees will keep their jobs.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average plummeted 504 points yesterday after being slammed with the double-barrel news that Lehman Bros. was declaring bankruptcy and Bank of America would be buying investment banker Merrill Lynch for $50 billion - half the price it would have cost a year ago.

News also came through that insurers American International Group reportedly asked the Federal Reserve for a $40 billion bailout.

All three companies have offices at 101 Hudson St., while Lehman Bros. has an office on Hudson Street and Merrill Lynch has one on Greene Street.

Lehman Bros. employs 1,700 in Jersey City while Merrill Lynch has 1,500 jobs in the city.

AIG refused to say how many employees it has in Jersey City, but one estimate puts it at around 200.

Jersey City Mayor Jerramiah T. Healy fears that between Lehman Bros. and Merrill Lynch, thousands of jobs could be lost in the city with a deep effect on Downtown restaurants, bars and stores.

"It is bad enough that 2,000 people may lose their jobs," Healy said. "But it's made even worse by all those satellite businesses that rely on the foot traffic."

Gov. Jon Corzine said yesterday that between one-quarter and one-third of New Jersey's economy depends on Wall Street, either directly or indirectly.

Healy ruled out increasing incentives to companies to locate here, saying that they are already in place - but said the city would do more promote its competitiveness.

"We intend to market our city even more so that we have in the past," Healy said.

The mood was gloomy in the plaza in front of 101 Hudson St. yesterday afternoon.

The news that Lehman Brothers had declared bankruptcy came as a shock. Employees had been optimistic that a deal would be struck for some kind of takeover.

Some at AIG and Lehman Brothers said they expected to lose their jobs but still had not received official word. Work had pretty much stopped, with some employees even clearing their desks while anticipating the worst.

One IT technician said he did not know whether he should show up today. Another said he was waiting to find out what kind of severance package would be offered and did not know whether he would be able to pay his mortgage next month. None of those interviewed wanted to be identified.

Many others rely on an employment visa to stay in the United States and now fear they will be kicked out of the country.

The mood at Merrill Lynch was more optimistic, where employees were told it's business as usual. One employee even described the takeover by Bank of America as the "right fit." No announcement had be made about layoffs yesterday afternoon, they said.

James Hughes, dean of the Edward J. Bloustein School of Planning and Public Policy at Rutgers University, said takeovers by the Bank of America in the past led to "significant job reductions."

"It is usually the acquired company which bears the brunt of the pain," Hughes said.

Hughes said that during the last correction, Hudson County fared much better than New York.

The 2004-2007 boom where investors ignored risk is over, he said. This is just the beginning of the restructuring and worse should be expected, he said.

"This is certainly the start of a major restructuring," Hughes said. "Lower costs in Jersey City may mitigate it, but will not erase the pain as the industry restructures."

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

JCMAN320

September 17th, 2008, 11:42 PM

Downturn strikes at Hudson's heart

Wednesday, September 17, 2008

On Monday, Wall Street tilted.

The Dow Jones industrials dropped 500 points, the worst slide since right after Sept. 11, 2001. It was estimated that around the world shareholders' wealth dropped by about $700 billion.

On the surface, it was all triggered by Lehman Brothers' bankruptcy filing and what was basically a forced sale of Merrill Lynch to Bank of America for $50 billion in stock. The real fear of investors is that it is not over and that the credit crisis will devour other banks and financial institutions. The last banks standing will be able to pick up some bargains, but the impact on the average investor will be painful.

Here is how it could hurt in Jersey City - and other Hudson County municipalities better take heed.

Wall Street is the engine that drives Jersey City. First, developers will not be able to unload those tony housing units because many of the people buying them, and this goes for Hoboken as well, are from the financial world. There will be no big bonuses this year.

The Jersey City Financial District is made up mostly of commercial back offices. If more of those financial firms and banks start to collapse, expect those back offices to fold and for there to be much office space available on this side of the river.

Developers of housing projects who cannot unload condos will probably look to Jersey City to help bail them out. They will line up to rework their tax abatement deals similar to that given by the city to Canco Lofts, the development at the old American Can Company property on Dey Street, which now makes lower in-lieu-of-taxes payments than originally agreed.

As the dominos fall, area shops and small businesses will hurt. There does not seem to be much hope for a bright holiday shopping season if things do not get better quickly.

Is any more proof required to show that there is a serious need to review federal banking and investment deregulation? Remember the deregulation in the Ronald Reagan years that ended many restrictions on savings and loan associations. This led to the biggest financial bailout in history. Today, this country could not find enough taxpayers' money to bail out investment firms and large banks.

JCMAN320

September 17th, 2008, 11:49 PM

Dog run to open at Washington Park

by The Jersey Journal
Wednesday September 17, 2008, 2:13 PM

A dog run will open Friday at Washington Park, at the Jersey City/Union City border near Central Avenue.

County officials say the 120-by-80-foot dog run will also have a "high-tech canine water fountain."

The dog run will officially open at noon on Friday.

"As a proud dog owner who lives close to Washington Park, I am particularly happy about the completion of this project, County Executive Tom DeGise said in a written statement

The total cost of the project was $160,000.

ItstheBeat

September 18th, 2008, 04:27 AM

What a waste.

JCMAN320

September 18th, 2008, 03:44 PM

Scene in WWII? No, the Square

Thursday, September 18, 2008

R emember when Jersey City officials said that work on the Journal Square eyesore block that once housed KFC and the Hotel on the Square would begin this summer? Monday will be the first day of autumn.

There is a chain-link fence around this derelict property next to the PATH Transportation Center. It contains the shells of several buildings still standing and a brick-and debris-lined pit where some structures were razed. It could pass for a movie set depicting a devastated block after the London or Dresden bombings of World War II.

Usually, there is filthy water - or some other liquid - leaking from the broken bricks, running under the fence and staining the sidewalks of the pedestrian area near the Christopher Columbus statue and the often broken fountain. When the temperature dips, this runoff will turn to ice that will require placement of barriers.

Deep into the fall season, there will be the usual attempt to hang festive holiday lights on the trees near the dark pile of rubble that was once shops and offices. Trying to brighten the area is truly putting lipstick on a pig.

Supposedly there are plans for a $500 million project that will include twin residential towers, offices, shops, and some parking. It would be a two-year project.

The last thing the public heard was that there were ongoing negotiations for a proposed 30-year tax break for the development that would provide payments in lieu of taxes to the city of 10 percent of gross annual revenue.

With this week's Wall Street maelstrom, seeded by the subprime mortgage industry collapse, and the improbability of moving condo units or high-priced rentals, there are new questions. Chief among these is how will all this affect the Journal Square project? How much longer do city residents live with the ugliness?

This newspaper made this request earlier this month, and now repeats it: It is time for City Hall to tell the public where this project is going. How about it, mayor? How about it, City Council?

New Guy

September 20th, 2008, 03:37 AM

Why JSQ is not being developed -- to answer JC Mans posted article.

Does anyone notice what almost happened in the last 24 hours? There was a meeting between Bernaki, Paulson, Bush and some members of the Senate. They will not disclose details but apparently we just came about one click away from the second Great Depression.

I know its hard to notice though all the McCain vs Obama vs Palain vs Hillary stuff the news was covering, but this was extremely serious.

We had 5 major institutions fail in one one week (two of them quasi-government which should NEVER have happened). Two more are 'on' death row as I type this...dudes, this is bad.

Banks are not lending...no liquidity..no Jersey City JSQ condos getting sold.

I saw a ticker on the news last week. It litterally said "Banks stopped lending". At first I blew it off and then I processed it and said..what the..f? Banks apparenty will not lend to each other because no one trusts what 'bad' assets the other guy has on his books. Its like a poker game in the Good the Bad and the Ugly where Tico will not deal to Blondy and Blondy will not deal to Angel Eyes...its insane...but this is BANKS.

This is not a Jersey City problem. This is much deeper, but it effects JC none the less.

Good news though. Bail out happened. Next three weeks pivitol. Wait and watch. Its not wall street, its the banks. If it suceeds -- Jersey City Rises again in two years. If not, we have much bigger problems.

JCMAN320

September 22nd, 2008, 02:24 PM

IDEA TO BUILD ON
Sale of 'development rights' a win-win, Jersey City says

Monday, September 22, 2008
By KEN THORBOURNE
JOURNAL STAFF WRITER

Jersey City is exploring a unique vehicle to generate more money for historic preservation and other projects by making developers pay if they want to build bigger buildings.

A $50,000 grant from the state Office of Smart Growth will fund the study of "transfer of development rights," officials recently announced.

So far only used in the state to preserve farmland in Burlington County, transfer of development rights enables one property owner to sell unused development space to another owner.

For example, city officials could sell development rights based on the fact that City Hall on Grove Street is smaller than surrounding buildings. It is the same with the Powerhouse building, which the city is in the process of acquiring from the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey and wants to turn into the entertainment and retail center of an arts district.

Money generated from those sales could pay to renovate City Hall, and stabilize the crumbling Powerhouse, officials said.

"We don't have enough money to do everything we want to do," said city Planning Director Robert Cotter. "Plus, we have the market to actually sell development rights. If we do it, they will sell."

City officials said they are using San Francisco as a model, where the sale of development rights is used primarily to rehabilitate and restore historic structures.

This study should take a year and would involve the designation of "sending" and "receiving" zones, officials said.

"We made the (grant) category available and reached out to various urban centers, however, Jersey City was the only one that took the initiative in this case and we highly commend them for it," said state Department of Community Affairs spokesman Chris Donnelly.

James McCann, a prominent real estate attorney in the city, called the idea "potentially positive."

"I think it is another vehicle to use as an economic tool for the city to achieve some of its goals for historic preservation, and private developers can benefit from the additional density," McCann said.

Jersey City Landmarks Conservancy founder John Gomez, who writes a weekly column for The Jersey Journal, believes the idea could be a boon for preservationists. "But the city would need to make sure the money goes into the restoration of the resource and not into the coffers of the person selling the transfer rights," Gomez said.

JCMAN320

September 24th, 2008, 04:03 PM

JERSEY CITY CITY COUNCIL
Newark Ave. on agenda, but walkway out of plan

Wednesday, September 24, 2008

The paseo appears to be passé - or perhaps, kaput.

Jersey City City Council members indicated Monday they are prepared to introduce a redevelopment plan for the eastern end of Newark Avenue at tonight's council meeting - minus a proposed walkway, or paseo as city planners called it, between Christopher Columbus Drive and Newark Avenue.

The cost and headache of seizing the burned-out lot at 141 Newark Ave. to put in the amenity just wasn't worth it, council members said.

Besides, the owners - Larry Perlaki and Paul Del Forno - told council members Monday they are prepared to build a six-story building, with 10 residential units and a bar and restaurant on the ground floor.

The owners first raised a ruckus about plans to take their land at a council meeting two weeks ago. Several City Council members said it was the first time they became aware the redevelopment plan included taking someone's property through eminent domain. An old three-story building on the property burned to the ground last October.

The overall plan takes in two square blocks along Newark and Christopher Columbus Drive between Grove Street and Jersey Avenue. The goal is to spark retail and commercial development in the area. The paseo would have cut through the block between Grove and Barrow streets.

Tonight's meeting is scheduled for 6 p.m., at Middle School 4, 107 Bright St.

KEN THORBOURNE

JCMAN320

September 24th, 2008, 04:42 PM

Ready to build at JCMC

Wednesday, September 24, 2008
By KEN THORBOURNE
JOURNAL STAFF WRITER

The Jersey City Medical Center broke ground yesterday for a new $22 million facility that will house an ambulatory surgery center, an imaging center, a pharmacy, and at least 25 private practice doctors' offices.

Best of all, as Lynn Schundler, chair of LibertyHealth Systems Inc., the hospital's parent corporation, pointed out: "It won't cost the hospital or taxpayers a dime."

The facility is being built by a private developer, the Milwaukee-based Landmark Healthcare Facilities LLC.

According to Landmark president Nick Checota, the building is already 75 percent rented out. It is expected to be finished by next September.

The hospital will retain ownership of the land and will be paid roughly $100,000 a year by Landmark for a ground lease, officials said.

The new facility will go a long way to helping the hospital attract and keep private practice physicians, said LibertyHealth president and CEO Joseph F. Scott.

"We're going to make the Medical Center a very special place," said Scott, who became LibertyHealth's chief executive last December. "We are putting the building blocks in place. And if we do it utilizing someone else's capital, that's even better."

The five-story, 75,000-square-foot addition will be behind the hospital along Jersey Avenue.

Forced by cuts in state aid and diminishing reimbursements for Medicaid and Medicare patients, LibertyHealth - which also runs the Meadowlands Hospital Medical Center in Secaucus - has been going through a reorganization process for more than three years.

As part of that effort, LibertyHealth closed Greenville Hospital in Jersey City earlier this year. But it has also beefed up specialties, such as high-tech infant care and adult surgery, in hopes of attracting more well-to-do Downtown residents.

"What's been important to this hospital is admissions, admissions, admissions," Mayor Jerramiah T. Healy said to the 100 hospital employees and city officials gathered at yesterday's groundbreaking. "This facility that we are breaking ground on today is going to take a huge step in addressing that issue."

JCMAN320

September 25th, 2008, 12:21 PM

Beacon developers: Market is right to stick with condos

by Ken Thorbourne/The Jersey Journal
Wednesday September 24, 2008, 3:25 PM

http://blog.nj.com/hudsoncountynow_impact/2008/09/large_beacon-jerseycity-condos.JPG
Jersey Journal file photo

The Beacon development in Jersey City has decided to stick with condos after recently flirting with the idea of switching to apartment rentals.

The government's recent takeover of mortgage giants Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae is apparently already reversing the fortunes of one Jersey City developer.

Metrovest Equities, the New York company that's converting the old Jersey City Medical Center into a residential complex, announced today it's withdrawing its application to the City Council to change its next six tax abatements from condos to rentals.

The change in the abatements for the Beacon was expected to be adopted at tonight's council meeting.

"Our intent all along was to continue to develop and market the Beacon as a world-class condominium development that has enjoyed tremendous sales success," George Filopoulous, president of Metrovest Equities, said in a statement.

"The concept of applying for a new abatement came up in June when the sluggish housing market and sub-prime mortgage crisis made it very difficult to secure financing for future condominium development," he added.

"However, because of the length of the process and the recent positive changes in the lending market, we no longer need to travel down that road."

Filopoulos cited last month's government backing of Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae as a vital step toward a market recovery, evidence of which he said he is already seeing at the Beacon.

"We sold 90 percent of the first phase of 315 homes at the Beacon," he said. "After closing 75 percent of them, the remaining buyers were unable to obtain the necessary financing, and prospective buyers were faced with the same challenge. We virtually stopped marketing the homes for the next eight months.

"However, today's improved lending landscape for qualified buyers and the ability to obtain up to 95 percent financing led us to re-introduce the balance of the homes, and we've received an exceptional response from the public," he added.

The existing abatements call for payments to the city of 12 percent of gross annual revenue for the next 30 years. The change to rentals would have yielded "a couple hundred dollars a year" less to the city, according to Business Administrator Brian O'Reilly.

Ultimately, the Beacon will comprise of 1,200 market-rate units with 80,000 square feet of retail space.

Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae now hold or guarantee about half the country's mortgages.

JCMAN320

September 25th, 2008, 12:29 PM

Jersey City expected to give OK to landmark Episcopal church

by Ken Thorbourne/The Jersey Journal
Wednesday September 24, 2008, 5:08 PM

The battle over the fate of St. John's Episcopal Church in Jersey City is expected to reach a new level tonight, as the City Council is set to introduce an ordinance to confer landmark status on the 137-year-old Summit Avenue church.

Due to a dwindling congregation, Episcopal Diocese officials closed the church in 1994 and hoped to demolish the Gothic Revival structure so they could sell the land for top dollar.

But preservationists waged an energetic battle to save the church, convincing the Planning Board in December to vote 6-0 to recommend that the council give the church landmark status.

Tonight's council meeting is at 6 p.m., Middle School 4, 107 Bright St.

66nexus

September 26th, 2008, 12:42 AM

Can anyone post pics of the current skyline? (or does anyone have any on hand?)

JCexpert558

September 27th, 2008, 10:30 PM

Sorry about it being in Black and white:)

http://www.flickr.com/photos/stankus/2882203649/

citybooster

October 1st, 2008, 08:19 PM

No problem,JCexpert..still looks great even in black and white!

Will the City Center project and the Monaco project(which had received certain adjustments to their previous abatement agreement to suposedly make development certain) be an indefinite casualty of the credit crunch?Or with either or both of these projects see the light at the end of the tunnel by spring 2009,and get done?

JCMAN320

October 2nd, 2008, 02:09 AM

Hilltop neighbors get peek at Square renewal plans

Wednesday, October 01, 2008
By KEN THORBOURNE
JOURNAL STAFF WRITER

Home seizures and overtaxed city services led the list of concerns Monday night when two Jersey City officials briefed members of the Hilltop Neighborhood Association on plans to redevelop the Journal Square area.

"Absolutely, scout's honor," Planning Director Robert Cotter told a nervous questioner who asked if he could guarantee homes wouldn't be taken as development plans move forward.

Joined by Jersey City Redevelopment Agency Executive Director Robert Antonicello at the meeting, held in the basement of St. Joseph's Church, Cotter gave an overview of several signature projects slated for the struggling center of the city.

The biggest of these projects is a $400 million, mixed-used development planned for the block next to the Journal Square Transportation Center.

Earlier this year administration officials rejected terms of a 30-year abatement the developer - MEPT Journal Square Urban Renewal, LLC - had sought. But MEPT has submitted revised plans to the city, lowering the cost of the project, officials said.

Antonicello said he expected construction to begin this year or early next year.

The city officials also mentioned plans to place office and/or residential buildings along Summit Avenue where the Burger King, Dunkin Donuts, and Verizon building now sit.

One resident in the 100-person crowd asked about increased city services, including new schools, to accommodate the newcomers.

Pointing to the Newport development as an example, Antonicello said urban professionals buying Jersey City real estate consume surprisingly few city services. At Newport, the city collects $35 million in taxes each year and shells out only $10 million in services, he said.

The city will unveil an overall plan for the area in about three weeks, Antonicello said. The goal is to have the City Council adopt an "area in need of rehabilitation" plan by the end of the year, he said.

Association President Richard Boggiano questioned the wisdom of erecting a parking facility across the street from the administration building on Newark Avenue that's emerged as part of the plan being developed by Belle Mead consultant Anton C. Nelessen. "They are crazy," Boggiano said. "No, not in our area."

Kelley Sander, an associate planner with Nelessen's firm, said yesterday the idea is to consolidate several city parking lots with county parking already on-site. But "there's no firm proposal," she said.

---------------------------------------------------

Mister Boggiano that is the right thing to do is build a garage. Good urban planning!!

lammius

October 2nd, 2008, 11:04 AM

Tony Nelessen's firm is good at doing that community-based "visioning." So I'm sure what they have or will come up with will reflect what they've heard from residents, business owners, etc. in the community. They did the vision for the West Side redevelopment too, I believe.

That's a great tidbit about City Center. I wonder what they're value engineering they're going to be doing to lower the cost of the project.

JCMAN320

October 2nd, 2008, 05:55 PM

Condo complex takes energy-efficient bow

Thursday, October 02, 2008
By CHARLES HACK
JOURNAL STAFF WRITER

Green was the color of the day in Jersey City yesterday, as the ribbon was cut on the m650 Flats - a 22-unit condo complex on Montgomery Street with a high emphasis on energy efficiency.

The developer, Brunelleschi Construction of Pompton Plains, has converted an old warehouse at 650 Montgomery St. - across the street from the Beacon, at the old Jersey City Medical Center - into a modern complex with a 14-space robotic garage, a "virtual doorman" that can be programmed to recognize guests and residents, and an iPod docking station in each apartment.

The environmentally conscious builder has installed tankless hot water heaters, bamboo floors and high-efficiency windows.

Thousands of bricks taken from a wall in the ground floor were cleaned up and reused throughout the building, said Alfonso Carrino, joint owner of the development company.

"It's going to give a nice boost to this neighborhood and to our city," Mayor Jerramiah T. Healy said about the development.

Ward F Councilwoman Viola Richardson welcomed the building into the neighborhood, saying there is a "dire need" for this type of development in her ward.

"We built as green as we could," Carrino said. "We didn't have to do this. We could have spent a lot less money, but we didn't. We built everything to the highest possible standards."

The complex is still awaiting a Certificate of Occupancy from the city, officials said. Bridget Cleary, the realtor for the property, said four units are sold.

The units are one-and two-bedroom apartments and range in price from $380,000 to $705,000, the developer said. Maintenance fees are mostly below $500 a month, with parking included, Cleary said.

-----------------------------

Pictures here:
http://jcconstruction.blogspot.com/

JCMAN320

October 4th, 2008, 02:49 AM

Jersey City gets $2.1M from HUD to help with foreclosures

by Paul Koepp/The Jersey Journal
Friday October 03, 2008, 7:03 PM

Help is on the way for Jersey City homeowners facing foreclosure.

The federal Department of Housing and Urban Development has announced it is giving the city $2.15 million as part of its Neighborhood Stabilization Program, a nearly $4 billion effort to prop up the areas hit hardest by the subprime mortgage meltdown.

"We are pleased that the federal government has recognized the need to assist homeowners in Jersey City who are facing tough economic times," Mayor Jerramiah T. Healy said in a statement. "We plan to be proactive and utilize these funds for homeownership retention."

According to HUD statistics based on a national delinquency survey by the Mortgage Bankers Association, 6 percent of mortgages in Jersey City are in some stage of foreclosure, above the statewide average of 4 percent and the national mark of 4.8 percent.

The city was selected for the grant, along with Bergen County, Newark, Paterson and Union County, because a significant number of subprime mortgages have been issued here. The announcement was made Sept. 26.

The money is not part of the $700 billion bailout package signed into law by President Bush today.

Overall, $64 million will be doled out in New Jersey. The state's "abandonment risk" is considered low by HUD because most foreclosed properties are resold, but Jersey City's risk level is "medium."

City officials have been holding seminars in each of the city's wards to educate residents buying their first home about available programs and resources available to them, and will have a public meeting in the coming weeks to determine how to use the money.

JoeSas

October 7th, 2008, 01:05 PM

I believe Crystal Point(e) has topped off. Leave off the 'e' for enormous.

citybooster

October 8th, 2008, 10:07 AM

When will the monaco project break ground?

JCMAN320

October 9th, 2008, 12:14 PM

Board: Demo bank, station; make way for learning center

Saturday, October 04, 2008
By CHARLES HACK
JOURNAL STAFF WRITER

A defunct bank and railroad station in Jersey City will be torn down by the end of the year to make room for an early childhood center, the city planning board decided.

Acknowledging historic elements of the former Claremont Bank and Jackson Avenue Central Railroad station at Ege Street and Martin Luther King Jr. Drive, planning board members voted unanimously last week to allow demolition to make room for the proposed Early Childhood Center No. 13.

City Planning Director Robert D. Cotter said he was "sorry for the loss" of the historic structures but the school, as part of an overall development plan for the area surrounding the King Drive Hub shopping plaza, takes priority.

"If we had our druthers we would save everything, but we don't," Cotter said.

A spokesman for the state Schools Development Authority, Larry Hanover, said his agency would create an "interpretative display" in the school with items salvaged from the bank and railroad station.

John Gomez, founder of the Jersey City Landmarks Conservancy and a Jersey Journal columnist, believes both buildings should have been saved - the station due to its historical significance for immigrants coming to the United States and the architecture of the neo-Greek revival bank that represents the growing economic success of the immigrants who built it.

"There is no reason why these two buildings cannot be restored and incorporated into the new school," Gomez said. "It is a missed opportunity yet again for preservation."

A report by consultants Hunter Research, commissioned by the SDA, concluded that the Jackson Avenue station, which was once the third stop from the Central Railroad of New Jersey terminal in what is now Liberty State Park, had deteriorated too much to save.

The report, however, found the bank could be restored, but said it would cost roughly $1.2 million.

The SDA has budgeted $24 million for the new two-story, 22-classroom school. Construction is slated to begin in June and be completed in 20 months.

JCMAN320

October 9th, 2008, 12:23 PM

REVISED PLAN FOR SQUARE
Taller towers, fountain stays

http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_5asUt7ex3JM/SOzO4Q4Mq9I/AAAAAAAABZQ/DtF_agBOGrw/s400/JSQUARE.jpg

Tuesday, October 07, 2008
By KEN THORBOURNE
JOURNAL STAFF WRITER

The Jersey City Planning Board will consider tonight an amended site plan that would make the two-tower, mixed-used development proposed for the old Hotel on the Square block in Journal Square even taller.

The revised plan - which modifies a proposal the board approved in January - adds residential units to the development, while it cuts retail space; particularly the retail space that was planned to go underground.

The revised plan boosts the number of rental units from 1,503 to 1,615 and slashes retail space from 156,196 square feet to 70,385. It also bumps up the height of the north tower from 65 stories to 68 stories and the height of the south tower from 45 stories to 50, according to documents submitted to the city. The higher tower will now soar 667 feet, about 8 feet lower than the maximum height allowed, city officials said.

Tonight's Planning Board meeting is scheduled for 5:30 p.m., 30 Montgomery St., 14th floor. Lowell Harwood, one of the development partners in the project, yesterday said plans to build a below-ground retail level were scratched due to a "problem with hard rock."
"It would be too expensive to remove," Harwood said. "It would have added a lot (of cost)." Harwood is the principal of Harwood Properties, based in Jersey City. Harwood predicted breaking ground within six months.

The previous design called for relocating and reconstructing the Journal Square fountain. According to the new plan, the fountain will remain in place and receive upgraded filtration and mechanical equipment.

This $400 million venture is being self-financed by its majority partner: the Multi-Employer Property Trust, based in Bethesda, Md., a national real estate equity fund that invests union pension funds.

During the summer, administration officials rejected the terms of a 30-year tax abatement sought by the developer. Eugene Paolino, the developer's attorney, said yesterday he plans to submit an amended tax abatement application "shortly."

JCMAN320

October 9th, 2008, 12:27 PM

New plan OK'd for Square

Wednesday, October 08, 2008
By CHARLES HACK
JOURNAL STAFF WRITER

The Jersey City Planning Board approved a revised site plan for the Journal Square development last night that slashes its retail space by more than half and boosts the height of its two residential towers by a few stories.

The Planning Board voted unanimously at a special meeting to approve the modifications to plans it approved in January.

Not all went smoothly, as an attorney for the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, which owns the neighboring transportation terminal, said the agency is concerned about the safety of its passengers.

The attorney, Harry Barr, asked the city to transfer authority for approval of the building plans to the P.A.'s chief engineer and wanted assurances that PATH would be indemnified against injury during the construction.

After a sometimes heated discussion, the developer's attorney, Eugene Paolino, agreed to show the plans to PATH engineers.

Many of the plan's approved changes are landscaping improvements to the plaza in front of entrances to the towers facing Kennedy Boulevard and to a rooftop terrace, but to keep costs to the approximately $400 million budgeted for the project.

The revised plan slashes retail space planned for below ground from 156,196 square feet to 70,385, according to the approved plans. It also cuts the number of parking spaces from 783 to 687, and places them above ground, squeezing out some more retail space.

The revised plan also boosts the number of rental units from 1,503 to 1,615. The north tower will now rise 667 feet and 68 stories. The shorter south tower will have 50 stories.

Lowell Harwood, the principal of Harwood Properties, which is involved in the project with Multi-Employer Property Trust and Becker and Becker, said demolition may start by the end of the year.

JCMAN320

October 9th, 2008, 12:38 PM

Jersey City's Residential Boom Coincides With Market Turmoil

October 07, 2008: 03:06 PM EST

JERSEY CITY, N.J. -(Dow Jones)- After years of speculative building, public- relations campaigns and plenty of dreams, Jersey City sits on the cusp of becoming New York City's sixth borough.

The biggest residential boom in the Garden State city's history brought in thousands of residential units in recent years and another 72,000 could come by 2050. Big brands including Trump, Toll Brothers Inc. (TOL) and Hovnanian Enterprises Inc. (HOV) have put their stamps on the burgeoning skyline that hopes to rival New York City's.

However, the timing couldn't be worse. The boom comes as the worst housing correction in decades has exploded into a credit and financial crisis that has seen some of the financial sector's most storied names - Bear Stearns, Lehman Brothers - crumble along with thousands of white-collar jobs.

"Jersey City is as much a part of the New York metropolitan area as any other municipality within a 10-mile radius of Wall Street," said Jamie LeFrak, whose family business, the LeFrak Organization, has helped guide Jersey City's transformation. "The whole [area] is going to feel negative effects in a way that's probably more significant than the rest of the country."

For now, New Jersey's second-largest city is holding its breath, waiting to see just how much the current turmoil pauses or derails the hard-won progress for the city that now boasts 240,000 or so residents and as many as 40,000 financial-sector jobs.

"Until what's going on right now kind of settles, there's going to be a little bit of a lull," said Tom Pichi, director of sales for Metro Waterfront Residential Brokerage.

From Rail To Condos

While still being portrayed in some New York-based television sitcoms as being on the wrong side of the Hudson River, Jersey City yearns to outgrow its roots and reputation as an abandoned warehouse waterfront with wild dogs and none of the city life New York's Manhattan has to offer.

For years, plentiful train tracks and shipping warehouses bordering the Hudson River fed Jersey City's economy. However, after World War II, the railroads consolidated, manufacturing businesses fled to Manhattan, and the area "just languished," Pichi said. "There was nothing here." Wild dogs prowled the streets and it wasn't, as several people recalled, the type of place you wanted to be caught alone at night.

In the mid-1980s, the LeFrak Organization, considered one of the nation's largest private landlords, snapped up hundreds of acres stretching from Jersey City to Hoboken. The company first built five residential towers (named after presidents) that took time to fill, as well as the Newport Centre Mall, developed with the Simon family behind the Simon Property Group (SPG).

"That's when Jersey City started to really just begin to lose its industrial nature and become a residential and white-collar commercial location," LeFrak said.

Progress took a breather in the 1990s as the nation battled a recession. Then came the tech boom, which fueled the rise in Manhattan's office prices, pushing office users seeking cheaper rents across the river. That was one of the reasons why, in the late 1990s, the LeFraks took a risk and built more than two million square feet of speculative office space. It filled quickly with tenants including Cigna Corp. (CI) and what is now JP Morgan Chase & Co. (JPM).

Lord, Abbett & Co., an independent privately held investment management firm, grabbed headlines when, in 2000, it moved its headquarters (instead of just back-office operations) from the Big Apple to Jersey City's Hudson Street. The company, which sought room to expand, relocated with hundreds of employees.

"That put us on the map," said Dan Frohwirth, director of real estate and marketing for the Jersey City Economic Development Corp.

Light rail, meanwhile, arrived the same year, connecting Bayonne to Exchange Place and then Pavonia Newport. The Hoboken train station followed in September of 2002, Frohwirth said. This came in handy after the 9/11 terrorist attacks, which forced companies - and scores of commuters - out of lower Manhattan and, in many cases, into and through Jersey City.

"Suddenly people knew what Jersey City was," Frohwirth said. "People who lived and worked in New York realized: 'I could live in Jersey City'."

That led to a condo development frenzy, fed by inexpensive capital to first- time developers and Wall Street bonuses, coinciding with the nation's residential real estate boom - and bust.

The Residential Boom

At first, the units sold quickly (LeFrak's two condo projects had waiting lists) but, as the housing crisis drags into another quarter, things are changing: Nationwide unemployment rosters continue to swell, some buyers are unable to sell existing homes, while others are finding mortgages harder to obtain. Until now, the downturn had largely bypassed the Northeast, though the area is now softening.

"It's not booming like it did," said Paul Silverman, who is working with his brother, Eric, to transform a former hospital into luxury condominiums, retail and commercial space. "People are scared [and asking:] 'Will I have my job a year from now? Should I commit to buying something?'"

While several projects are said to be on hold, locals don't seem overly concerned. "It's not the way it was a year ago," said Mayor Jerramiah Healy. " We're still doing OK."

The first phase of 323-unit Gull's Cove is 70% sold. Construction of Trump Plaza's 444 units was recently completed, and the project is 85% sold, according to developer Dean Geibel. Both projects have seen cancellation rate of less than 5%, though some needed more time for financing.

"Very few people have backed out [of deals] because prices in Jersey City have remained relatively stable," he said. "They don't want to walk away from good money."

Geibel plans a second Trump tower, but he is "waiting like everybody else for this financial hurricane to blow over." He expects to break ground in several months.

Toll Brothers' 230-unit 700 Grove, with two-bedroom units priced as high as $ 725,000, has closed on 85% of its units, said Ben Jogodnik, senior vice president for Toll's City Living division in Hoboken and Jersey City.

The Pennsylvania-based builder continues with its 950-unit Provost Square, though construction won't start for at least a year

"If things take a minute to repause, it's certainly not going to hurt," Jogodnik said. "The markets will ebb and flow, but the long-term prospects for Jersey City are outstanding."

That's good news for New Jersey-based Hovnanian Enterprises. Its first high- rise tower, the 44-story, 420-unit 77 Hudson, should see its first occupants next spring.

-By Dawn Wotapka, Dow Jones Newswires; 201-938-5248; dawn.wotapka@dowjones.com

grovepath

October 12th, 2008, 10:25 AM

http://graphics8.nytimes.com/images/2008/10/12/realestate/12njzo-600.jpg (http://graphics8.nytimes.com/images/2008/10/12/realestate/12njzo-600.jpg)

End Nears for Unloved Housing

The New York Times
By ANTOINETTE MARTIN
October 10, 2008

MONTGOMERY GARDENS, a six-tower public housing project built 58 years ago next to what was then the Jersey City Medical Center, has a date with demise.

Like so many “vertical concentrations of poverty,” as the old projects have been termed by the federal housing agency that built them, the project has been deemed ready for wrecking (within the next two years) and re-creation (four developers have submitted proposals).

With its old neighbor, the medical center, now morphing into a residential complex called the Beacon, the character of the area has already undergone a change. Two of the eight tall Art Deco buildings that once housed the hospital have been fully restored and are open as condominiums; the other six will be either condos or high-caliber rentals.

Meanwhile, Montgomery Gardens has survived all these years in a state of decay and distress.

“Pssst — don’t go near Montgomery Gardens without your bulletproof vest,” a blogger calling himself JC Man wrote last month in an online real-estate forum addressing safety concerns in the Beacon’s neighborhood.

Others have posted “crime maps” that show clusters of violent incidents in which the police intervened on surrounding streets. A drive down Cornelison Avenue, which runs along one side of the project, demonstrates why it has gained notoriety as a marketplace for prostitutes.

“Crime is always the top complaint of the residents,” said Mayor Jerramiah T. Healy in a recent telephone interview. He noted that the same had been true in the vicinity of two other big public housing projects before one was taken down about 10 years ago and another was partially demolished more recently.

Earlier this year, the Jersey City housing authority stopped renewing leases at the 549-unit Montgomery Street complex. Several weeks ago, a notice seeking demolition experts was sent out.

Right now, said Maria Maio, the housing authority director, various proposals for redeveloping the six-acre site are being reviewed. “With the support and participation of residents” of the project, Ms. Maio said, “a transformation will take place.” (Residents have first priority as occupants of the planned new mixed-income units, as long as they still meet income qualifications.)

Certainly, Jersey City as a whole is undergoing transformation. In each of the last four years, more construction permits for residential units were issued here than in any other community in the state, housing officials say. Thousands of Manhattan-style apartments have been created in the downtown area, attracting large numbers of young professionals; many decamped from Manhattan to take advantage of New Jersey prices.

Developers have continued to extend the limits of downtown, moving inland with their projects, surrounding new light rail and PATH train stops with shiny new commuter havens.

It was three years ago that the forces of change reached all the way into the area west of the Holland Tunnel, and the Manhattan-based developer MetroVest Equities began opening the first 300 condos at the Beacon.

Now, MetroVest has put itself forward as a possible redeveloper for the Montgomery Gardens site. “We feel we have a real vested interest in the area,” said MetroVest’s president, George Filopoulos (who set up a Christmas present giveaway for local schoolchildren at the Beacon last year, donning an elf hat while Mayor Healy played Santa Claus).

Mr. Filopoulos said property values in the area had already been raised by his company’s commitment to the Beacon — where a total of 1,200 residential units are planned, in addition to restaurant and retail space to create a “city within a city.” That helps make it a “real opportunity” to rebuild the six acres next door, he added.

According to Ms. Maio, three other companies have also made proposals for the Montgomery Gardens site, with different approaches involving a mix of lower-priced and market-rate housing and retailing.

Those applicants are Community Builders, a 40-year-old Boston-based firm, which describes itself as the largest nonprofit housing developer in the country; Community Investment Strategies of Bordentown, which has completed a number of age-restricted and affordable housing projects in New Jersey; and the Michaels Development Company of Marlton, a builder of both mixed-income and lower-cost housing. None of the three returned calls seeking comment.

Ms. Maio said that all four proposals were being studied now, and that she hoped a decision could be made by the end of the year.

Mr. Healy said in a separate interview that he was pleased to hear a deadline had been set, and was interested to learn that MetroVest was in the running.

Mr. Filopoulos said — and the mayor later agreed — that next to demolishing and replacing the Montgomery Gardens housing, the top priority for the entire neighborhood was bringing in a large grocery store.

MetroVest’s proposal calls for a “superduper supermarket,” Mr. Filopoulos said — as large as possible, with plenty of parking so that all of Jersey City could potentially be served.

As Mr. Healy put it: “We have a dearth of supermarkets. We have downtown, one in the east end of our city, but nothing in Journal Square,” and nothing near the site of the Beacon.

Montgomery Gardens is accessible to the New Jersey Turnpike and is also near the Grove Street PATH station, where the number of residents has increased sharply with the recent addition of thousands of new residential units, he noted.

“This area is going to have a great future,” he predicted, “because the truth is, it has got a great location in a lot of ways.”

http://www.nytimes.com/pages/realestate/

wander118

October 14th, 2008, 11:48 AM

Thats great news about the montgomery gardens! There's some work being done on cornelson back behind the medical center, as well. I think it might be the city's emergency response center..

JCMAN320

October 19th, 2008, 03:57 AM

'BOLD' NEW SQUARE

Thursday, October 16, 2008
By KEN THORBOURNE
JOURNAL STAFF WRITER

Jersey City Mayor Jerramiah T. Healy yesterday unveiled an ambitious "vision" for the Journal Square - a plan that one city official calls a Marshall Plan for the long-neglected center of the city.

Developed by planner Anton C. Nelessen and architect Dean Marchetto - with some input from residents and major property owners - the plan covers 244 acres, the heart of which is the transit hub at the Journal Square Transportation Center.

Presented to a crowd of movers and shakers at the Hudson County Community College's Culinary Arts Center, the plan is intended to be more pedestrian-friendly, with more walkable, has more open space and fewer cars. Even residential blocks in the yesterday's PowerPoint presentation are given islands of greenery.

"It's bold, it is visionary," Healy said about the plan. "And it is not only going to be a great thing for our city, our county, in our state. I believe it is going to be a model for the country to follow."

The plan calls for between 10,000 and 15,000 new housing units, nine acres of parks, parking lot "interceptors" at the edges of the district, and light rail connecting Journal Square to the Downtown waterfront.

Distinguishing between pure "vision" and portions of the plan that are backed by money, a timetable and a builder behind it was tricky yesterday since the Nelessen's PowerPoint presentation included both.

Clearly the most concrete element of the plan is a two-tower, mixed development slated for the old Hotel on the Square block. Both Healy and Lowell Harwood, one the developers, said they expect to break ground "within six months."

This $400 million project includes 1,600 residential units and 70,000 square feet of retail in two towers, one 68 stories, the other 50. On the other hand, the PowerPoint show included a glittering new Port Authority of New York and New Jersey building on the Square and a new PATH entrance with sunlight beaming through from a reflecting pool at street level.

Asked if the agency has agreed to these improvements, Port Authority Deputy Director Susan Bass Levin, who attended yesterday's presentation, said, "No, we haven't."

"That was the first time anybody saw it, it was part of the visioning process," Bass Levin added. "What we are doing now is a $3.3 billion PATH modernization system. . What you're seeing here is a very, very first stage and it will take a while for this get to reality, but this is how you have to start."

Healy said the plan could take five, 10, even 15 years to complete and he couldn't yesterday put a price tag on how much it would cost the public.

The "vision" study, which gets a public hearing on Oct. 23, has so far cost $400,000. "Smart growth" grants from the Department of Community Affairs covered $150,000 and Urban Enterprise Zone funds $250,000, city officials said.

JCMAN320

October 24th, 2008, 12:33 AM

I just realized in that in NYTime article it said a "blogger JC Man", lol someone is using my name on another forum, I never said that at all.

Jersey City celebrates completion of "affordable" Tubman homes

by Tom Shortell/The Jersey Journal
Thursday October 23, 2008, 2:10 PM

Federal, state and city officials opened eight new affordable housing units on Martin Luther King Drive with a ribbon-cutting ceremony this morning. The project is the first of Jersey City's affordable housing units born from the "CHOICE" program to be completed.

The Harriet Tubman Homes are townhouse units using energy efficient methods and sub-prime mortgages approved by the New Jersey Housing and Mortgage Finance Agency to provide inexpensive housing to carefully chosen families, according to officials.

The 1,600-square feet townhouses are mixed housing, which range from around $60,000 to $259,900. The two homes going for $259,900 are the only two still on the market, according to a press release.

More than 300 people inquired about the homes, and of the 125 applicants, four were approved for sub-prime mortgages, said Bob Antonicello, the executive director of Jersey City's Redevelopment Agency. "These are families with great credit, families that (saved)," he said. "These families earned the right to own a home."

Fountainrunner

October 29th, 2008, 02:09 PM

Hi,

I was looking at a property next to Garfield Avenue Lightrail and one of the neighbors was telling me a luxury development is in the works for the huge vacant lot adjacent to it. Does anyone have any word on this development? Thanks! :D

JCMAN320

October 29th, 2008, 04:56 PM

I have heard some rumblings about it as well. The Pittsburgh Paint Co. toxified those sites south of the LRT abd are cleaning them up. North of that bounded by Garfield, Communipaw, LRT and Woodward St, will be the creation of the largest city park with ballfields, passive park space, and kids areas. Thats all I know for now.

wander118

October 30th, 2008, 09:51 AM

check this out for some info:
http://www.thejcra.org/index.php?p=project-details&pid=77

seems like its close to the lightrail on garfield..if that's the location you're talking about.

Fountainrunner

October 30th, 2008, 05:34 PM

check this out for some info:
http://www.thejcra.org/index.php?p=project-details&pid=77

seems like its close to the lightrail on garfield..if that's the location you're talking about.

Yes, 900 Garfield Avenue! The property I'm looking at is across the street from it facing the backyard. I wonder if this development will increase the value of the surrounding area. The development is approved but what are the chances it'll actually be built? To me, it's all just talk until I start to see some construction underway. I'd love to purchase the home and move in before the area becomes a 'hot spot'. Any thoughts?

NYC4Life

October 30th, 2008, 07:49 PM

NY Post

UP AGAINST THE WALL

JERSEY CITY TAKES STOCK

By ADAM BONISLAWSKI

Posted: 12:02 am
October 30, 2008

http://www.nypost.com/seven/10302008/photos/re041a.jpg
Ankur Randev and his wife, Rachna, live at Trump Plaza Jersey City.

James Keating doesn't work on Wall Street. But living in Jersey City, he's had a front-row seat to the financial sector's recent traumas.

Keating, a resident of the Beacon condo development, takes his building's free shuttle to the PATH train each morning. The day of the Lehman Brothers collapse, he sat across from two of his fellow residents - one an employee at Lehman and the other an employee at Merrill Lynch (which sold itself to Bank of America just a few days later). They were, of course, discussing what fates awaited them at the office.

"One of them was saying to the other that he wondered if he should have brought a cardboard box with him to collect his things," recalls Keating, vice president of marketing at Shopwiki.com.

Such is life these days on "Wall Street West," as Jersey City is often called, given the area's close ties to Manhattan's investment world. Home to some 24,000 finance jobs and to thousands more residents who work in the industry across the river in Manhattan, Jersey City's fortunes are very much entwined with those of Wall Street.

Which, given the markets' current woes, probably isn't the most reassuring fact in the world. Especially if you're trying to sell Jersey City real estate.
"What's going on right now is scary," says Dean Geibel, managing partner of Metro Homes, the development company that built the Trump Plaza Jersey City condo tower. "It has a lot of people sitting on the sidelines. Sales haven't come to a halt, but it's slower because people are being cautious."

The 440-unit building (plans for a second 417-unit tower are on hold) has sold 375 apartments since going to market at the end of 2006. With the market slowing, however, the building is offering concessions like six months of free parking, although Geibel says he has yet to resort to price cuts (currently, one-bedrooms start at $495,000, two-bedrooms at $799,000 and three-bedrooms at $899,000).

Sales are similarly slow at developer K. Hovnanian's 77 Hudson, which, with prices averaging around $850 per square foot, is one of Jersey City's priciest buildings. On sale since July 2007, apartments in the 420-unit building are only 30 percent sold.

Tom Graham, the building's senior community director, says that K. Hovnanian is covering transfer taxes and other closing costs in an effort to lure buyers to the building. Nevertheless, Graham admits, sales office traffic is down 15 to 20 percent since September.

http://www.nypost.com/seven/10302008/photos/re041b.jpg
Ankur Randev and his wife, Rachna, departed Midtown for Trump Plaza Jersey City.

Curiously, though, Graham notes that the week Congress began discussion of the bailout plan, sales at 77 Hudson were relatively strong, with five units purchased - all by international buyers. Which raises the question - just how essential are Wall Street workers to Jersey City's housing market?

"When we first started marketing, our target market was the Wall Street buyer," Graham says. "But it turns out that's not who's been buying."

Then again, with close to 300 units still unsold, it's going to take more than foreign buyers, who have also been hit hard by the world's falling markets.

Still, Jamie LeFrak, managing director of the LeFrak Organization, similarly suggests that Jersey City's Wall Street ties have been overblown.

"The whole region is in the same boat together. Brooklyn is tied to the financial sector. Queens is tied to the financial sector. You could make the same exact statement about Bergen County, Westchester County, Nassau County," says LeFrak, whose Jersey City projects consist of nearly 5,000 residential units and will soon include the new 350-unit Aquablu rental building (studios start at $2,079, one-bedrooms at $2,257, two-bedrooms at $2,808 and three-bedrooms at $3,885).

Then again, Keating estimates that more than a third of his neighbors at the Beacon work in finance.

"You can definitely see the fear," he says. "People are going around asking each other, 'Are you going to be all right?' "

And Beacon developer George Filopoulos has changed his plans to build an adjacent 103-unit condo building, opting instead for 26 3,000- to 6,000-square-foot live/work lofts (with prices starting around $900,000) - a hedge against reduced demand.

"I wanted to offer something different from what's on the market," Filopoulos says. "We have to admit that there may be less buyers to go around than there were in 2005."

The Beacon's first building had nearly sold out by early 2008, with apartments in the 315-unit building going for under $500 per square foot.

Fifty of those sales fell through, however, when the buyers were unable to secure financing. Since those 50 units returned to the market this September, five of them have sold.

But there are signs of hope in Jersey City. Near the Grove Street PATH station is Ivy House, a boutique condo building from Fields Development Group and TreeTop Development, which has sold 15 of its 18 units since going on sale at the beginning of July. With prices around $500 per square foot, the units are aimed at entry-level buyers, a demographic, says Fields principal James Caulfield, that's been under-served by new construction.

Retail planning director Sean Corolan and his wife, Magdalena, bought a two-bedroom in the building. Although nervous about the effects of the downturn, he's convinced that the area's relatively low prices will help protect his investment.

"We definitely talked about it: 'Is this a good time to buy with everything that's going on?' " he says. "But the thing I always come back to is that I see such a big discount in price per square foot. You can't even get close to this on price in Brooklyn."

And, of course, the proximity to Manhattan (the Financial District is just a five-minute PATH ride away), which helped tie Jersey City to Wall Street in the first place, won't be going away - regardless of what the market does.

"I'm still very confident that this area is going to appreciate," says hospitality industry executive Ankur Randev, who, with his wife Rachna, moved from Midtown to Trump Plaza Jersey City in June.

"At the end of the day, you're five minutes from lower Manhattan, but you have a $500-per-square-foot spread in price."

And then there are those who don't want anything to do with living in New York, anyway.

Manhattan nightclub owner Rocco Ancarola (of Pink Elephant fame) moved from NoLita to a three-bedroom rental by the Grove Street PATH stop three years ago. Since then, he's gotten hooked on his neighborhood's peace and quiet.

"I wake up in the morning in a Zen-like atmosphere," he says. "I can't wait to get back to New Jersey after my work in the city."

And, by the way, if you're a developer worried about luring buyers from across the river in this current climate, well, listen up - Ancarola has some good news.

"You put my name and picture in the paper, people will be flocking to Jersey City," he jokes.

So there's that, at least.

Market watch

TRUMP PLAZA JERSEY CITY
The 440-unit tower (one-bedrooms start at $495,000) has sold 375 condos, with units averaging around $700 per square foot. Plans for a second building are on hold.

77 HUDSON
The 420-unit building, with condos averaging around $850 per square foot, is 30 percent sold. One buyer bought two penthouse units, a combined 4,188 square feet, for $6 million last year.

THE BEACON
Fifty units in the 315-unit building, with condos selling for less than $500 per square foot, returned to the market this September. Five have sold. In early 2007, a two-story penthouse sold for $2.3 million.

IVY HOUSE
This 18-unit boutique building, with prices around $500 per square foot, has sold 15 condos since hitting the market in July.

Copyright 2008 NYP Holdings, Inc. All rights reserved.

JCMAN320

October 31st, 2008, 03:15 AM

Looking for a good investment? Try Hudson County!

by Charles Hack Thursday October 30, 2008, 9:15 PM

Investors worried about the value of their stocks in these turbulent financial times could do worse than adding Hudson County to their portfolio.

Standard & Poor's bumped up the county's rating a notch last week from A+ to AA- based on such factors as the county's track record at repaying loans, good reserves, low debt burden, and growing local economy and tax base, officials said.

"This is reaffirmation that we are doing things right and shows we are being appreciated by the financial industry," said County Executive Tom DeGise. "On the practical side it helps us with our interest rates."

The S&P report also notes a growing tax base, in large part to the development of the Hudson River waterfront, with ratables in the county more than doubling since 2001 to a current total value of $50.3 billion.

But the report adds, an above average unemployment rate in the county -- 5.5 percent -- compared to the state and the rest of the country, prevents the county from achieving a higher rating.

JCMAN320

November 3rd, 2008, 10:29 PM

High-price studies to help select site for JCIA and DPW

Tuesday, October 21, 2008
By PAUL KOEPP
JOURNAL STAFF WRITER

It may cost Jersey City nearly $700,000 in settlement funds from the chromium cleanup on the city's West Side just to decide where to relocate the city's Incinerator Authority and Department of Public Works.

Step one will be deciding where to build the new combined facility as the departments leave their current contaminated digs on Route 440. The JCIA and DPW will need about 10 acres and access to major roads.

With the city's original plan to move them up the street to the PJP landfill site under the Pulaski Skyway held up by litigation with that site's owner - and by the opposition of Councilwoman Mary Spinello, who says it would create too much traffic and pollution in her ward - attention has turned to three other sites.

The Jersey City City Council will vote tomorrow on whether to pay $346,000 for Urban Architects, of Newark, to do architectural and engineering studies of the PJP property and an industrial tract on East Linden Avenue.

The latter includes two existing buildings totaling 200,000 square feet that could be refurbished to house the departments.

Stantec Consulting Services, of Rochelle Park, could receive $100,000 to do traffic studies of those two sites.

Also up for consideration will be a $200,000 contract for Malcolm Pirnie Inc., of Fair Lawn, to do environmental investigations at the PJP and East Linden Avenue sites, as well as other possible locations on Linden Avenue and Commercial Street.

And T&M Associates, of Middletown, could get $46,000 to study the landscaping that would be required for a proposed park on the western side of the PJP site, along the Hackensack River.

All of these contracts would come out of a $13 million relocation fund established by Honeywell International as part of the company's development plans on the West Side, officials said.

City Corporation Counsel Bill Matsikoudis said the City Council would have to go into executive session at one of its upcoming meetings to decide which site it wants to pursue.

JCMAN320

November 3rd, 2008, 10:45 PM

City sees Lafayette Pool ready next summer

Wednesday, October 22, 2008
By PAUL KOEPP
JOURNAL STAFF WRITER

After years of discussion and delays, Jersey City is finally preparing to build the Lafayette Pool Complex and it should be ready by next summer.

Pasquale Avallone, of RSC Architects in Cliffside Park, gave an update on the $3.7 million project at Monday's City Council caucus meeting at City Hall.

Plans for the facility on Van Horne Street, between Maple Street and Johnston Avenue, include a 25-meter, eight-lane pool suitable for competitive high school swimming, a family pool with water slides and a separate enclosed basketball court.

Ward F Councilman Viola Richardson said she is pleased the long-awaited project is moving forward.

"It's a benefit to the Lafayette residents and it's been a long time coming," she said.

Glenn Wrigley, the city's chief architect, said RSC is finalizing the design and will go to the city Planning Board to have the plans approved. There could be a groundbreaking before the end of the year, he said.

"There's no reason why we shouldn't be swimming when school gets out in the middle of June," said Business Administrator Brian O'Reilly.

Councilmen Peter Brennan and Michael Sottolano raised security concerns and questioned whether the city would be able to adequately staff the facility.

O'Reilly responded that the administration would provide whatever resources and manpower are necessary, and that wireless closed-circuit cameras could be added to bolster security.

-------------------------------------

JCMAN Comment:

My mother works down in Lafayette and I saw them working on the pipes and infrastructure for this project already. This will be a huge boon for the area!

JCMAN320

November 7th, 2008, 01:16 AM

A SQUARE THUMBS UP
Residents, biz owners like city revamp plan

Monday, October 27, 2008
By PAUL KOEPPJOURNAL STAFF WRITER

Journal Square residents and business owners said they were impressed by the city's plan to revamp their neighborhoods that was presented Thursday night at School 11 on Bergen Avenue.

But they also said it's difficult to foresee any quick progress toward the "vision" that Jersey City Mayor Jerramiah T. Healy said would make the square and the surrounding 244 acres "cleaner, greener, more prosperous and more affordable."

"Very positive," was the verdict of Ken Graham, owner of office space and a parking lot on Pavonia Avenue, after a two-hour slide show that pictured a redesigned PATH station, a cluster of skyscrapers, new swaths of green space and tree-lined streets.

"Something is going to happen, I know that," Graham said. "If you build it, people will come."

The plan displayed Thursday is the result of feedback consultants received at two public workshops earlier this year, officials said. It calls for up to 15,000 new housing units, nine acres of parks, a new light rail line to the waterfront and a trolley to McGinley Square.

The first element of the project to move forward will be the two-tower, mixed-use development next to the Journal Square Transportation Center, which is expected to break ground within six months.

The City Council will need to declare Journal Square an "area in need of rehabilitation" before a complete redevelopment plan can be adopted, officials said. The city could then use eminent domain to take private properties to create parks or expand roads, but there are no plans to use it for private developments, said Jersey City Redevelopment Agency Executive Director Robert Antonicello.

[b]For Patricia Kelly and her husband, Galen Gaarder, who moved to Duncan Avenue in February, the plan was cause for cautious optimism.

"This got me more excited about staying," said Kelly, adding that she hopes to see "more restaurants that we really want to go to."

Gaarder said that while the plan was "an amazing vision," he was "curious about how it will all happen in reality."

JCMAN320

November 7th, 2008, 01:22 AM

Park at HCCC's culinary building is open, inviting

Thursday, October 30, 2008
By TOM SHORTELL
JOURNAL STAFF WRITER

Hudson County Community College officials opened the new Culinary Arts Plaza Park in Journal Square yesterday morning.

The 18,750-square-foot lot at the corner of Sip Avenue and Newkirk Street was previously used for parking, but has been converted to open space after three years of planning.

A grant from the Hudson County Open Space Trust Fund footed most of the $3 million price tag for the new park, said Hudson County Executive Thomas DeGise.

"You can envision people from the neighborhood coming here to read their paper," said DeGise about the park. "It's an oasis in the desert."

The county is looking to double the amount of open space it has, he added.

"I think you'll find students filling this area once the weather gets warmer," said HCCC President Glen Gabert.

JCMAN320

November 7th, 2008, 01:31 AM

Check out these new renderings of JSQ along with pics of the Culinary Arts Plaza:

http://jcconstruction.blogspot.com/

DonJ81

November 8th, 2008, 03:36 PM

Looks nice, kinda like a times square meets central park vibe to it. Does anyone think this will be built within our lifetime though? I respect Healy's vision though, I'll give him that.

JCMAN320

November 9th, 2008, 02:19 AM

The only thing that will be built , and u/c this spring, is the City Center Towers, everything else is a vision. NJTransit said they don't wanna build a new light-rail line to JSQ yet and PANYNJ does not want to tear down and redo the current PATH station. So the rest is all pipeline as far as I'm concerned.

InsideScoop

November 10th, 2008, 07:17 AM

The city center towers project is DOA
nothing in journal square will get done this cycle
wait about 10 years and you might get something

after the last couple of JC projects wrap up, construction in JC is going into hibernation until at least 2012.

lofter1

November 10th, 2008, 10:57 AM

JC in the news ...

Cops arrest Jersey City councilman
for urinating on concert-goers

The Jersey Journal (http://www.nj.com/news/index.ssf/2008/11/jersey_city_councilman_arreste.html)
Charles Hack/Sunday
November 09, 2008

http://blog.nj.com/ledgerupdates_impact/2008/11/small_lipski.jpg
file
Steven Lipski

A Jersey City councilman was allegedly drunk when he was seized at a Washington nightclub after urinating on attendees of a Grateful Dead tribute concert.

City Councilman Steven Lipski, who represents the Journal Square area and directs a charter school, was charged Friday with simple assault at Nightclub 9:30 on V Street, a spokesman from the Metropolitan Police District of Columbia said today.

Staff at the club spotted Lipski, 44, at the Dark Star Orchestra concert, urinating from a second-level balcony onto the crowd below, The Daily News reported today.

Club employees hauled Lipski from the club and held him until police arrived and arrested him around 9:50 p.m., the report said.

A "source" told The Daily News that Lipski was "very drunk," and said it wasn't the first time he acted up at the nightspot.

"We've dealt with this man before," the source is quoted saying. "He's never peed on anybody, but he gets really belligerent and drunk."

Lipski, founder and director of CREATE Charter School in Jersey City, didn't return several phone calls left for him at his home and on his cell phone.

But one of his city council colleagues, Willie Flood, said Lipski called her this morning and said the incident was a big misunderstanding. Lipski claimed he spilled a drink and a someone thought it was urine, Flood said.

"It is an allegation," Flood added. "We need the facts first and then make a determination what happened. It seems out of character."

Flood, who also is the Hudson County Registrar, made headlines earlier this year when it came to light she hired her son for two government jobs even though he had previous run-ins with the law.

Richard Heinecke, owner of Nightclub 9:30, declined to comment today.

Downtown Councilman Steven Fulop called Lipski's arrest "embarrassing" for Jersey City.

Coupled with Mayor Jerramiah T. Healy's conviction for resisting arrest and obstruction of administrative law during a tussle with cops in Bradley Beach in 2006, Fulop said these incidents would lead investors to "question the leadership" of Jersey City.

"It is very humiliating," he said.

Healy was unavailable to comment and his spokeswoman, Jennifer Morrill, called the Lipski incident a "private and personal matter."

The mayor has characterized his thrice-appealed disorderly persons arrest in Bradley Beach in 2006 in much the same manner. The state Supreme Court refused to consider a final appeal of the charges earlier this year. Healy has maintained he was just trying to help the police sort out a domestic dispute.

© 2008 New Jersey On-Line LLC.

lammius

November 10th, 2008, 12:30 PM

Seemingly fitting from the representative of "Urinal Square."

JCMAN320

November 17th, 2008, 08:15 PM

Inside Scoop you stand corrected:

2 TALL TOWERS, 1 MASSIVE BREAK
Push for 'biggest discount' on developer's taxes

Thursday, November 13, 2008
By PAUL KOEPP
JOURNAL STAFF WRITER

The Jersey City City Council gave the redevelopment of Journal Square a boost forward last night when it introduced the most generous tax abatement package in the city's history for a landmark two-tower development.

The abatements call for payment in lieu of taxes to the city of 10 percent of gross annual revenues for the mixed-use 68-and 50-story towers over the next 30 years.

Under the terms of the three agreements - two for the towers and one for a seven-story pedestal of retail space and parking - the city would see revenue of $500,000 in the first year, $1 million in the second and $1.5 million in the third year, said Business Administrator Brian O'Reilly.

The payments would then increase to $2 million annually in years four to seven, $2.5 million in years eight to 19, and be $3 million in each of the remaining years, he said. The developer would lease the buildings to an intermediate entity. The city's 10 percent share would be based on that lease agreement, not the higher amounts collected in rents.

O'Reilly said he did not know how much of a break that would mean for the developer, MEPT Journal Square Urban Renewal, LLC.

"There's no doubt this is a big tax concession," he said. "This is the biggest discount on property taxes the city has ever given to any developer."

But city officials and the developer say the long-term payoff will be huge, bringing in more than $50 million in Urban Enterprise Zone revenue, parking taxes and permit fees and adding $2.8 million to the city's affordable housing trust fund.

The $400 million project on 1.5 acres next to the PATH Transportation Center is planned to have 1,615 rental units, 70,000 square feet of retail space and 700 parking spaces.

The developer and city officials have insisted the project would be financially impossible without the tax abatement.

O'Reilly said the project is unique because it is being self-financed by its majority partner, the Maryland-based Multi-Employer Property Trust, and is therefore insulated from the credit crunch. MEPT is a national real estate equity fund that invests union pension funds.

The abatement could be finalized after a public hearing at the next City Council meeting, Nov. 25.

The 68-story north tower will be built first, officials said. Construction is expected to begin within the next few months.

The City Council also adopted a resolution designating the surrounding area as "an area in need of rehabilitation," allowing the city to advance its plans to redevelop Journal Square.

citybooster

November 27th, 2008, 12:02 AM

There may not be many new projects to look forward to in 2009,but it
looks like a go for the City Center project and look.....finally the Monaco???Lots of stuff going on there on that Doubletree lot where the Monaco after two abatement deals was supposed to be realized.Lets hope if it is,the parking garage element doesn't tarnish a really nice building as does the sorry excuse for a garage at 77 Hudson.....a hideous scar on an otherwise pretty damn good architecturally styled project(the 70 Greene facade is much more stylish and tasteful).

Here's hoping that in the face of a national recession which was heralded by a severe downturn in he housing market we have some positive things to talk about in these great new projects.

JCMAN320

December 1st, 2008, 09:42 PM

Well small construction is still going on. Newark Ave is seeing a major gap in the street scape being filled in by a 6 story luxury building with retail on the base. Also a brand new bike shop on grove st. is opening:

http://www.newyorkssixth.com/

Also on JCconstruction, The old Precient on Montgomery St is finishing up, Hamilton Square is moving smoothly an more pictures of the Aqua u/c:

http://www.jcconstruction.blogspot.com

JCMAN320

December 1st, 2008, 09:44 PM

Council approves Square abatement

Wednesday, November 26, 2008
By PAUL KOEPP
JOURNAL STAFF WRITER

The Jersey City City Council last night, before a chamber packed with hundreds of union workers, unanimously approved the most generous tax abatement deal in the city's history for a giant two-tower development in Journal Square.

The 30-year abatements call for annual payments in lieu of taxes to the city of 10 percent of gross annual revenues for the mixed-use 68-and 50-story towers.

Under the terms of the three agreements - two for the towers and one for a seven-story pedestal of retail space and parking - the city will take in $500,000 in the first year, with payments eventually increasing in stages to $3 million a year.
The city is expected to take in $74 million over the life of the deal, which officials and the developer, MEPT Journal Square Urban Renewal LLC, have said is crucial to getting the project underway.

Union worker after union worker spoke in favor of the abatement, delaying the vote.

"Right now we're hurting," said Hudson County Building Trades president Mike McCade. "We can use the work."

Lowell Harwood, one of the project's principal developers, promised the towers would bring a "new era" to the Jersey City neighborhood.

"Journal Square can revive if we get together and do it," he said.

The $400 million development on 1.5 acres next to the PATH Transportation Center is planned to have 1,615 rental units, 70,000 square feet of retail space and 700 parking spaces.

The 68-story north tower will be built first, with construction expected to begin within months, officials said.

citybooster

December 2nd, 2008, 12:58 AM

We're glacier slow here...people posting articles,but's let's talk among ourselves about what is or isn't going on.There is something going on at the Monaco....the City Center thing was common knowledge days ago....we are actually going to see some more big projects in addition to the welcome smaller scale ones.I used to get excited coming here,and I know the severe downturn in the economy has halted a lot of the rising here in Jersey City....but the participation here has been awful recently and let's talk about what's going on,give out take on city development,good and bad.Not just post interesting stories with no follow up the majority of posts.The discussion is the fun,with the stories as the jumping off point to discussion.

NYatKNIGHT

December 3rd, 2008, 04:59 PM

Which tower is that currently under construction on the waterfront? The curtain wall is about halfway up now, nice light color.

tbal

December 3rd, 2008, 09:58 PM

That is Crystal Pointe (aka "2 Second Street").

payanks00

December 3rd, 2008, 11:08 PM

Has construction began at Warren and 2nd? I noticed some movement/action on the site lately

NYatKNIGHT

December 4th, 2008, 05:20 PM

Thanks, tbal.

I suppose the next building we'll see rise from across the river is the 68 storey Journal Square tower?

JCMAN, that jcconstruction link you posted above takes you to some bible college website. That can't be what you intended, right?

tone99loc

December 4th, 2008, 09:11 PM

fyi, i expanded my google map to include jersey city:

http://maps.google.com/maps/ms?ie=UTF8&hl=en&msa=0&msid=110344951274592161395.00045b4c818fea83e0fbc&t=h&z=12&mid=1228439383

there's links to the Jersey City construction blog which is an excellent site (not sure if that blogger reads WNY, but kudos to him anyway)...

JCMAN320

December 5th, 2008, 12:49 AM

http://www.jcconstruction.blogspot.com/

Thanks NYatKnight here is the link with new photos of the city's new public safety office.

Radiohead

December 5th, 2008, 12:53 AM

A few pics of JC that I love. Perspective is everything (at least with photography).

The skyline from the northeast. Flickr(mudpig)
http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3153/2865546194_13426b03b6_b.jpg

A great downtown view with the SOL and Verazzano in the distance. A good reminder to close your blinds at night. (VTShep1)
http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1097/744902608_8d83775841_o.jpg

Awaiting an oracle from above, or just great effects (Poppa-D)
http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1184/1224580463_2da3e7d538_o.jpg

Radiohead

December 5th, 2008, 01:03 AM

http://www.jcconstruction.blogspot.com/

Thanks NYatKnight here is the link with new photos of the city's new public safety office.

Good link, JCMan. A good complement to New York's Sixth

tbal

December 5th, 2008, 01:58 AM

NYatKnight - I could be wrong about this, but it looks like the next building (really buildings) that will be rising on this side are the Monaco Towers. I'll post photos sometime during the day to show you all what's going on at the site.

payanks00 - Warren & Second? I assume that you're talking about 110 First Street. I know HRH posted their logo all around the site a few months ago, and they had the trailers set up and tons of reams of rebar piled up on the 111 First Site since about a year ago.

If you think about it, the developers of the Monaco Towers & City Center Towers have alot at stake and a huge incentive to begin construction (history-making tax abatements). The developers of 110 First Street don't have an incentive to start right away, but they do have equipment and materials onsite already - so this building may begin to rise within the next year but not as soon as the Roseland & MEPT projects. Finally, neither Panepinto nor Toll has much of an incentive to begin construction soon since neither developer received an abatement, so I think it may be late 2009 before ground breaks on 70-90 Columbus, and sometime between early 2010 and early 2011 before ground breaks on the Toll Bros towers (but who knows?).

Btw - I've heard through a colleague working with the lead architect for Toll's Jersey City project that the plans have been virtually complete for awhile - although I'm sure that they'll undergo some small changes here and there depending on market conditions.

ianmac47

December 5th, 2008, 10:51 AM

I had heard from a reliable source that 110 First Street's problem was a shortage of financing for the project. This could have changed I suppose but if the financial types are to be believed, we're in a credit crisis.

tbal

December 5th, 2008, 04:34 PM

ianmac, you definitely might have heard right from your source. As you'll see below, both of the rigs used for piling were removed from the 110 First site over the past few days (although it looked like some new construction materials - piping, for example - was also delivered to the site recently).

110 First Street:

http://i58.photobucket.com/albums/g245/jcwalkingman/12508003.jpg?t=1228508155

Monaco Towers:
Construction at the Monaco towers site seems to be in full swing. Crew members from Nacirema Demo were onsite disassembling the outdoor lighting fixtures around the DoubleTree parking lot, a new entrance/exit has been constructed for the hotel, and several pieces of heavy equipment and a crew were onsite today. Crushed stone was spread to create a temporary driveway for construction vehicles, and excavation has begun.

http://i58.photobucket.com/albums/g245/jcwalkingman/12508001.jpg?t=1228508277

Relocated DoubleTree driveway:
http://i58.photobucket.com/albums/g245/jcwalkingman/12508024.jpg?t=1228508432

213 Newark Ave:
The building is split into two sections above the (partially underground) garage, with a courtyard between. There will be 5 stories above street level when the building is completed, and 3 have been constructed so far.

http://i58.photobucket.com/albums/g245/jcwalkingman/12508008.jpg?t=1228508624

Looking East toward the rear section of the building:
http://i58.photobucket.com/albums/g245/jcwalkingman/12508007.jpg?t=1228508672

Sutton II (?):
This 9-story building was constructed just west of the Sutton, and it looks like it will have a significant square footage of retail on its first level.

http://i58.photobucket.com/albums/g245/jcwalkingman/12508010.jpg?t=1228508784

Looking East from the Jersey Ave Light Rail station:
http://i58.photobucket.com/albums/g245/jcwalkingman/12508011.jpg?t=1228508836

View of the new canal-like street formed by Sutton and it's neighbors:
http://i58.photobucket.com/albums/g245/jcwalkingman/12508021.jpg?t=1228508911

2 Second Street/Crystal Pointe:
The facade is halfway up the tower, with the exception of the base which has not been clad with anything yet:

http://i58.photobucket.com/albums/g245/jcwalkingman/12508022.jpg?t=1228509010

Looking Southeast with the WFC in the background:
http://i58.photobucket.com/albums/g245/jcwalkingman/12508023.jpg?t=1228509057

tbal

December 5th, 2008, 04:49 PM

Applied Co. Rental Building:
This is being constructed at the corner of Grand Street & Marin Blvd. Alot of heavy equipment is onsite, demolishing & removing foundations from the structures that used to occupy the site, and beginning its excavation. The building is to have two setbacks, forming sections of (I believe) 5, 8, & 11 stories (I know it was originally 4, 8, & 12, but Applied revised the design):

http://i58.photobucket.com/albums/g245/jcwalkingman/12508016.jpg?t=1228509979

View from Grand Street, looking Southeast:
http://i58.photobucket.com/albums/g245/jcwalkingman/12508015.jpg?t=1228510014

New Medical Office Building:
This is going up next to the Medical Center on Jersey Ave, toward Liberty State Park. A rig was being delivered today and site clearing was taking place (and yes, I know this picture sucks):

http://i58.photobucket.com/albums/g245/jcwalkingman/12508013.jpg?t=1228510067

And finally, this smaller building at the corner of Barrow & Grand looks pretty awesome with it's metallic paneling (I'm not quite sure of the address, but I think it's 396 Grand):

http://i58.photobucket.com/albums/g245/jcwalkingman/12508014.jpg?t=1228510130

NYatKNIGHT

December 5th, 2008, 05:13 PM

Excellent!

tone99loc

December 5th, 2008, 06:38 PM

great pics tbal! thx!

Malcontent

December 5th, 2008, 07:57 PM

Awesome, looks like a mini construction boom going on in JC. Are there any renderings of the Applied building aside from the small picture they have on their website? I am real interested in what the building will look like. It has a huge footprint! Thanks for posting the pics.

JCMAN320

December 6th, 2008, 12:17 AM

That canal like street is actually Canal St. in Jersey City. lol. Great pics. This is good news for the smaller buildings being built. One on Culver. Ave here on the Westside has sat incomplete since August, but today going by I saw the construction fence open with workers fixing some small damage done by the elements to the unfinished structure.

ianmac47

December 8th, 2008, 12:21 PM

That is 296 Grand Street-- here is a photo history of the construction on that project:

http://newyorkssixth.com/newyorkssixthphotoblog/labels/296%20Grand.html

I think there are a lot of architectural design mistakes made on this project. First, the ground floor facade is very cold and doesn't contribute much to the streetscape. The windows on the ground floor are too small and there is way too much solid wall. The other problems I have with this are the Grand Street "balconies" which are not balconies, but basically railings with big sliding doors. Overlooking grand street doesn't make much sense, even if you are looking at the Statue of liberty, because of all the soot coming up off Grand Street.

JCMAN320

December 8th, 2008, 09:35 PM

http://www.newyorkssixth.com/index.htm

Here are more pics from ian's site on Monaco site in full swing. Also a stirctly NY restaurant is opening it's first NJ location, in Jersey City at Bay st. and Newark Ave. The restaurant is Atomic Wings; here is the website showing the JC location. Also Edible Arrangements opend on Grand St storefront in the Liberty Harbor North "section" of Downtown. Also a clothing boutique is also apparently opening. Looks like JC might be wethering the economic downturn with a mix of big and small projects and new businesses.

tbal

December 8th, 2008, 11:33 PM

The new upscale-looking restaurant opening at Newark & Bay - was that the Atomic Wings??? Or was that another new bar/restaurant? I forget where the Atomic Wings was to be located. It looked pretty fancy with the accordian-style wooden door system.

JCMAN320

December 9th, 2008, 01:52 AM

Tbal I could be wrong, but that's what it looks like to me. In other irresponsible news:

Developer of Trump Plaza in Jersey City defaults on loan

by Paul Koepp/The Jersey Journal
Monday December 08, 2008, 8:49 PM

http://blog.nj.com/hudsoncountynow_impact/2008/12/medium_trump1.JPG
Jersey Journal file photo
Trump Plaza on Morgan Street in Jersey City

The developer of Trump Plaza in Jersey City has defaulted on a construction loan for the waterfront project's second tower, sending a bank after him for over $13 million.

Not to worry, says the developer, Dean Geibel of Hoboken-based Metro Homes LLC. He said he is working on refinancing the $24 million loan, and the 50-story, 418-unit highrise will still get underway some time next year.

Geibel stressed that the default does not reflect Trump's own financial situation, since Trump's involvement is limited to a licensing agreement allowing the use of his name.

"This is not really about Donald Trump, it's about Metro Homes," Geibel said.

Capital One filed the complaint against Geibel in state Superior Court in August, seeking to enforce a guarantee by the developer to pay back at least $11 million by January 2008. The loan, backed by the property on which the tower will be built, was signed in January 2006.

Asked about the complaint, Geibel attorney Leo Leyva wrote in an e-mail: "We are in complex negotiations with a number of parties in an effort to resolve the outstanding issues which many real estate developers are currently facing."

He added that the action should not have been filed because the guarantee is "only effective in the scenario that the real estate was worth less than the indebtedness, and that is clearly not the case."

Capital One's complaint said that as of Aug. 5, Geibel owed almost $2.3 million in late fees, attorney fees and interest payments in addition to the $11 million guarantee, with another $8,667 being tacked on each day.

He said he still has a "good working relationship" with the bank and is looking to add a partner to help with financing the second building, which will cost around $150 million and take about two years to finish. "We just hit a couple bumps along the way," Geibel said.

He said the first Trump Plaza building has been "very successful," with 375 of its 444 units sold.

JCMAN320

December 11th, 2008, 06:10 AM

Well it looks like more things are starting to happen in JC: http://newyorkssixth.com/

From Ian's website:

A lot of businesses are opening up; Made with Love Organic Bakery, " Cocoa Bakery and Cafe is coming to Liberty Harbor North, a few doors down from Edible Arrangements. The bakery and cafe is the product of pastry chef Jessica Isaacs of notable Manhattan eatery, Nobu."

"Paulus Hook will soon have a new home decor and accessories boutique on Washington Street" it is called Citiroots.

"Add the Philly Pretzel Factory to the list of chain restaurants coming to downtown Jersey City. The pretzel factory is the second chain opening in the base of the Montgomery-Greene tower; Van Houtte Cafe also opened next door"

http://www.cocoabakerycafe.com/
http://madewithloveorganics.com/
http://www.phillysoftpretzelfactory.com/

Also there is a new building breaking ground at the corner of Marin Blvd and Grand St. looks liek it could also be part of the Liberty Harbor North Development shown on the site as well by Ian.

Also new photos of Crystal Point, and 77 Hudson.

At http://www.jcconstruction.blogspot.com - shows a small condo development going up in the backend of Downtown called Crescent Court.

JC has come out of it's slumber it appaers. Also somewhere on newyorkssixth.com it shows that there is a new bike shop going up on Grove St.

JCMAN320

December 11th, 2008, 06:33 AM

CLEANUP KEY TO PROJECT
City, PPG negotiate to remove chromium

Wednesday, December 10, 2008
By PAUL KOEPP
JOURNAL STAFF WRITER

Jersey City's planners have grand designs for an 111-acre swath of industrial land to the east of Garfield Avenue. But there is an obstacle: chromium contamination.

As plans for the "Canal Crossing Redevelopment Area" take shape, the city is trying to wrap up negotiations with PPG Industries on a cleanup plan for the site of the company's old factory on Garfield Avenue.

Jersey City Corporation Counsel Bill Matsikoudis said the city has set a deadline of Dec. 31 to reach a resolution with PPG for the remediation of these 18 acres. If no agreement is made, the city will take legal action, either in federal court or through pending litigation in state Superior Court, to force the process forward, he said.

The city could push for the appointment of a special master and technical consultants to oversee the cleanup and evaluate any paperwork filed by PPG, Matsikoudis said, adding the city would push for a five-year time frame for the remediation.

The cost, expected to be in the hundreds of millions of dollars, will be borne completely by PPG, he said.

The site is about half the size of the chromium area being cleaned up by Honeywell International across town along Route 440. PPG and its predecessors produced more than 300,000 tons of chromium waste over several decades, officials said.

"Clearly there has to be a lot of excavation," Matsikoudis said.

The company is "awaiting the review and approval of several documents" on file with the state Department of Environmental Protection, according to a spokesman. PPG said it cannot do more "until the Department completes its review of various reports and authorizes PPG to do further work."

In a statement, the NJDEP said it expects to "issue a formal response to the company's remedial investigation reports, which contain results of extensive soil and ground water testing, at the beginning of the year."

The property is controlled by a group of developers including former DEP Commissioner Christopher Daggett, officials said.

"We want a gold standard remediation for the PPG site," said Robert Harper of the Garfield Avenue Chromium Coalition, referring to a chromium concentration below three parts per million.

---------------------------------

Planners see transformation of dumps to re-energize area

Wednesday, December 10, 2008
By PAUL KOEPP
JOURNAL STAFF WRITER

Jersey City has big plans for the former PPG Industries factory on Garfield Avenue and other chromium dumps that will comprise the 111-acre "Canal Crossing Redevelopment Area."

Plans call for 4,000 housing units, a new Hudson-Bergen Light Rail station at the end of Caven Point Avenue, and possibly a new school.

Carved out of the larger 400-acre Morris Canal Redevelopment Plan, this triangular redevelopment zone lies between the Bayonne light rail line, the West Side Avenue light rail line and Garfield Avenue.

It will consist mainly of "mid-rise" buildings four to eight stories tall, with clusters of buildings up to 12 stories high around the light rail stations. It will also feature a swath of green along the former Morris Canal, directly south of the 17-acre Berry Lane Park, which is under construction.

Jersey City Redevelopment Agency Executive Director Robert Antonicello expects Canal Crossing to "re-energize" Martin Luther King Drive and the nearby Hub shopping center.

The JCRA will pursue "presumptive redevelopment," an approach that gives property owners the most value by upzoning their lots from industrial to residential, he said.

This will allow them to make more than they would through condemnation and will lessen the number of eminent domain proceedings, Antonicello said.

"The last thing we want to do is hurt (the property owners)," he said. "Now they've got viable options."

The introduction of the redevelopment plan was held up at the Nov. 25 City Council meeting after a dispute erupted about the height of buildings along Garfield Avenue.

Members of the neighborhood group Garfield Avenue Chromium Coalition said they were concerned tall buildings too close to their homes would detract from the area.

"We're not opposed to development, that's not the issue at all," said GRACO member Gillian Allen. "We just want responsible development in the community we live in."

The plan is expected to be considered again at the council's Dec. 17 meeting.

JCMAN320

December 14th, 2008, 11:47 PM

Last parcel of land for Jersey City's Liberty Harbor development getting very pricey

by Paul Koepp/The Jersey Journal
Sunday December 14, 2008, 4:29 PM

http://blog.nj.com/hudsoncountynow_impact/2008/12/large_zlibhar333.JPG
Jersey Journal file photo
Liberty Harbor development rising in Downtown Jersey City

With the Jersey City Redevelopment Agency's bid for a new trial in a waterfront condemnation action rejected last week, the amount that developer Peter Mocco owes the property owners is over $20 million and growing.

But will he be able to pay?

A jury awarded Ronald Kerrigan, his wife Lynn, and his sister Katherine $18.6 million for the land in September, and interest is accruing on that sum. The city's last offer for the property was $3.8 million.

Last Monday, Superior Court Judge Mark A. Baber ruled that although the family's Florham Park attorney, William J. Ward, had made "various improper comments" during the trial, that was not grounds for a new trial.

Baber also denied Ward's request that the JCRA put up more money in addition to the $1.25 million it has already deposited in an escrow account as the case heads to appeal.

The JCRA seized the property through eminent domain in August 2004 and turned the deed over to Mocco. As part of his redevelopment deal with the city, Mocco must reimburse the city legal fees and acquisition costs for any property taken for Liberty Harbor.

Ward is concerned that neither Mocco nor the JCRA will be able to come up with the cash.

"Peter Mocco has gone bankrupt before... Nothing is preventing that from happening again, and we're not protected," he said.

Indeed, Lakewood company A.J. Stairs Inc. said in a court filing this week that the developer owes almost $156,000 for work done over the last two years for his Liberty View Construction Corp.

But JCRA attorney John Curley downplayed that fear. "The JCRA has been around for over 50 years and it's never not paid an award," he said.

Mocco did not return phone calls seeking comment.

The 3.4-acre parcel at the foot of Jersey Avenue, currently being leased by a drilling company, is the last that needs to be acquired for the 80-acre Liberty Harbor development.

JCMAN320

December 16th, 2008, 12:11 AM

Bucking the trend, groundbreaking for Monaco Towers rental complex tomorrow in Jersey City

by The Jersey Journal
Monday December 15, 2008, 2:50 PM

The economy is in free fall, but residential projects are still going up in Jersey City.

Mayor Jerramiah T. Healy, the Municipal Council and other city officials will join with representatives of Roseland Properties and Garden State Developers to break ground on Monaco Towers at 2 p.m. tomorrow, at Washington Boulevard and Thomas Gangemi Drive.

The $210 million construction project will consist of two towers and 524 residential rental units, 11,000 square feet of ground flood retail space and will create more than 400 construction jobs.

The project will also conform to the city's Project Labor Agreement, which means that a percentage of the jobs will be dedicated to city residents in apprenticeships with the building trades unions.

JCMAN320

December 16th, 2008, 01:37 AM

Groups jump on anti- Toll Bros. bandwagon

Monday, December 15, 2008
By CHARLES HACK
JOURNAL STAFF WRITER

An artists community group suing to limit the size of a planned Toll Brothers development in Jersey City's Downtown arts district has gained neighborhood backing for its cause - not a moment too soon since oral arguments are to be heard today.

Three neighborhood associations and two citywide civic groups have recently submitted written testimony to Superior Court Judge Barbara A. Curran, siding with the lawsuit filed in June by the Powerhouse Arts District Neighborhood Association.

Another group, the Harsimus Cove Association, joined the lawsuit as a plaintiff in September.

The lawsuit filed in June seeks to overturn a City Council ordinance adopted during April that amends the 2004 Powerhouse Arts District Redevelopment Plan in order to allow Toll Brothers to build a mixed used, 950-unit high-rise complex at the site of the former Manischewitz factory at Morgan Street and Marin Boulevard.

The amended plan includes three towers of 30 or more stories, a 550-seat performing arts theater, gallery space and a plaza.

The original redevelopment plan called for projects limited to 10 stories filled with spacious "live/work" units for artists.

Having the neighborhood associations behind the association is a significant boost to its case, said PADNA's attorney, Michael B. Kates. "It shows that there are neighborhood associations and other significant contributors to the scene in Jersey City who believe that the planning process is not so easily ignored," Kates said.

Bill Matsikoudis, the city's top attorney, said the additional voices don't change the law, which is the city has the right to amend a redevelopment plan.

"Unless they are putting forward a new theory of law or new facts I don't know it will have a substantive impact on the case," Matsikoudis said.

PADNA members see the Toll Brothers project as another nail in the coffin of the 2004 Powerhouse Arts District Redevelopment Plan that envisioned a low-rise community, with plenty of commercial art space and 10 percent affordable housing.

The Historic Paulus Hook Association, Inc.; Van Vorst Park Association; Newport Neighborhood Assn; and a "representative" of Hamilton Park Association, have all filed written testimony as "friends of the court."

The Newport Neighborhood Association, Inc., whose president is Sonia Maldonado, supports the Toll Brothers project, while a rival group, the similarly named Newport Neighborhood Assn, whose president is Robert Vivien, opposes the development.

The other civic groups - Civic JC and Pro Arts - have sent the court statements supporting the PADNA suit. Officials of Toll Brothers refused to comment.

JCMAN320

December 18th, 2008, 04:51 AM

Judge to decide arts district's fate
Will taller buildings be allowed?

Wednesday, December 17, 2008
By CHARLES HACKJ
OURNAL STAFF WRITER

A Superior Court judge heard oral arguments Monday in a case by a Jersey City community group challenging the city's right to allow a high-rise development in a Downtown area that was planned to be a mid-rise haven for artists.

The suit was brought by the Powerhouse Arts District Neighborhood Association against the city and Toll Brothers, the developer planning to build a 950-unit, three-tower project in the Powerhouse Arts District at Marin Boulevard and Bay Street.

The Toll Brothers plan calls for towers taller than 30 stories and demolition of all buildings, save for two facades of the historic Manischewitz warehouse.

The original redevelopment plan called for buildings no taller than 10 stories and preserving the warehouses.

After a five-hour hearing, Superior Court Judge Barbara A. Curran said she would consider the testimony and provide a written decision at a later date.

PADNA attorney Michael Kates argued that the Toll Brothers plan "eviscerated" the Powerhouse Arts District and "severely limited" affordable lofts.

"It is the same old story - make a contribution and grant a favor," Kates said. "The problem here is the favor is putting the plan in jeopardy."

Toll Brothers attorney Carl Bisgaier said the City Council amended the redevelopment plan in April after a public planning process. He argued that amenities included in the company's proposal more than justify the changes in height and density.

Those amenities include a 550-seat theater with parking, a $1.1 million contribution to operate the theater, thousands of square feet of performance and exhibition space, and an outdoor plaza to serve as a neighborhood gathering place.

JoeSas

December 27th, 2008, 12:13 PM

225 Grand is pushing ahead....

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/12/28/realestate/28zone.html?_r=1&ref=realestate

But of the rentals that Applied is moving ahead with, several developments are in Hudson County. “We just started on 225 Grand, a 348-unit rental in Jersey City,” Mr. Barry said, “and we’re preparing to start with the Berkshire, 93 rental units, at the Shipyard.” The Shipyard is an Applied rental/condo complex on the Hudson in Hoboken.

“It will be about two years before these come online,” he said, “and when the economy does turn around, my experience is that the first market to benefit from that is the apartment market. As jobs are added, the first thing that happens is many people go out and rent an apartment.”

Land costs have become “more reasonable lately,” Mr. Barry added; as a developer, he is seeking to capitalize on “an opportune time to get in the ground with apartments.”

Condominium developments that have already posted strong numbers of sales contracts — like the Trump Plaza Jersey City — will most likely continue to sell units during this “off time,” he said, but starting new condo construction at this point is “plain craz

tbal

December 30th, 2008, 12:58 AM

There's plenty going on near India Square on that narrow site between Newark Ave and the PATH tracks (the one where construction was put on hold for over a year). If I remember correctly, I believe it's supposed to be a 4-story building.

JCMAN320

January 6th, 2009, 11:30 PM

Some new development news here in Jersey City courtesy of Brooklynfoo on jcconstruction.com. Liberty Harbor North pics, 114 Newark Ave pics, a historic rehab on the corner of Morgan and Grove Sts: http://jcconstruction.blogspot.com/

tbal

January 11th, 2009, 04:03 AM

For the record, 110 First is NOT moving forward at this time (I've seen alot of rumors over at kannekt about materials & equipment being delivered to that site). On the flip side, the Monaco towers and 225 Grand Street projects are moving along very quickly. I'm hoping to post an update within a week (I have photos from last week but they're, well, outdated lol).

bigbaldman

January 14th, 2009, 09:55 AM

Just some things to add about Liberty Harbor...
1. That new building past the Sutton is the loft building. There is substanial retail on the ground floor, including a really nice space that looks out to the tracks and gthe water that the doorman said was signed for a beer garden. Sounds great....
2. A path connecting gulls cove and the back of liberty harbor has been built, and you can now walk thru from Paulus Hook, behind Gulls Cove and along the light rail tracks right into the back of Gulls Cove. As a resident of Paulus Hook, this is an exciting improvement, as it opens up the retail part of Liberty Harbor without having to detour up to Grand to get in. I can see myself and the wife and baby taking a stroll over when the weather is nice, as long as there is something worth buying over there.
3. The buildings (Sutton, new loft building) look fantastic. Seems like higher quality construction than is standard around here. Alot of attention to detail. Overall, a very nice looking development.
4. Where is the parking for these people???? I know there is parking underneath some of the buildings, but there is none nder that loft building on the tracks, there is none under the new building that is half done. Where exactly is it all? Seems like someone is gonna get screwed.....

All in all, Liberty Harbor is coming along very nicely. When (if??) its ever completed, I believe it will be one of the premiere communities in the world, but that is a big if........

Baldman

Malcontent

January 14th, 2009, 10:49 AM

Is there anyone who knows about construction that can tell me what they are doing on the corner of Grand and Marin? I thought they would dig out a foundation first, but instead they are driving many long metal beams deep into the ground. It seems like it would be impossible to dig out a foundation with all those beams in the ground.

BklynPenny

January 14th, 2009, 07:17 PM

Not knowing the area, what you describe sounds like piledriving. These piles are part of the foundation on which the building will sit. An engineer would typically use these because the soil isn't suitable for traditional footings (spread footings) and/or the load of the building is very high.

JCMAN320

January 23rd, 2009, 12:49 AM

5-story limit kept for Canal Crossing

Tuesday, January 20, 2009
By EARL MORGAN
JOURNAL STAFF WRITER

Backed by three colleagues, Jersey City Ward F Councilwoman Viola Richardson shot down an amendment that would have allowed building heights in a redevelopment area in her district to rise above five stories.

The amendment, to increase height limits in the proposed Canal Crossing Redevelopment Area from five to six stories, was defeated last Wednesday in a 4-4 vote, with Councilman Steven Lipski absent. To pass, the amendment - that would have pertained to a 111-acre plot to the east of Garfield Avenue - needed at least five affirmative votes.

Plans for the Canal Crossing Redevelopment Area include 4,000 new housing units, a new Hudson-Bergen Light Rail station and possibly a new school. The city is currently in negotiations with PPG Industries on a cleanup plan for its portion of the site.

Richardson said her constituents oppose taller buildings that would cut down on sunlight and interfere with their views.

City Council President Mariano Vega and Councilmen Peter Brennan and Steve Fulop voted with Richardson, while council members Bill Gaughan, Mary Spinello, Willie Flood and Mike Sottolano voted for the amendment.

Fulop and Vega said they deferred to Richardson's judgment as the local representative for the area, while Brennan said he came to oppose the amendment after visiting the area and talking to residents.

Gaughan said he felt developers would need the flexibility of an additional story to build apartments, condos and other structures.

JCMAN320

January 23rd, 2009, 12:53 AM

http://jcconstruction.blogspot.com/

Here is a view of the new office building going up for the JC Medical Center. Also the the little plot of land on the corner of of Newark and Tonnele Ave in Little India. Courtesy of Brooklynfoo.

JCMAN320

January 23rd, 2009, 10:50 PM

300 JOBS MOVING TO COUNTY

Monday, January 12, 2009
CHARLES HACK
JOURNAL STAFF WRITER

Wall Street West will be absorbing several hundred jobs in March from across the Hudson River as Arch Insurance Group Inc. relocates two-thirds of its corporate headquarters' staff to Harborside in Jersey City.

Arch Insurance Group Inc., which has signed a 15-year lease for 100,000 square feet of office space at the Harborside Financial Center, Plaza 3, is fulfilling plans announced last summer to move some 300 jobs from its corporate offices at 1 Liberty Plaza in New York City.

The jobs include corporate executives in accounts, claims and information technology.

"There have been a number of companies before us who have made good, sound educated decisions to move support operations across the Hudson River," said Mark D. Lyons, chairman and CEO of the Arch Worldwide Insurance Group. "This is one step of many that will continue the existing financial strength of our company."

The move became a "pretty easy decision" after considering the lower rent and "impressive" package of economic incentives, including state and local government grants and tax breaks, Lyons said.

"Class A" office space that rents for the mid-$30 per square foot in Jersey City rents for $60 per square foot in Manhattan, said Jersey City Redevelopment Agency Executive Director Robert Antonicello.

"More and more companies are looking at the bottom line," Antonicello said. "They are looking at New Jersey. Our waterfront has long been a great location for companies, but today it is becoming an exceptional location."

Arch Insurance will also receive a state grant equivalent to about $9.6 million over the first 10 years of their lease.

Arch Insurance Group, a division of Arch Capital Group Ltd., provides insurance for corporations, professional firms and financial institutions in North America.

"Jersey City continues to be extremely competitive in relation to Manhattan due to our overall operating costs, our skilled work force and our comprehensive mass transportation system," Mayor Jerramiah T. Healy said.

New Guy

January 25th, 2009, 01:35 AM

If there is any good spin on this economic storm we are in, I believe that would be it. JC Mans article may be onto a developing 'trend.' We saw this before with PNP Paribus (the French Bank), Goldmans and a few others --- whereby they either came to JC due to the cheap rent, or 'remained' in JC due to the cheap rent/economic incentives. The next year will be interesting with allllll of Wall Street re-examining their ballance sheets. If these firms cant afford Manhattan, they come our way. Egos will yield to the books. The books dont lie and the books win in the end. Jersey City may be the recipient of jobs and new corporate leases that are just too damn expensive to continue in Manhattan. That is the ONLY positive spin I can put on this mess. But in any case. Welcome to neighborhood Wall Street! What took ya so long? :D

tbal

January 26th, 2009, 12:09 AM

citybooster

January 26th, 2009, 04:49 PM

A few days ago a rumor broke on kannekt claiming that work was beginning on 111 First Street. Although work has not begun yet, it is possible that construction could begin within the next 6 months at the site. Stacks totaling between 50-100 pilings were delivered to the south end of the site sometime within the last week, and some heavy equipment is also sitting there. My reasoning for guessing that construction might start this year is that this is a unique project, just as Crystal Pointe was, and although Fisher faced a delay in construction financing, they eventually got it for that project. I know that it's been more than a year since 111 First was approved, so all the permits should be in place by now. I also don't know why they would store all the pilings on the 111 First Street site (and at the SOUTH end, of all places) if they were to be used for 110 First Street. There is plenty of room at 110 First for storage and even the test pilings for 110 First were stored onsite.
Was the project ever officially approved by the Planning Board and the City Council?Do we even know what it is going to look like,if changes have been rendered to Rem Koolhaus' original geometric criss cross?I'd love to believe here finally is progress on develpment of 111 First after the economic downturn and credit crunch has left this supposed centerpiece of downtown development in limbo for so long.Yet I think that if anything all this means if something is finally going to come out of the ground is that 110 First is more likely the one that is about to commence....if this is not just another false alarm.

JCMAN320

January 30th, 2009, 12:20 AM

Mayor: High hopes for Newport hotel

Wednesday, January 28, 2009
By AMY SARA CLARK
JOURNAL STAFF WRITER

A new Westin hotel in Jersey City's Newport section opened for business yesterday with 40 guests signed up for the first night and about half its rooms still awaiting their final touches.

The new 23-story luxury hotel is likely to soon be bustling with guests since it fills a need for hotel rooms in Jersey City, where four pre-existing hotels are often packed to the gills.

"There is definitely a need for it," said William La Rosa, Hudson County's director of tourism. Hudson County hotels have an occupancy rate of 85 to 90 percent 20 points above the national average, officials said.

The Westin Jersey City Newport has 429 guest rooms and 20,500 square feet of event space. The opening increases Jersey City's inventory of hotel rooms by 38 percent, according to Bob McIntosh, the hotel's director of sales and marketing.

Jersey City Mayor Jerramiah T. Healy said the hotel's opening "bodes well" for Jersey City's future. "I think it's great. You don't see things opening anyplace else," he said. "We're going to see jobs here, we're going to see tax dollars here."

Many of the new hotel's 220 employees are Jersey City residents, McIntosh said, although he didn't have exact numbers. "We didn't run a single newspaper ad. We wanted to reach local foot traffic," he said. "We were extraordinarily impressed with the caliber of the people we were able to hire."

The Westin also features artwork by Jersey artists Barbara Anne Landes and Nancy Cohen in its public spaces. McIntosh expects 80 percent of the hotel's guests to be business travelers.

The hotel has already negotiated special rates with several corporations, he said. The remainder will be filled by leisure travelers lured by rooms that are 25 to 35 percent less expensive than rooms in Manhattan, McIntosh said.

Daily rates for the hotel run between $179 to $299 compared to $189 to $429 for the Westin Times Square, he said.

An official ribbon cutting ceremony for the hotel is planned for Feb. 9.

JCMAN320

January 30th, 2009, 05:46 PM

DeGise to Feds: HUDSON 'SHOVEL READY'

Friday, January 30, 2009
By EARL MORGAN
JOURNAL STAFF WRITER

If the federal government is looking for "shovel ready" programs to invest in, it need look no further than Hudson County.

That's one of the points Hudson County Executive Thomas DeGise stressed yesterday during his State of the County speech.

"We don't build bridges to nowhere," DeGise said to a packed audience inside the freeholders' chambers in the County Administration annex on Pavonia Avenue, clearly counting on some of the $825 billion in federal stimulus money approved by the House on Wednesday flowing Hudson's way.

"Whether it's the parking deck at Harrison PATH station, the North Hudson Campus of the Community College in Union City, repairs to the Pulaski Skyway or extension of the Light Rail, Hudson County has projects that will create jobs in the short run and improve our economic competitiveness in the long run," DeGise said.

Noting that Hudson County will "do its part," DeGise said the state and federal government will have to help Hudson weather the economic downturn that has gripped the nation.

DeGise said he has joined Bergen and Essex county executives to urge the state Legislature to pass Gov. Jon Corzine's pension deferment plan that would allow counties to reduce their 2009 pension obligations by half. The move could save Hudson County nearly $7 million this year, he said.

The county spends $153 million a year on labor costs, DeGise said. More than half of those funds are dedicated to three services: Corrections, the Prosecutor's Office and the Sheriff's Office.

Approximately 95 percent of the rest of the money is spent on three other services: welfare, the psychiatric hospital, and maintenance of parks, roads, bridges and other public property, he said.

suttonite

February 4th, 2009, 03:03 PM

JCMAN320

February 9th, 2009, 09:52 PM

File chromium suit; accord 'near'

Wednesday, February 04, 2009
By AMY SARA CLARK
JOURNAL STAFF WRITER

Fed up with waiting for Jersey City to complete negotiations with PPG Industries over the cleanup of 16.6-acres of chromium-contaminated industrial land on Garfield Avenue, a local citizens group and a national environmental organization have filed a lawsuit against the Pittsburgh-based company in federal court.

"These negotiations have been going on for over two years," said Al Huang, the National Resources Defense Council's environmental justice director. "With this amount of contamination of the site and with PPG failing to take action, we felt it was time for the community to stand up."

The NRDC filed the suit in federal court yesterday jointly with the Interfaith Community Organization, a Hoboken-based group that won a lawsuit in 2003 that forced Honeywell International to clean up a 34-acre chromium-laced site along the Hackensack River.

The suit asks for thorough cleanup of not only of the 16.6-acre site at 900 Garfield Ave., but also surrounding contaminated areas.

"We're ecstatic that they are going forward with this. . Cleanup is long overdue," said Robert Harper, director of the Garfield Avenue Chromium Coalition.

PPG had a chromite ore refinement plant on the site from 1924 to 1963. A byproduct of the refinement is hexavalent chromium, which studies show causes such illnesses as cancer, respiratory problems and kidney and liver damage. A 2008 federal study found that Jersey City residents living closer to chromium-contaminated sites have a significantly higher incidence of lung cancer than those living farther away.

The contaminated area is surrounded by homes and businesses and more are slated to come. The site is part of the 111-acre "Canal Crossing Redevelopment Area," that is slated to include 4,000 new housing units, a new Hudson-Bergen Light Rail station and possibly a school.

In 2005, Jersey City filed a lawsuit in state court against PPG along with the NJDEP, and for years the city has been negotiating a settlement with PPG.

According to Jersey City Corporation Counsel Bill Matsikoudis and PPG officials, the parties came to a "settlement in principle" about two weeks ago. The city is planning to seek public comment on the settlement within two weeks, after which will come a City Council vote.

Matsikoudis said the settlement would call for the same level of cleanup as demanded in the NRDC and ICO lawsuit and would take about five years, but he didn't have an estimate of the cost.

When told of the impending settlement, Joe Morris, an IOC organizer, took a wait-and-see stance. "We'll see what negotiations between the city and PPG produced," he said. "It may be possible that we don't have to litigate this."

JCMAN320

February 9th, 2009, 11:03 PM

66 NEW HOMES DEBUT

Wednesday, February 04, 2009
By CHARLES HACK
JOURNAL STAFF WRITER

Former residents and staff of the A. Harry Moore public housing complex reunited yesterday for the grand opening of 66 new homes built at the site of the notorious public housing complex.

The Gloria Robinson Court Apartments, a low-rise development on Duncan Avenue near Routes 1 & 9, are replacing the 664-unit public housing development that consisted of seven, 12-story towers.

Among the guests attending the event was 80-year-old Gloria Robinson, for whom the development is named. The mother of 11, a former Jersey City Housing Authority commissioner and Duncan Avenue resident for 40 years, worked tirelessly to improve the quality of life for her fellow residents.

Jersey City Mayor Jerramiah T. Healy and Bishop Robert Blount of Jersey City's Emmanuel Pentecostal Church, who managed the buildings from 1981 until 2004, also attended.

Robinson led a movement to remove a previous housing administration in the 1970s when residents endured non-working elevators, broken heating units and trash in the hallways.

Robinson said she was "ecstatic" to have the development named after her, but also loved the community that was there before the residents were relocated for construction.

"It broke my heart when I saw the old buildings being torn down," Robinson said. "I hope as many of the people who were relocated come back to these beautiful homes as possible."

Of the 66 apartments, 58 are considered affordable and eight are market-rate rentals, officials said. The development includes six one-bedroom units, 28 two-bedroom units, 26 three-bedroom units and four six-bedroom units.

Tenants of the A. Harry Moore complex who were relocated are given priority on the waiting list.

The Gloria Robinson Court Homes is part of the three-phase HOPE VI Revitalization program, which when complete will replace 664 public housing units.

The second phase is in full swing and will deliver 78 more units, said JCHA Executive Director Maria Maio. Three towers still have to be demolished, Maio said, and the next round of HOPE VI federal funds will allow the third and final phase to get under way. The total number of new units planned for the development is 326.

JCMAN320

February 9th, 2009, 11:07 PM

Affordable housing line stretches for blocks

Tuesday, February 03, 2009
By CHARLES HACK
JOURNAL STAFF WRITER

The crowd gathered early on Pacific Avenue in Jersey City yesterday morning, hoping to land one of 67 new rental units at the Barbara Place Terrace public housing development.

More than two hours after the rental office opened, the line stretched for several blocks.

By lunch time, 300 applications had been handed out, said Maria Maio, executive director of the Jersey City Housing Authority, the developer of the federally-subsidized complex.

Of the 67 apartments, 56 are considered affordable and 11 are market-rate rentals, officials said.

April Aiken, 29, of Danforth Avenue, a bartender and mother of two, said she did not mind the two-hour wait.

"It's all right," Aiken said. "We need more homes like this."

An unemployed accountant and father of three, who did not wish to be identified, walked away with his application at 12:30 p.m. after waiting in line since 9:15 a.m.

"I have no job and I am paying a lot for rent," said the Wayne Street resident. "I have to manage the budget carefully for my family of five."

Priority will be given to former residents of the Lafayette Gardens public housing development, Maio said.

Barbara Place Terrace is part of the Lafayette Gardens Hope VI project, which when complete, will replace 492 demolished public housing units with 274 new townhouse apartments and 83 senior apartments.

Residents in public housing pay a third of their income in rent.

This development includes 12 one-bedroom units, 33 two-bedroom units, 20 three-bedroom units and two four-bedroom units.

Applications will be handed out today through Thursday, and Saturday, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., officials said.

JCMAN320

February 10th, 2009, 12:17 AM

Jersey City, artists win affordable units case

Monday, February 09, 2009
By AMY SARA CLARK
JOURNAL STAFF WRITER

The New Jersey Appellate Division has upheld a trial court decision requiring that a luxury building in Jersey City's Powerhouse Arts District include seven affordable units for artists.

The builder of 311 Washington St., Washington Commons, LLC, had challenged the requirement to sell seven of the 68 units to the city for $1 each, arguing it did not understand these were the terms of an agreement with the city and these terms violated the builder's constitutional rights.

The company values the units at more than $400,000 each.

But the trial and appellate courts found the complaint had been filed too late.

In addition, both courts agreed that there was no support for a constitutional claim and that officials of the development company should have returned to the Board of Adjustment for clarification of any issues they did not understand.

"This decision is a victory for the city and its artists," Mayor Jerramiah T. Healy said in a news release.

Washington Commons has appealed the decision to the New Jersey Supreme Court, city officials said.

Nicholas Buttafucco, the attorney for Washington Commons, declined to comment on "pending litigation."

JCMAN320

February 10th, 2009, 12:24 AM

Jersey City Council considers tax exemption for proposed building

by Amy Sara Clark / The Jersey Journal
Monday February 09, 2009, 9:47 PM

http://blog.nj.com/hudsoncountynow_impact/2009/02/large_Tax-excemption-Jersey-City.jpg
AMY SARA CLARK / THE JERSEY JOURNAL
Nancy Skidmore, an attorney representing the project's developer, right, talks with Jersey City Business Administrator Brian O'Reilly about the tax exemption at tonight's City Council caucus meeting at Jersey City Hall.

The first major item at tonight's City Council caucus was a tax exemption for a moderate income and market rate housing project at the intersections of Monticello, Fairmount and Fairview avenues.

Nancy Skidmore, an attorney representing The Whiton Street Associates, the proposed building's developer, went over the specifics.

Whiton is requesting two separate tax abatements, one for the residential portion of the building, which will consist of 120 apartments, and one for the commercial portion, which they are hoping to fill with an upscale supermarket and a few other stores. It will also have a rooftop recreational space for the building's tenant's to use.

The building will include 24 units of moderate income rental apartments that will rent for $616 for the two-bedroom units and $515 for the one bedroom units. The remaining 96 units will rent for $1,300 for one-bedroom units and $1,700 for two-bedroom units.

Whiton is asking for a 30-year tax exemption. On the residential portion, Whiton would pay 4 percent of the annual gross revenue, estimated at about $83,783 for the first 15 years and 6.5 percent of the annual gross revenue, estimated at $136,147 for the next 15.

For the commercial portion, Whiton is asking to pay either the minimum annual service charge or 10 percent of the annual gross revenue, which is estimated at $61,940, whichever is greater, and pay 2 percent of each prior year's annual service charge. It would also give Hudson County 5 percent of its annual service charge.

In addition, they would agree to provide jobs to Jersey City residents

Jersey City Business Administrator Brian O'Reilly said this project is one of only a handful of proposals the city has received since it issued a request for proposals.

"You're the first ones to put shovels in the ground," said City Council President Mariano Vega.

Councilwoman Viola Richardson said, "It will stimulate the area and maybe we're get some other businesses there."

The proposal will be voted on at Wednesday's City Council meeting.

JCMAN320

February 10th, 2009, 12:34 AM

Jersey City Council considers Greater Journal Square Redevelopment Plan

by Amy Sara Clark / The Jersey Journal
Monday February 09, 2009, 10:45 PM

http://blog.nj.com/hudsoncountynow_impact/2009/02/large_Journal-Sqauare-1.jpg
Amy Sara Clark / The Jersey Journal
Journal Square Councilman Steve Lipski, left, and West Side Councilwoman Mary Spinello, look over the Journal Square Redevelopment plan at tonight's caucus meeting at Jersey City Hall. A rendering of the plan is in the background.

The second major topic discussed at tonight's City Council caucus meeting was the Greater Journal Square Redevelopment Plan.

The plan would include in the 244-acre area several skyscrapers, landscaped streets, pedestrian malls, a revamped PATH station, a narrow-gauge trolley from Route 139 to McGinley Square, a light rail spur to Journal Square, bike paths and more parks.

Bob Antonicello, executive director of the Jersey City Redevelopment Agency, praised the plan, saying it would bring people out of the PATH station and back onto the street, bringing vibrancy back to Journal Square.

He said the plan was based on more than 20 community meetings.

http://blog.nj.com/hudsoncountynow_impact/2009/02/large_Journal-Square-2.jpg
AMY SARA CLARK / THE JERSEY JOURNAL
Bob Antonicello, executive director of the Jersey City Redevelopment Agency, gives his pitch for the plan at tonight's City Council caucus meeting at Jersey City Hall.

Tony Nelessen, principal planner of the plan, said, "One of the things we've heard over and over again is a kind of wonderful romance and nostalgia for the past. We wanted to capture the nostalgia for the past, but bring it into the future."

Council members were also fairly quiet about this plan, but one issue that came up was a plan to allow developers to build higher than the cap of a floor area ratio of 10 if they gave money to a district improvement fund, which would be used only in the Journal Square area.

"I don't know that I'm jumping for joy for that one," said Ward A Councilman Michael Sottolano.

The plan will receive its first reading at Wednesday's council meeting.

http://blog.nj.com/hudsoncountynow_impact/2009/02/large_Journal-Square-3.jpg
AMY SARA CLARK / THE JERSEY JOURNAL
A close-up of the rendering of the the Greater Journal Square Redevelopment Plan.

JCMAN320

February 10th, 2009, 07:06 AM

Office vacancies lowest in state, but time of fear

Tuesday, February 10, 2009
By AMY SARA CLARK
JOURNAL STAFF WRITER

Chin up, Hudson County. There's a nugget of good news about the economy.

Hudson County had the lowest vacancy rate in the state for commercial real estate for the fourth quarter of 2008, according to a report released yesterday.

"Hudson has been a bright spot in an otherwise weak commercial office space market," said Joseph Seneca, the professor at the Edward J. Bloustein School of Planning and Public Policy at Rutgers University who co-authored the report.

In the fourth quarter of 2008, Hudson County had 2.14 million square feet of vacant office space, or 8.6 percent. The percentage includes offices that are trying to sublet extra space.

Statewide, the average was 15.8 percent, according to the Sitar-Rutgers Regional Report, issued by Rutgers University and Sitar Company ONCOR International, an Iselin-based commercial real estate broker.

One example of continued growth is MLB Productions, Major League Baseball's cable television station, which leased 142,271 square feet at 40 Hartz Way in Secaucus last fall.

However, the good news might not last, Seneca said.

"There are concerns about the continued scaling down in employment in the financial sector, both in Manhattan and New Jersey. That has inevitably had space implications," he said.

Jamie LeFrak, managing director of the LeFrak Organization, the builder of Newport, which has 5 million square feet of commercial real estate space, said even though Hudson County has the lowest vacancy rate in the state, there are a lot of "gray vacancies" - office space companies are paying for, but that is empty due to layoffs.

As long-term leases run out, he expects companies to downsize, creating more vacancies.

"Our direct vacancy rate, taken today, is probably about 1 percent, but the amount of gray vacancies is probably close to 30 percent," he said.

Jeff Kaplowitz, a commercial real estate broker at Century 21 Plaza and a former member of the Jersey City Planning Board, said even if Hudson County has the lowest vacancy rate in the state, 8.6 percent is still a lot of vacancies.

"Percentage-wise it doesn't sound like a lot, but that's a lot of space," he said.

He said he's witnessed a huge dropoff in rentals.

"From October until January literally nothing was happening. It's completely dead," he said. "I think the next few months are going to be very, very hard."

Mayor Jerramiah T. Healy is also concerned about the future.

"Our Downtown waterfront continues to be the 12th largest in the nation in respect to office space. However, due to the continuing downturn in the economy, no one can predict where we will be by the end of this calendar year."

tbal

February 11th, 2009, 01:23 PM

In the midst of this massive housing slump, Toll Brothers appears to be moving forward with its plans to construct its controversial three high-rise towers in the PAD near the Grove Street PATH station. The plans go before the Planning Board next Tuesday:

http://cityofjerseycity.com/agenda.aspx?id=1262

tbal

February 18th, 2009, 10:54 PM

213 Newark Ave:
The facade should begin to go up soon. There were several construction workers onsite Monday afternoon working on connecting the building to city utilities.

Looking southeast toward the waterfront at our proud new addition to Newark Ave:
http://i58.photobucket.com/albums/g245/jcwalkingman/21609010.jpg?t=1235008471 (http://javascript<b></b>:void(0);)

View of the southern half of the structure.
http://i58.photobucket.com/albums/g245/jcwalkingman/21609011.jpg?t=1235008676

274 Newark Ave:
The 5-story elevator shaft is nearly complete. The roof of the historic building at the corner of Third Street and Monmouth has been removed so that this building can be incorporated into the new structure (steel from the structure of the new building now wraps around the top of this historic building).

Looking up from Newark Ave:
http://i58.photobucket.com/albums/g245/jcwalkingman/21609009.jpg?t=1235009820

Another look at the elevator shaft with its steel door frames:
http://i58.photobucket.com/albums/g245/jcwalkingman/21609008.jpg?t=1235010029

A look at the building at the corner of Third Street & Monmouth Street (through the windows you can see the missing sections of roofing):
http://i58.photobucket.com/albums/g245/jcwalkingman/21609007.jpg?t=1235010127

Sutton II:
The facade is coming along and it is probably the most artistic of any that I have seen on a new building in the area in the last few years. Like the Sutton, this building looks like it will be given the appearance of being several separate buildings.

The fancy facade:
http://i58.photobucket.com/albums/g245/jcwalkingman/21609016.jpg?t=1235011657

Looking toward the waterfront from Jersey Ave:
http://i58.photobucket.com/albums/g245/jcwalkingman/21609013.jpg?t=1235011786

View from one of the bordering streets:
http://i58.photobucket.com/albums/g245/jcwalkingman/21609015.jpg?t=1235011890

tbal

February 19th, 2009, 11:45 PM

225 Grand Street:
The first level of this midrise building is now under construction, although part of the foundation is also still under construction. The level under construction spans from Grand to the street bordering Gull's Cove (to the North, of course), along Marin Blvd (the same street that 70-90 Columbus and two of the Toll Brothers towers are to be built along).

View of the structure from Marin Blvd., looking North:
http://i58.photobucket.com/albums/g245/jcwalkingman/21609019.jpg?t=1235101204

Middle portion of the first level, where the floor has been poured:
http://i58.photobucket.com/albums/g245/jcwalkingman/21609022.jpg?t=1235101106

Looking East along Grand Street at the beginning of construction for the first level of the building:
http://i58.photobucket.com/albums/g245/jcwalkingman/21609019.jpg?t=1235101022

Monaco Towers:
Work is progressing very quickly at the site with most of the pilings for the northern portion of the project already in the ground. The northern portion of the site has been cleared presumably for the purpose of wrapping up this site preparation work. It appeared that at this northern portion are the remains of a former pier (although I could be totally wrong about this). Keep in mind that alot of the waterfront area was created using fill.

The latest artist's rendering showing the refined parking structure facade:
http://i58.photobucket.com/albums/g245/jcwalkingman/21609031.jpg?t=1235100176

The northern portion of the site, cleared for a last set of pilings:
http://i58.photobucket.com/albums/g245/jcwalkingman/21609033.jpg?t=1235100057

A piling surrounded by what appear to be the remains of a former pier:
http://i58.photobucket.com/albums/g245/jcwalkingman/21609034.jpg?t=1235099899

111 or 110 First?
Below is a photo of the piles of pilings (haha) at the southern end of the 111 First Street site. They were delivered several weeks ago and no activity has been reported since. I forgot to check to see whether the clusters of rebar were still at the site as well, but I will check for them next time.

http://i58.photobucket.com/albums/g245/jcwalkingman/21609028.jpg?t=1235101327

tbal

February 23rd, 2009, 08:19 PM

Just came across an ad placed by the original developer for the parking lot next to the Crescent Court sales office. They are asking $3.5 mm for the site, plans, and approvals associated with the 30-unit building.

Link to ad: http://newjersey.craigslist.org/reb/1045423554.html

Artist's rendering:

http://images.craigslist.org/3n63md3l5ZZZZZZZZZ92ma58b1e634c131ba0.jpg

And, here's one small development I've never heard anything about - it's for the demolition of the one-story restaurant at the southwest corner of Newark Ave & Monmouth Street and the construction of a 4-story building in its place.

Link to ad: http://newjersey.craigslist.org/reb/1045374990.html

The existing structure:
http://images.craigslist.org/3k63o23lcZZZZZZZZZ92m390e8a7372aa1611.jpg

JCMAN320

March 4th, 2009, 03:07 PM

TOXIC CLEAN-UP DEAL
PPG to remediate chromium sites

Friday, February 20, 2009 By BRIAN T. MURRAY
THE STAR-LEDGER

New Jersey authorities and a Pittsburgh corporation blamed for chromium pollution throughout Hudson County reached an agreement yesterday for cleaning up a Jersey City site within five years.

PPG Industries will remediate soil and other sources of chromium contamination on 16.6 acres on Garfield Avenue - the site of a chromite ore refinement plant from 1924 to 1963 - under a partial Superior Court settlement announced by the state's attorney general and Department of Environmental Protection. The deal will not be finalized until after a 30-day public comment period.

PPG also agreed to complete remediation operations at 13 other contaminated sites in Jersey City, Weehawken and Bayonne, pay $1 million to Jersey City for a park and pay another $250,000 to oversee the settlement plan.

"We are happy the attorney general has approved this settlement, but this is not done. We need to have a public comment period. We have community groups we have to hear from," said Jersey City Mayor Jerramiah T. Healy, whose city was a party to the lawsuit.

The public comment process will begin March 16.

The agreement comes just weeks after the Natural Resources Defense Council in New York and the Interfaith Community Organization of Hoboken filed a federal lawsuit claiming the cleanups were taking too long. PPG has accepted responsibility for 61 chromium-contaminated sites, has remediated 47 of them and has promised to resolve the rest under the settlement.

The highly toxic hexavalent chromium was a byproduct of chromite ore refinement conducted by the predecessors of three companies - Honeywell International, PPG Industries Inc. and Tierra Solutions Inc. - between 1895 and the last plant closure in 1976.

Tons of contaminated industrial waste were distributed as fill for construction sites throughout the county and neighboring Essex County, and by the 1980s, the state recognized about 200 contaminated parcels.

All three companies were sued by the DEP in 2005, after cleanups promised in the 1980s and 1990s failed to materialize.

The DEP contends the companies have been individually linked to most of the sites.

"I grew up in Jersey City and know first-hand the frustration felt by people who have had to live with chromium contamination," acting DEP Commissioner Mark Mauriello said.

"It's been a long time coming, but this settlement will give residents the peace of mind and better quality of life that comes with a clean, healthier neighborhood."

JCMAN320

March 4th, 2009, 03:33 PM

BRIGHT SPOT
Commercial vacancy rate is low in Hudson County

Monday, February 23, 2009 By AMY SARA CLARK
JOURNAL STAFF WRITER

In at least one major indicator of the region's economic health, Hudson County is doing comparatively well.

Hudson County had the lowest vacancy rate in the state for commercial real estate for the fourth quarter of 2008, according to a report released this month.

"Hudson has been a bright spot in an otherwise weak commercial office space market," said Joseph Seneca, the professor at the Edward J. Bloustein School of Planning and Public Policy at Rutgers University who co-authored the report.

"In a period when the financial industry is paying attention to costs - it didn't have to for a long time - the competitive position of the Hudson waterfront is a significant factor" in the county's relatively low vacancy rate.

In the fourth quarter of 2008, Hudson County had 2.14 million square feet of vacant office space, or 8.6 percent, including offices that are trying to sublet extra space.

Statewide, the average was 15.8 percent, according to the Sitar-Rutgers Regional Report, issued by Rutgers University and Sitar Company ONCOR International, an Iselin-based commercial real estate broker.

"Jersey City has always been somewhat more resilient than the other markets," according to David Stifelman, executive director of the commercial real estate firm Cushman and Wakefield New Jersey, which represented 643,210 square feet - or 53 percent - of the new leasing activity in Hudson County last year. "It's slowing down, but not at the pace that the other markets have."

While he saw "a dramatic falloff of leasing activity" in the fourth quarter of 2008 for northern New Jersey, Hudson County's proximity to Manhattan and lower lease prices lure businesses across the river, as do New Jersey's lower operating expenses and real estate taxes, as well as a supply of office-ready modern buildings, he said.

CONTINUED GROWTH

Examples of continued growth include AXA Financial, which leased 244,957 square feet at 525 Washington Blvd. in Jersey City's Newport section, and MLB Productions, Major League Baseball's new cable television station, which leased 142,271 square feet at 40 Hartz Way in Secaucus.

In total, Hartz Mountain Industries, owner of the Harmon Cove development where MLB Productions set up shop, rented out approximately 4 million square feet of office, retail and industrial space in 2008.

In fact, Hartz felt a "dramatic flurry" of leasing activity occurred, due in large part to an extensive print and television advertising campaign touting up to a 63 percent savings in leasing costs for companies moving from Manhattan to Secaucus, the company said.

Another shoe could drop, though.

"There are concerns about the continued scaling down in employment in the financial sector, both in Manhattan and New Jersey," Seneca said. "That has inevitably had space implications."

LAYOFFS VS. DEALS

While layoffs in the financial industry could hurt Hudson County's office space market, the effect could be balanced by an increase in companies crossing the Hudson in search of lower rents.

It's too early to tell which effect will have a greater impact on Hudson's commercial real estate market, Seneca said.

"Those two forces will be playing out over the next year," he said.

Stifelman added that the economic downturn is also lowering leasing costs in Manhattan, meaning that not all cash-strapped companies will have to move to New Jersey to get a better deal.

"They're now having the ability to find less expensive space in Manhattan due to the contraction, giving people who want to stay in Manhattan the opportunity to stay in Manhattan," he said.

'GRAY VACANCY'

Another area of concern is "gray vacancy" - office space that companies are paying for but are keeping empty due to layoffs - according to Jamie LeFrak, managing director of the LeFrak Organization, the builder of Newport, which has 5 million square feet of commercial real estate space.

As long-term leases run out, he expects companies to downsize, creating more vacancies.

"Our direct vacancy rate, taken today, is probably about 1 percent, but the amount of gray vacancy is probably close to 30 percent," he said.

Jeff Kaplowitz, a commercial real estate broker at Century 21 Plaza and a former member of the Jersey City Planning Board, said even though Hudson County has the lowest vacancy rate in the state, 8.6 percent - or 2.14 million square feet - is still a lot of vacancies.

"Percentage-wise it doesn't sound like a lot, but that's a lot of space," he said.

Like Stifelman, Kaplowitz has witnessed a drop-off in rentals recently.

"From October until January literally nothing was happening. It's completely dead," he said. "I think the next few months are going to be very, very hard."

Mayor Jerramiah T. Healy is also concerned about the future.

"Our Downtown waterfront continues to be the 12th largest in the nation in respect to office space," he said. "However, due to the continuing downturn in the economy, no one can predict where we will be by the end of this calendar year."

JCMAN320

March 4th, 2009, 03:43 PM

PARK OR HOUSING?
City, developer struggle over fate of 6th St. Embankment

Monday, February 23, 2009
By AMY SARA CLARK
JOURNAL STAFF WRITER

Three-way negotiations continue over the fate of the Sixth Street Embankment in Jersey City.

Sidebar tactics include: court filings; the developer seeking permission to rip down the granite walls of the defunct railroad turnaround to build housing; and the City Council endorsing a recently proposed state bill.

On Feb. 11, the City Council voted 8-0 to support an Assembly bill that would require railroad companies to negotiate in good faith with municipalities when selling railroad right-of-way land that is proposed for abandonment. Journal Square Councilman Steve Lipski, a close friend of the site's owner, developer Steve Hyman, was absent.

The primary sponsor of the bill is Assemblyman L. Harvey Smith, D-Jersey City.

In the meantime, negotiations continue between Hyman, the Embankment Preservation Coalition, and Jersey City over a potential development agreement for the elevated stretch along Sixth Street, from Marin Boulevard to Brunswick Street.

The coalition volunteers want to preserve the 6-acre stretch as open space. Mayor Jerramiah T. Healy wants a combination of open space and a light rail link, for which no money has been allocated. And Hyman - whose wife, Victoria, purchased the property from Conrail for $3 million in 2005 - wants to build housing.

His most recent proposal is to develop the easternmost block of the embankment with about 600 units, donate the next five blocks to the city for parkland and a light rail line, and develop a portion of land west of the embankment, across Newark Avenue.

But just in case this plan doesn't fly - and so far it hasn't - Hyman plans to ask the Historic Preservation Commission on March 2 for permission to rip down the embankment walls to proceed with his initial plan to build two-family homes.

Last March, Hudson County Assignment Judge Maurice Gallipoli ruled that the city must consider Hyman's permit applications. The city has appealed the decision to federal court.

Hovering over all of this is a ruling in August 2007 by the obscure federal Surface Transportation Board, which determined that Conrail never properly abandoned the site. Attorneys hired by the city believe the ruling could mean that Hyman no longer owns the land and the city has to be given the opportunity to buy it.

All of this is still tied up in court.

"We've made a lot of proposals trying to make both Jersey City and the Embankment (Preservation) Coalition happy while accommodating the need for a greenway and a light rail. But they haven't agreed to anything," Hyman said. "I'm just trying to develop what (my company) has the right to develop."

Jersey City Corporation Counsel Bill Matsikoudis said: "We will continue to pursue a settlement that would preserve the embankment, a greenway and a transportation corridor."

Stephen Gucciardo, president of the Embankment Preservation Coalition, remains wary of Hyman's latest proposal.

"The devil is in the details of what is presented," Gucciardo said. "We are hoping that there can be some more specific information about size of buildings, footprints of buildings, the number of parking spaces and a lot of other details that will show us that what is being proposed is actually doable."

JCMAN320

March 4th, 2009, 03:53 PM

40 'green' affordable units - the ribbon's cut

http://www.greenbuildingsnyc.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/02/webb.gif

Thursday, February 26, 2009
By CHARLES HACK
JOURNAL STAFF WRITER

Developers of a new 40-unit affordable rental housing development in Jersey City, designed to spare residents high energy bills, held its ribbon cutting yesterday morning.

The five-story Webb Apartments, at 450 Martin Luther King Drive, with the entrance on Oak Street, was developed by Jersey City-based Genesis Companies, LLC, in a collaboration with housing activist La Vern Webb-Washington, after whom the building is named.

"There was nothing affordable being built for people who've been here and lived here," said Webb-Washington, who is also a City Council candidate in Ward F. "They are getting displaced and can't afford to live here anymore."

Mayor Jerramiah Healy described the development as a "terrific green project."

"So when people move in here they will not only be paying a reasonable rent, but they will be paying a lower cost for gas and electric than most of the citizenry," Healy said.

The developer is applying to have the building certified by the U.S. Green Building Council's Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design, meaning it was constructed using sustainable materials, such as bamboo for hard wood floors, said Karim Hutson, the founder of Genesis.

The groundbreaking for the $12.3 million development was in May 2007. PNC Bank supplied the construction loan, with additional financing coming in the form of federal, state and local grants.

The site is in the Martin Luther King Drive Redevelopment Plan, and the land for the project was assembled by the Jersey City Redevelopment Authority and provided to the developer for a nominal fee, said Robert Antonicello, executive director of the JCRA.

The building has 16 one-bedroom apartments, 8 two-bedroom apartments and 16 three-bedroom apartments, with 9,000 square feet of commercial space on the ground floor.

Rents for the building, to be managed by TDF Real Estate and Property Services - a subsidiary of the nonprofit Doe Fund - will be under $550 per month for one-bedroom apartments, under $650 per month for two bedroom units and under $750 for three-bedrooms, Hutson said.

There are income qualifications. A family of three would have to earn less than $33,000 a year, Hutson said.

http://www.greenbuildingsnyc.com/2009/02/24/webb-apartments-affordable-leed-for-homes/

JCMAN320

March 4th, 2009, 04:09 PM

Square plan tabled skeptics most vocal

Thursday, February 26, 2009
By AMY SARA CLARK
JOURNAL STAFF WRITER

The Jersey City City Council invited the public to speak on the Greater Journal Square Redevelopment Plan last night, and 20 residents answered the call, the vast majority of them against it.

The council then voted 8-0 to table the plan. Councilman Bill Gaughan was absent.

Residents were most concerned about the potential use of eminent domain, the heights of the buildings, whether there would be affordable housing and whether there would be enough schools and other city services to provide for the estimated 20,000 to 40,000 new residents the plan could bring.

The plan covers 244 acres around the Journal Square Transportation Center, anchored by a mixed-use two-tower development adjacent to the transit hub.

It also includes several acres of new parks, thousands of square feet of retail space, more than 10,000 new residential units, a narrow-gauge trolley from Route 139 to McGinley Square and a Light Rail spur to Journal Square.

But the vision would also allow for skyscrapers 80 to 100 stories high. And residents wondered how they could be built without the use of eminent domain.

"I've never seen anything like this ever going up without it gobbling up the surrounding area and everyone being displaced," said Paul DiBranco, who lives two blocks from Journal Square.

"The only thing I can think of as analogous, is that woman that had eight babies and she had six in the house," said community activist Yvonne Balcer. "Here's our city, we have six wards, we can't afford the six we have and we're bringing in 45,000 more people without the proper services."

Jersey City Planning Director Robert Cotter said that because the area is an area in need of rehabilitation rather than an area in need of redevelopment it is not legal for the city to use eminent domain.

But tucked within the overwhelming cries of skepticism about the plan were a few words of support.

Jonathan Leifer, who works in real estate, praised the plan.

"This project clearly is a fantastic example of transit-oriented development," he said, adding that it "could be a national model of urban planning."

Journal Square Councilman Steve Lipski said he planned to vote on it, and City Council President Mariano Vega Jr. also praised the plan.

"I look at this project as the essence of New Urbanism," he said. "This plan contains smart growth. It contains transit villages. It ushers in a new way for us to think about a new city."

JCMAN320

March 4th, 2009, 05:02 PM

Jersey City council gives tax break to housing complex

Monday, March 02, 2009
By AMY SARA CLARK
JOURNAL STAFF WRITER

The Jersey City City Council approved by a vote of 8-to-0 a tax abatement Wednesday for a housing complex at the intersections of Monticello, Fairmount and Fairview avenues that will have both moderate and market-rate housing. Councilman Bill Gaughan was absent.

The building will consist of 120 apartments, an upscale supermarket and other stores. It will also have a rooftop recreational area.

There will be 24 units of moderate-income rental apartments that will rent for $616 for the two-bedroom units and $515 for the one-bedroom units. The remaining 96 units will rent for $1,300 for one-bedroom units and $1,700 for two-bedroom units.

The developer, The Whiton Street Associates, will receive a 30-year tax abatement. On the residential portion, Whiton will pay 4 percent of the annual gross revenue, estimated at about $83,783, for the first 15 years and 6.5 percent of the annual gross revenue, estimated at $136,147 for the next 15.

For the commercial portion, Whiton will pay the greater of the minimum annual service charge or 10 percent of the annual gross revenue, estimated to be $61,940. The developers will also pay the county 5 percent of the annual service charge.

Whiton has agreed to provide jobs to Jersey City residents.

Malcontent

March 17th, 2009, 11:06 PM

New rendering looks nice!!

http://www.thejcra.org/index.php?p=project-details&pid=19

JCMAN320

March 18th, 2009, 04:54 AM

It's suppose to be at the very south end of Marin Blvd, where the Marin Blvd ends at the Sandbar Night Club.

lammius

March 18th, 2009, 08:58 PM

New rendering looks nice!!

http://www.thejcra.org/index.php?p=project-details&pid=19

Eww.. No, it really doesn't look nice at all, IMO.

JCMAN320

March 24th, 2009, 09:51 PM

Ok I have been admittedly falling behind, but Ianmac and Brooklynfoo have been posting the new surge in construction going through Jersey City. Lets get a run down:

A new building is already at the fifth floor on the corner of Marin Blvd and Grand St. It is slated to be 28 stories tall. I haven't found a website yet for it but will look. 213 Newark Ave is topped off and is very impressive and makes a strong impact on the block. Another development further up Newark Ave not far before the Turnpike extension is making headway as well. Photos of pile driving at the Monaco is documented as well. Pics of the recently finished of Hamilton Square is also documented. So is the finishing up of the brand new public safety office.

Also a new residential building by the same people who did Grove Pointe, is slated for the parking lot at the corner of 6th and Marin Blvd. Also a new residential building is being build rapidly with a small crane at Grant Ave. a block away from the West Side Ave LRT stop. Also a new mixed income 45 unit luxury building is being built in the Heights at Summit and Hauge St. with retail. Also the new lux Westin at 6th and Washington has opened with a Steak House opened by the same people who did the South City Grill.

Finally but not least important, JSQ demolition is comencing on the remaining buildings for the City Center Project with a big shindig for groundbreaking April 7th. I will attend others interested should as well.:http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_5asUt7ex3JM/ScQPNV_5ivI/AAAAAAAACNo/WrOHMlcjkfc/s1600-h/square-renaissance-invite.jpg

Atomic wings is looking to open soon as well as a Tasti D-Lite, made famous in Sex In the City, at Grove Pointe is slated to open soon.

Here are links to Jcconstrucion.com and newyorkssxith.com

http://jcconstruction.blogspot.com/
http://jcconstruction.blogspot.com/search?updated-max=2009-03-13T07%3A09%3A00-07%3A00&max-results=7
http://jcconstruction.blogspot.com/search?updated-max=2009-02-28T14%3A04%3A00-08%3A00&max-results=7

http://newyorkssixth.com/

Malcontent

March 25th, 2009, 03:11 PM

28 stories for the building on Grand and Marin!!!???? I thought that building would top off at 16 to 18 stories.

lammius

March 25th, 2009, 03:34 PM

The newyorkssixth link JC Man posted above explains that it could be a tower slated for the corner of 6th Street and Marin Blvd., not the Marin/Grand bldg. If you look at the render on DeWitt Tishman's site (http://www.dewitttishman.com/699.asp), the tiny building on the right edge looks like the firehouse across from the Mall parking deck. So this tower could be going on the parking lot which currently occupies that corner, next to the Roberto Clemente baseball field. Site seen here on google street view (http://maps.google.com/maps?q=07302&oe=utf-8&client=firefox-a&ie=UTF8&split=0&gl=us&ei=8XbKSdmwKajsnQex-eiRAw&ll=40.725051,-74.040454&spn=0.001437,0.002414&t=h&z=19&iwloc=addr&layer=c&cbll=40.72518,-74.040434&panoid=mD6EoJhoBINJ3XmLjZAatg&cbp=12,332.78083483714124,,0,6.9).

JCMAN320

March 26th, 2009, 11:05 PM

Eight housing units for disable

Thursday, March 26, 2009

Disabled persons with low, or even no income, now have eight more units of housing in Jersey City.

The ribbon was cut yesterday for the All Saints Supportive Housing Development at Bergen Avenue near Bidwell Avenue.

Built on two vacant lots, the housing will be managed by the Jersey City Episcopal Community Development Corporation, said Carol Mori, executive director of JCECDC.

"This elegant building will serve as an asset to the neighborhood but also to the people who will live here for many years," Mori said yesterday.

Most residents at the three-story building will pay a third of their income in rent, officials said. But even persons with no income can be accepted.

The project is subsidized by the state's Department of Community Affairs State Rental Assistance Program and the federal Department of Housing and Urban Development's Supportive Housing Program.

The one-bedroom apartments are equipped with granite countertops, stainless steel appliances, front-loader washer and dryers, and also feature bamboo hardwood floors, said John Restrepo, JCECDC's real estate director.

The city's Affordable Housing Trust Fund Program covered $416,000 of the nearly $2 million development costs. Another $1.2 million came from the state Housing and Mortgage Financing Agency and $400,000 from HUD, officials said.

The first tenants should move in next month, officials said.

CHARLES HACK

JCMAN320

March 26th, 2009, 11:08 PM

JCIA, DPW likely to move to Linden Ave.

Thursday, March 26, 2009
By AMY SARA CLARK
JOURNAL STAFF WRITER

As part of a plan to develop the west side of Jersey City, the City Council is considering moving two city agencies from their Route 440 headquarters to a roughly 18-acre site on Linden Avenue near the Turnpike Extension.

The council introduced several resolutions last night to enable the relocation of the Jersey City Incinerator Authority and the Department of Public Works.

The two agencies must move because they sit on chromium-tainted land the city has agreed to turn over to Morristown-based Honeywell International for development.

This new 100-acre community planned for the city's west side promises up to 8,100 units of housing, 20 acres of open space, and thousands of square feet of retail and commercial space.

With city land accounting for 40 acres of the 100-acre assemblage, the city has agreed to split the profits from land sales with Honeywell - after the company remediates the land - on a 40 percent/60 percent basis.

In their new locations, the buildings would become part of a proposed "Municipal Service Complex" to include Jersey City's police Emergency Services Unit and other city services, said Bill Matsikoudis, the city's attorney.

Officials had originally considered moving the two agencies to the PJP landfill site under the Pulaski Skyway, but instead decided to make that area a 30-acre waterfront park.

The council also introduced a measure last night authorizing the city to purchase or condemn the property needed to create the park. That land is owned by Edwin Siegel.

"Through these ordinances the council and the Healy administration are taking additional steps toward reclaiming four major parcels of Jersey City land," Matsikoudis said.

DominiRicanJSQ

April 1st, 2009, 10:24 PM

They've been destroying the remaining stores on the Square. I took some grainy video on my Treo... Hopefully there won't be an empty hole in the ground for 3 more years before they start rebuilding!

QHIPHOP

April 6th, 2009, 12:13 AM

Demolition is complete for stores next to PATH station. Very exciting things happening in Journal Square right now.

http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_5asUt7ex3JM/Sdk6hE4o9PI/AAAAAAAACQ0/bI7mJIUeTEE/s1600-h/DSC09508.JPG

JCMAN320

April 8th, 2009, 07:25 PM

IT'S ALL UP FROM HERE

Wednesday, April 08, 2009
By CHARLES HACK
JOURNAL STAFF WRITER

The structures that have stood vacant for several years on the block next to the Journal Square Transportation Center in Jersey City are now gone, making room for a highly anticipated twin-tower project.

Dozens of union workers joined developers and politicians next to rubble and bulldozers yesterday to trumpet the latest step toward the future $500 million One Journal Square development.

Construction of the mixed-use complex will begin this year and take three years to complete, officials said.

Jersey City Mayor Jerramiah T. Healy called the demolition a "great step forward," noting the development will generate 800 construction jobs, with at least 160 of those jobs going to Jersey City residents through a project-labor agreement. Once built, the project will provide 300 permanent jobs, he said.

Final construction plans need to be submitted to the Office of the Construction Code Official before a building permit can be issued, city officials said.

Most of the land is already owned by the development's main investor, the Multi-Employer Property Trust (MEPT). But a portion of the 1.5-acre site is still owned by Hudson County and has to be conveyed to the developers, officials said.

Jersey City-based Harwood Properties, whose principal is Lowell Harwood, is one the partners building the development.

When complete, the development will include 1,615 rental residential units within two towers - one 68 stories, the other 50 stories. The project will also have 70,000 square feet of retail space and 680 parking spaces, said Liz Opacity, a spokeswoman for the developer.

ItstheBeat

April 10th, 2009, 05:48 AM

Why so many parking spots on top of a Path station?

With exception to JFK Blvd most of the streets surrounding Journal Sq are old and narrow. Combined with the court house and the dmv office traffic already sucks during peak times. Not to mention all the buses coming in and out of the bus depot. I thought this was supposed to be smart transit oriented planning...

tbal

April 10th, 2009, 09:06 PM

lammius

April 11th, 2009, 03:50 AM

A little off topic, but does anyone know what's going on just north of the PATH line/routes 1 & 9 by the Hackensack River? I think it's related to route 280 construction but not sure...there's a ton of equipment on many acres over there (very large site) with a ton of infrastructure-type materials onsite (large-diameter concrete piping, for example). It almost looks like they could be putting in roads for a new community, but like I said, it could be related to highway construction.

It's likely that the activity you're seeing is related to one of two things.

1. NJDOT is spending $20M to make some band-aid repairs to the Pulaski Skyway and buy time to decide what to do about replacing it.

2. Also, NJDOT is spending $250M to replace the viaduct over St Pauls Ave and Tonnele Circle. http://www.state.nj.us/transportation/commuter/roads/rt1_9t/

JCMAN320

April 11th, 2009, 05:38 PM

It's the 2nd option. They will improve the and elminate the Tonnelle and Chrolette Circle intersections. Elimination of traffic lights addition of flyways, improve access to the Skyway from Tonelle Ave, and upgrade the whole area.

ZippyTheChimp

April 15th, 2009, 01:37 AM

04.09.2009

The Jersey City Shore

Plans unveiled for rare public park
on city's Hudson waterfront

http://www.archpaper.com/uploads/image/View_1_Finalv7_lores.jpg
Starr Whitehouse and nARCHITECTS have designed a park for the Jersey City waterfront.
Courtesy JCWPC

In recent years, New York City has finally been reclaiming its moribund industrial waterfront. But across the Hudson, Jersey City has been at it for decades. The problem, as some see it, is that while New York has mostly been redeveloping its waterfront as parkland, Jersey City has almost exclusively built office and apartment towers on its shores since redevelopment began in the 1980s.

“Sure, there’s the promenade, but that’s basically just a steel railing,” Matthew Johnson, president of the Jersey City Waterfront Parks Conservancy, said of the city’s current open-space offerings. “We want more of a natural feel.”

http://www.archpaper.com/uploads/location_copyright_Julian_Olivas.jpg
The proposed park would stretch from the Goldman Sachs tower across little basin via a bridge to the peninsula.

And so the conservancy unveiled plans for Paulus Hook Park on March 26. Designed by Starr Whitehouse and nARCHITECTS, the 9-acre park on the southern end of downtown seeks to weave together a half-dozen disparate lots into a destination for the area. “With the tremendous amount of residential development that has sprung up in Jersey City, there are a limited number of parks to serve this new community,” Johnson said.

One of the main challenges behind connecting the six separate plots is that they are owned by as many government agencies: Liberty State Park, the New Jersey Department of Military Veteran Affairs, the Morris Canal and Banking Company, the Colgate Center Property Owners Association, and the city.

http://www.archpaper.com/uploads/View_2lores.jpg
The park was originally conceived as an alternative to the corporate and condo towers that have overtaken the Jersey City waterfront.

As if that were not enough of a challenge, the conservancy is also working against nascent development interests. Indeed, the group was founded two years ago after word had spread that some groups had expressed interest in building on various sites within the planned park. Thanks to the recession, the conservancy hopes it may have bought enough time to get the park past the planning stages and into the political ones. “It may be the perfect opportunity before somebody decides to build one of these pieces,” Johnson said.

At the heart of the park is a 1,000-foot-long shank-shaped spit of land that is already a public park, though it is little more than a plot of grass that is quickly eroding—a foot per year, estimates Johnson—because of heavy ferry traffic. One of the first tasks the designers will undertake if the park gets built is shoring up the peninsula against further erosion.

http://www.archpaper.com/uploads/nA_PH_O%20Gate_View02_wood%20slats%2002lores.jpg
One of two proposed concession stands in the park designed by nARCHITECTS.

Beyond that, the plans call for a largely passive park, based on extensive community surveys. The surveys started with 25 different uses, from the most active (soccer fields and jogging tracks) to the most passive (walking paths and lawns for picnics and sunbathing). Johnson said the reaction was overwhelming for the latter, though a volleyball court will be included for a local group that currently plays on the extant park. A dog run is also being added, by popular demand.

Active uses aside, the idea is to provide a peaceful respite with views of the city and respect for the surroundings. “The community really understands that,” Stephen Whitehouse, principal of Starr Whitehouse, said. “They value the basic landscape, the sweep of that outdoor landscape and the sweep of the city and the river and the sun. Yes, there are some activities they wanted, but they really wanted a park that respects the space, one that integrated with the natural landscape that already exists.”

http://www.archpaper.com/uploads/nA_PH_Infinite_bridgelores%281%29.jpg
The "infinity bridge" is meant to serve as both circulation and symbol for the park.

Or at least used to. Across the Little Basin from the peninsula, the spaces are mostly vacant. The iconic Colgate Clock is still there, but otherwise the land is occupied with parking, a dilapidated shoreline, a basketball court, and a roller hockey rink. In addition to the new landscape, the designers want to add an education component on the north side of the basin detailing the history of the canal that once led inland from the site, including a tie-up for a historic barge. A Korean War memorial on a secluded part of the site will be moved to a more prominent location on the northern plot and surrounded by perennial gardens.

The signature piece of the park is the “infinity bridge,” a swooping figure-eight of wood that joins the peninsula to the northern side of the park. Designed by nARCHITECTS, the bridge is meant to visually represent the connectivity and continuity of the park with its surroundings and history while also serving the practical purpose of easing circulation within it. “The longer you can walk in green the more transformed you can become,” said Laura Starr of Starr Whitehouse.

Site plan (http://www.archpaper.com/uploads/Paulus_Hook_Plan_40scale_lores.jpg)

The project is still in the planning phases, though Johnson said that he has spoken with all the associated public agencies about the project and they have all been supportive so far. “We’re confident this park will be built,” he said.

Matt Chaban

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