Jersey City Rising [Archive] - Page 5

TimmyG

October 13th, 2006, 09:24 AM

AMB warehouse plan gets final approval
Friday, October 13, 2006 By KEN THORBOURNE

JOURNAL STAFF WRITER
Ending a nine-month saga, the Jersey City City Council has given the final go-ahead to a controversial plan to build a huge warehouse at the old PJP landfill site off Routes 1&9.
By a 6-2-1 vote Wednesday, the council approved a redevelopment plan that allows the California-based AMB Corporation to build a warehouse the size of three football fields on 47 acres the company is under contract to buy from the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Newark.
Council members Bill Gaughan and Peter Brennan voted against the plan, and Councilman Steve Fulop abstained.
"The mayor and council recognized the need for jobs and taxes," said Robert Cavanaugh, AMB's attorney. "At the end of the day, when a first-class facility is built, the naysayers will see it as a good thing for Jersey City."
The warehouse proposal set off a fight among three competing interests.
Mayor Jerramiah Healy championed the warehouse on the grounds that it would create at least 300 permanent jobs and yield $1 million a year in taxes to the city. Hudson County officials wanted the land used to extend Lincoln Park and floated the idea of building a golf course. And local Marion area residents feared that increased truck traffic would only bring more pollution and traffic congestion.
Two months ago, Ward B Councilwoman Mary Spinello, who represents the area where the warehouse would go, along with Councilman Steve Lipski, fashioned a compromise plan that incorporated both the warehouse and 67 acres of designated open space around it.
In the end, county and city officials could each claim some degree of victory - although only five of the open space acres are currently cleared.

JCMAN320

October 13th, 2006, 11:37 AM

I have been in that room many times over and it is very beautiful even as is. It has a Tiffany glass rotunda and and the Jersey City seal set in Tiffany glass illuminated from the back and sits behind where the council presides. The council seeting area is wood and stained and very nice and will be very cool to see it restored. The air conditioning and acoustic improvments are sorely needed. Also City Hall should be undergoing a complete renovation soon to being it back to it's ful luster.
As you see in the photos below city hall was much more elegant than it is now. A fire in 1979 destroyed most of the roof and the roof was restored in 1995 and the brass cupolas were taken down in 1955 because they were said to be unsafe. Many patchwork renovations have been done, but when the city completely does city hall over they will make it look like it did originally.

http://www.njcu.edu/programs/jchistory/Images/C_Images/City_Hall_1_enlarged.jpg
http://www.njcu.edu/programs/jchistory/Images/C_Images/City_Hall_A_2002_Lage_AS.jpg

Also at the time it was built in 1896 it was built with its back facing New York and it's face facing towards the rest of JC to show that we didn't need New York anymore. So as you can see there has always been tension.

tbal

October 14th, 2006, 03:44 PM

Several footers have been poured for the East Tower of 77 Hudson:

http://i58.photobucket.com/albums/g245/jcwalkingman/77H1.jpg

Only 4 more floors of the facade remain to be completed, and windows are being installed at Columbus Tower:

http://i58.photobucket.com/albums/g245/jcwalkingman/Columbus3-1.jpg

http://i58.photobucket.com/albums/g245/jcwalkingman/Columbus5-1.jpg

http://i58.photobucket.com/albums/g245/jcwalkingman/Columbus2-1.jpg

Grove Pointe is starting to look pretty awesome:

http://i58.photobucket.com/albums/g245/jcwalkingman/GP2.jpg

Gull's Cove is looking more and more mammoth each week:

http://i58.photobucket.com/albums/g245/jcwalkingman/Gulls1.jpg

The tower is beginning to rise at Athena, and Washington Blvd was a mess this morning, as multiple truckloads of extensions to the crane arrived:

http://i58.photobucket.com/albums/g245/jcwalkingman/Athena3-1.jpg

http://i58.photobucket.com/albums/g245/jcwalkingman/Athena1-2.jpg

tbal

October 14th, 2006, 04:13 PM

The final level of the parking deck is being completed at Trump:

http://i58.photobucket.com/albums/g245/jcwalkingman/Trump3.jpg

http://i58.photobucket.com/albums/g245/jcwalkingman/Trump1.jpg

Demolition continues at 111 First, and a small construction management trailer has arrived:

http://i58.photobucket.com/albums/g245/jcwalkingman/111First1-2.jpg

And finally, here are a few pics of a smaller project at the intersection of Newark Ave and 6th Street, which I believe will be a 6-story building - dozens of piles have been driven into the ground:

http://i58.photobucket.com/albums/g245/jcwalkingman/NewarkAve2.jpg

http://i58.photobucket.com/albums/g245/jcwalkingman/NewarkAve4.jpg

-I might be tempted to do a Part III tomorrow for the Westin Jersey City hotel, Shore Club North tower, and Residences at Liberty National if the weather is good.

tbal

October 16th, 2006, 01:41 AM

The first full floor is being constructed at the Cliffs:

http://i58.photobucket.com/albums/g245/jcwalkingman/Cliffs5.jpg

http://i58.photobucket.com/albums/g245/jcwalkingman/Cliffs3.jpg

http://i58.photobucket.com/albums/g245/jcwalkingman/Cliffs1.jpg

At the Shore Club, the first 3 floors of the North Tower have been constructed, and the exterior work on the South Tower is moving along:

http://i58.photobucket.com/albums/g245/jcwalkingman/SCN1.jpg

(In the foreground in the pic below is a new section of the waterfront walkway that should be opening within the next few months).

http://i58.photobucket.com/albums/g245/jcwalkingman/SCN6.jpg

LocoAko

October 17th, 2006, 01:54 AM

I just found this painting titled "Jersey City".

http://www.artchartow.com/images/jerseycity.jpg

JerseyBrett

October 17th, 2006, 02:17 AM

Hey everyone. What is the "Cliffs" project that is being built? I see that it backs up to the Palisades...

TriHobo

October 17th, 2006, 09:37 AM

http://www.thecliffslofts.com/

124 Units just West of Sky Club in Jersey City / West Hoboken.

Large Studio Lofts, Large 1 Bedrooms, 1 Bed with Study’s and 2 Bedroom Units

Building Features:
· Elegantly appointed studios, one, two bedroom lofts
· From 600 to 1600 sq ft
· Private courtyard and landscaped garden with backlit basalt Cliffs
· On-site workout facilities
· Full electronic security and concierge
· Indoor Parking
· Shuttle to PATH
· Pet Friendly

Loft Features:
· Spacious, open floor plans with extra high ceilings
· Oversized windows and abundant light
· Fireplaces, exposed brick walls
· Viking Ranges
· Granite Kitchens
· LG Appliances
· Hardwood Floors
· Walk-in Closets
· Central Air & Heat
· Washer & Dryer in Unit
· Wiring for internet / Custom stereo systems

JerseyBrett

October 17th, 2006, 10:17 AM

Interesting... Anyways, I wanted to get everyone's opinion regarding the future of Gold Coast development. Once the waterfront is full developed, do you forsee the top of the Palisades being the next area for development? I know they are building some towers in Cliffside Park but I wasn't sure what is planned for the rest of the coast. Just interested to know...

kliq6

October 17th, 2006, 11:49 AM

Hows the Corzine Property tax bill doing? if they pass this, you can forget about JC rising anymore!!

JCMAN320

October 18th, 2006, 11:09 AM

The 'new' Journal Square takes another step forward
City says two properties to be seized through eminent domain

Wednesday, October 18, 2006
By KEN THORBOURNE
JOURNAL STAFF WRITER

Within 30 days, two buildings standing in the way of a two-tower development in the heart of Journal Square in Jersey City will be seized by the city through eminent domain and transferred to the developer, a city official said yesterday.

The acquisition of the third and final building is delayed because the property owner needs time to hire a lawyer, said Robert Antonicello, executive director of the Jersey City Redevelopment Agency.

The two buildings in the process of being condemned are 12 and 14 Journal Square, respectively the sites of a former Wendy's and a current Kentucky Fried Chicken.

The third building slated to be taken, 15-16 Journal Square, houses four businesses - a McDonald's, Song's Hallmark, HT Wireless and a dentist's office.

"We're losing customers because they're not sure if we're going to be around," said Mohamad Abushaar, the manager of HT Wireless. "It (relocation and redevelopment plans) has everybody so mixed up, so confused."

Collectively, the buildings represent the only properties on the block next to the Journal Square Transportation Center not already sold to or under contract to be sold to Harwood Properties, the Jersey City firm designated to build two mixed-use towers on the site.

"We have filed with the court to pursue the condemnation," Antonicello said yesterday. "The money (to purchase the building) has been posted in the courts. The agency would buy them and then convey them to the Harwoods."

The purchase prices are based on appraisals the agency had conducted. According to those assessments 12 Journal Square is worth $1.5 million, 14 Journal Square $1.2 million, and 15-16 Journal Square $2.5 million.

According to the development agreement Harwood Properties inked with the city in May, the company is on the hook to reimburse the city whatever money it shells out to buy the buildings.

The building owners, who couldn't be reached yesterday to comment, are free to contest these building appraisals in court, but that won't hold up the condemnations, Antonicello explained. The court cases can proceed even as the buildings are being demolished, he said.

Harwood Properties is under contract to buy the other properties still standing on that block before the year is out - 1-7 Journal Square, Antonicello said.

The two businesses still in operation there - Three Brothers Pizza and Daily Tortillas - either will have to be evicted by the current owner, New York investor Ralph Tawil Jr., or the future owner, Harwood Properties, officials said.

JCMAN320

October 18th, 2006, 11:21 AM

Whole Foods sought for Downtown

Wednesday, October 18, 2006
By JARRETT RENSHAW
JOURNAL STAFF WRITER

Whole Foods Market may soon bring its organic and natural food brand to Downtown Jersey City.

Several city sources told The Jersey Journal that developer Peter Mocco and Whole Foods officials are working on a deal that would land the "green" supermarket in the Liberty Harbor North development.

Whole Foods officials could not be reached for comment and Mocco would not confirm the negotiations.

However, he said: "Whole Foods is a great retailer, and it would be an asset in Jersey City. I am confident that Whole Foods is coming to Jersey City, but the exact location is a function of many things such as parking and transportation."

The Liberty Harbor North plan calls for a major retail corridor along Morris Boulevard, between Jersey Avenue and Marin Boulevard, said Mocco. The plan also calls for a "gourmet" supermarket, said Mocco.

Downtown residents have been clamoring for a gourmet supermarket for years and Whole Foods, which operates more that 155 stores throughout North America and Britain, has been at the top of their list.

JARRETT RENSHAW can be reached at jrenshaw@jjournal.com.

--------

Once this happens coupled with the new oraganic food store opening at the bottom of the Shore Club and Whole Foods in Liberty Harbor and the current small independent one we have on Jersey Ave. JC will have 3 of these places.

Also a firend of mine was in the Grove Pointe offices and talked to them and he was told that a Starbucks, pharmacy, and restaurant are slated for the side facing the PATH plaza. Columbus Tower I'am not sure what will be on the bottom, but there will be a lot of space for retail and restaurants.

steveikin

October 18th, 2006, 11:19 PM

Great photo's tbal - 10 out of 10.

JCMAN320

October 19th, 2006, 12:20 AM

Jersey Journal

Don't miss the Jersey Journal's eight-page pullout guide to Downtown Jersey City in Thursday's edition.

Included are ideas for places to eat, drink, shop and enjoy the arts in the upscale neighborhood that's filled with fascinating history.

The guide includes a map listing scores of places to check out, as well as information on Sunday's Jersey City Artists Studio Tour.

It's only available in Thursday's Jersey Journal.

JCMAN320

October 19th, 2006, 01:16 PM

County has $50M and a dream
Old Block Drug to be filled with county offices by '08

Thursday, October 19, 2006
By KEN THORBOURNE
JOURNAL STAFF WRITER

Two years ago, Hudson County shelled out $14 million to purchase the old Block Drug facility on Cornelison Avenue. The hope was that one day the seven-story concrete facility would become "Hudson County Plaza," a one-stop center for various county services.

As they toured the nearly 80-year-old facility yesterday - which will require an additional $36 million for a complete makeover - county officials said their dream remains on track.

"While we will spend more up front to bring Hudson County Plaza on-line, there is no doubt that the long-term benefit, both financially and from a service perspective, will be worth it," said Assistant County Administrator David Drumeler.

The plan, Drumeler says, is to preserve as much of the existing structure of the 340,000-square-foot facility as possible. Before it left, Block Drug had invested $5 million in testing rooms on the third floor with sliding metal doors. Those spaces will be used as conference rooms, he said.

Ultimately, several county operations will be consolidated at the building, officials said.

The Chest Clinic, a healthcare facility now located two blocks away at Murdoch Hall at the old Jersey City Medical Center building, will take up residence on the first floor, Drumeler said.

The Sheriff's Office and the county's 911 Center will be placed in the facility as well, along with county's Public Works Department, he said.

The new "Family Services Center," that includes the Division of Welfare, will occupy 65 percent of the space in the building on several floors, officials said. The three departments that run elections - the County Clerk, Superintendent of Elections, and Board of Elections - will be one floor, officials said.

The building redesign is being done by Architect DMR of Hasbrouck Heights, the same firm that designed the new Jersey City Municipal Court Building. Imperial Construction Group of Elizabeth is the general contractor.

The Chest Clinic, Sheriff's Office and the Public Works Department are expected to move in by the end of next year. By the end of 2008, the building will be fully occupied, officials said. Roughly 1,100 county employees will work out of the facility and two new bus stops are being created to help people get to and from the facility, officials said.

JCMAN320

October 19th, 2006, 07:22 PM

Discover Downtown Jersey City

Thursday, October 19, 2006
By COTTON DELO
JOURNAL STAFF WRITER

Long before anyone hatched plans to erect high-rise luxury towers by the Grove Street PATH station, Downtown Jersey City was a best-kept secret in real estate.

"We thought it was very metropolitan, and we liked that," said Elen Sviland, 42, a New York-based fashion designer who moved from Hoboken to Downtown Jersey City 10 years ago because it was more affordable to buy property there.

Though the Victorian brownstones and neighborhood bars give it a small-town feel, the area also has trappings of a big city. It's an international community where Spanish, French, German, Hindi and even Norwegian - Sviland's native tongue - can be heard on the street. Exchange Place and Newport are financial hubs, and there's a blossoming gallery scene leading some to compare it to an infant SoHo. This weekend's Jersey City Artists Studio Tour features upwards of 500 artists, and two-thirds of the stops are Downtown. The tour allows visitors to venture into the art world as artists open their doors and galleries and museums feature a variety of exhibits. There will also be live music, performances and free shuttle buses throughout the two-day event.

The neighborhood's appeal has always gone hand-in-hand with its proximity to Manhattan, and though some newcomers may view their abodes as places to sleep in between crossing the Hudson River to work and play, there's a faction of residents who defend the area as a destination in itself.

"If you look at Grove (Street), it has this faint feel of the Hamptons," said Paul Julian, 46, who moved to Jersey City from the Upper West Side five years ago, alluding to the various establishments that serve brunch outside.

With its restaurants, bars, shops and galleries multiplying at warp speed, Downtown Jersey City is becoming a self-contained universe with amenities to anchor residents to this side of the Hudson a little more firmly.

Choices: Vintage and vinyl

Unbeknownst to some Jersey City residents, a treasure trove lies in their midst on Brunswick Street where the currency is vinyl and patient music lovers can strike gold.

"They're called diggers," said Larry Brinkman, 30, an employee at Iris Records, which sells vinyl records in addition to a small collection of books and movies. "It's a kind of badge of cool - digging in the crates for the lost treasures."

According to Brinkman, the Iris clientele is equal parts Jersey City locals and foreign nationals, as well as record dealers lured by the shop's Web site who come from as far as France, Sweden and Japan to pore over the crates. The shop - housed in a musty 1930s-era pharmacy and open Friday and Saturday - is also frequented by local DJs.

Though the crates contain every imaginable music genre, some are more fiercely coveted than others.

"You couldn't give disco away five years ago," said Brinkman, though now it's making a comeback while the fortunes of hip-hop are in decline.

Home to a sizable contingent of hipsters - identifiable by their indie music tastes and ironic retro fashion statements - Downtown Jersey City is also the locale for a burgeoning number of vintage clothing stores like Hala and World of Style Vintage.

With stylishly faded "Bruce Springsteen and the E-Street Band" T-shirts in stock, Another Man's Treasure on Brunswick Street is the place to pair Jersey pride with a hipster aesthetic. Open since June, the shop sells vintage T-shirts hawking rock bands and municipal sports leagues for $4 a pop, as well as jewelry, shoes, books, handbags and antiques at prices that eliminate the temptation to shop at Urban Outfitters.

Visit the store on Saturday at 2 or 8:45 p.m. during the Studio Tour for a fashion show, which store owner Meika Franz, 26, describes as a "Halloween wedding." Models will don the shop's Halloween costume offerings and be transformed into corpse brides, vampires, Wonderwomen and 1980s prom attendees.

One of the boons to Downtown life is the ease of getting around without a car, and for those residents who tolerate the notion of doing their shopping outside Manhattan - a 10- to 15-minute ride away on the PATH - high-end boutiques selling casual and formal wear are in easy walking distance.

Life and Aspasia's Boutique sell men's and women's fashions, as does Tia's Place, inhabiting a capacious two floors in a section of the former Majestic Theater on Grove Street. All the antique furniture pieces are for sale - with the exception of the owner's grandmother's velvet couch - from chandeliers to armoires to overstuffed chairs.

[B]Nightlife with flavor

Though Downtown Jersey City's proximity to the West Village is a comfort to prospective residents terrified by the idea of life on the wrong side of the Hudson, many newcomers are discovering that even a quick ride on the PATH is more trouble than it's worth.

"You kind of think everyone's going to hop on the train to get to New York or Hoboken," said Monica Gora, 24, a paralegal who moved to the area last year and figured on spending most of her waking hours away from work in New York City. "I haven't gone to Hoboken once since I've been here, because you really don't need to."

Downtown Jersey City is not an ideal destination for the inveterate clubber, since the area's only bonafide nightclub, SandBar Cafe, only stays open in the spring and summer at its Liberty Harbor marina location, but those who crave a venue where people do more than lackadaisically bop their heads can shake it to salsa, meringue and reggaeton at the Latin Lounge.

For those traumatized by dancing or simply in disbelief that people would choose to spend their downtime on their feet, the area is dotted with pubs and neighborhood bars attracting an eclectic mix of longtime Jersey City residents and young professionals seeking a Cheers-style local bar in their new neighborhoods.

There's Barrow Street Bar & Grill, with pools, darts and an outdoor smoking garden. There's P.J. Ryan's on First Street with karaoke on Wednesday and Sunday, live rock bands on Thursday, Friday and Saturday and a comfort food menu with grilled cheese and liverwurst and onion. There's the Lamp Post Bar & Grill on Second Street with daily NTN Trivia games and Texas Hold'em Poker played out among patrons on the TV screens, DJs on Tuesday, Thursday, Friday and Saturday, the occasional live band and knee-buckling half-pound Angus burgers.

For something more exotic than cold brew, you can choose between 16 flavored tobacco varieties and fire up a hookah at The Abbey Pub on Monmouth Street - a soothing respite from New Jersey's smoking ban for those who fondly remember smoke-filled bars. (Cigarette smoking is verboten, however.) Give the fragrant pipes a rest and sample Portuguese-style barbecue chicken, ribs or salmon, cooked over charcoal.

If you want to check out the hipster scene and skip Williamsburg, check out Lucky 7 on Wednesday, when Pabst Blue Ribbon beers go for $1. The hard-core and punk offerings on the jukebox - as well as a machine that dispenses cashews for a quarter - are a nice touch. An alternate hipster venue is White Star on Brunswick Street, with monthly art shows and daily specials like 25-cent buffalo wings and $4 sangria cocktails on Sunday.

For a more stimulating decor than the standard wood-paneled bar, don't miss LITM on Newark Avenue, which resembles a luxury apartment in an intergalactic space craft with its gleaming white surfaces and psychedelic light sculptures. It hosts regular art shows and serves cocktails named for artists such as the Salvador Dali, mixed with Bacardi Lite, pink guava puree, pineapple juice and a dash of grenadine.

Finally, if you're fed up with slumming, visit the newly renovated Bar Majestic - a wine bar and daytime retail outlet that now has a lounge area with plush sofas. If you're not a wine drinker but still want to soak up the atmosphere - accented by an international playlist with offerings like Portuguese Fado and Brazilian Bossa Nova - you can always order a beer or an expertly-mixed cocktail and savor the pungent taste of marinated olives and artisanal cheeses between sips.

Here is a link listing art galleries, restaurants, bars, and shops in Downtown. I would post it but it would be way to long.
http://www.nj.com/entertainment/jjournal/index.ssf?/base/entertainment-0/116128774218790.xml&coll=3&thispage=1

---------

Also people on Newark Ave. more boutiques are coming in where the 99cent shops were as well as new restaurants and basically making Newark and Grove as well as Jersey Ave mini Washington Sts. in their own right. JC is extremely viable!!!!

JCMAN320

October 19th, 2006, 09:35 PM

Also this is for anyone who interested but especially Badger2. The American Can Company project has started. There is street scoffolding and windows are bing replaced and the place is being gutted. I will take and post pics tomorrow.

investordude

October 19th, 2006, 10:15 PM

I'm excited about Journal Square redevelopment but just wondering why they couldn't allow a private transaction to occur without acting as an intermediary. Eminent domain seems like an extraordinary power if used just to grease the wheels between two willing private entities.

badger2

October 20th, 2006, 04:33 PM

I am surprised at the lack of marketing. If Beacon is limping along, I think they've got an incredibly rough road ahead. JCMan - I look forward to your pics.

LocoAko

October 21st, 2006, 12:21 AM

Wow, I had a long time to get home today. I walked along Washington Blvd to Grove from Newport where there isn't sidewalk at some parts. I got diverted, and once at the bus stop had to walk down more to Montgomery because apparently they had all the streets near hte PATH station and one of the tall buildings under construction (sorry, not sure hwich one) becuase of flying debris in all the wind. I didn't realize someone was hit by debris from that building the other day.

JCMAN320

October 21st, 2006, 03:26 AM

Badger will post tommorow and the Beacon is not limping along at all. They are selling my uncle is a contractor at the site and heres the news all the time by real estate agents that the units are getting bought up. Also Lafayette is really starting to hit stride. Even small apartments that were once abandoned are getting fixed up. I was down there to pick my mom up from PS 22 where she is a teacher. Lafayette is really impressing me.

MrWolf

October 21st, 2006, 07:22 PM

Thanks for the insight JC Man.

I also would not say limping, but with a caveat. Last convo I had with one of the agents in September put the condos at 75% to 80% sold (and ahead of schedule). The only thing is that the units have been at around 75% since about May (the agent did advise that sales had slowed since the fall of 2005 when the sales office first opened). So basically, the project sold really strong out of the gate, but has experienced some slowdown, as has the rest of the market. However, the agent did mention that they have continued to sell homes every week. On the 314 units for Phase I, that makes approximately 240 units sold.

MrWolf

October 21st, 2006, 08:34 PM

See new video for Beacon and some of its amenties. Very impressive.

http://www.thebeaconjc.com/?refcd=OV001465e_the_beacon

tommyjlee

October 22nd, 2006, 02:44 AM

See new video for Beacon and some of its amenties. Very impressive.

http://www.thebeaconjc.com/?refcd=OV001465e_the_beacon

I don't know the Beacon that well but know the neighborhood. Isn't it still very dangerous around that town?

MrWolf

October 22nd, 2006, 01:54 PM

Not sure if I would classify that area of town as dangerous, but it will be unergoing a significant amount change in the immediate future. Hudson county will be moving its offices into the area and there is a mixed use development going up near there called Grand Plaza (150,000 square feet of major chain retail and 230 townhouse condominium units). A much smaller condo development is going up on Bergen Street (close to Fairview) called "The Basillico". The Beacon condo development represents a $350M investment in that part of town that will necessitate change to the immediate area. Even places like Montgomery Gardens will not last long given the magnitude of this project (JCMan has commented on this point a couple of times).

There's just too much money involved and too many people invested (including the city) for the area to not experience an upheaval.

JerseyBrett

October 22nd, 2006, 10:00 PM

JCMan, you seem to know the area pretty well. What do you think lies for the future of the Gold Coast. Do you forsee large scale development on the top of the Palisades? I saw that Pinnacle is building two towers in Cliffside Park. Do you see this happeneing on a larger scale, including Jersey City Heights? Excited to hear everyone's answer...

ColesStreet

October 22nd, 2006, 10:41 PM

http://www.newarkmetro.rutgers.edu/reports/display.php?id=218

Downtown Jersey City
By Robin Laverne Wilson

The armpit of metropolitan New York is cleaning itself up, applying some deodorant and rapidly becoming attractive to post-9/11 evacuees and transplant pseudo-New Yorkers. A walk through downtown Jersey City reveals a unique hybrid of Brooklyn-style brownstones and historic districts, embattled, old warehouses becoming lofts and artists’
studios, the remains of ethnic enclaves, impending new condo towers and a waterside mini-mirror of Battery Park City known as Pavonia-Newport. On the waterfront, a 10-minute walk away, you can see the New York City skyline and feel as though you can touch where the Twin Towers once stood.

Formerly known as “Jersey Shitty,” and a once-embittered urban center in the shadow of New York City, Jersey City is ironically the true home of the Statue of Liberty. But the freedom to walk safely through its downtown was once a dream.

Crime here may be substantially lower than in recent decades, but it is not gone. Still, the denseness of businesses and residences in commuter-laden downtown Jersey City pushes people out onto the sidewalks. And the infusion of new people, with grassroots community-building initiatives alongside surging property values, has shaken up the crime-ridden status quo. The new blood has taken a consistent stand against knuckleheads roving the streets.

The Port Authority Trans-Hudson commuter train, better known as the PATH, is the artery that gives downtown Jersey City its ultimate appeal. Transplants like me, who are true New Yorkers at heart, acknowledge that it is significantly cheaper on this side of the Hudson. We rely on this 24-hour lifeline that runs from Newark to Jersey City to midtown Manhattan, for only $1.50 each way. The trains are mostly on time, the stations are clean, and the anchor is the Grove Street stop, where blight and boom, apathy and ambition meet and respectfully greet at the pedestrian intersections of Grove Street with Jersey and Newark avenues.

Weekday mornings until about 9:30, the Grove Street station bustles with commuters departing in both directions. The yuppies insert their full-fare MetroCards in the turnstiles for the World Trade Center train, which reopened in 2004. They seem to reluctantly clutch their Dunkin Donuts coffee, resenting it for not being Starbucks or another fancy brand and for reminding the upwardly mobile corporate types that they have not fully overtaken the blue-collar ways of this town, where many commute to their midtown Manhattan jobs via the 33rd Street train.

The artists, intellectuals and bohemians drink Spanish bodega coffee with milk or herbal tea while listening to their iPods. Hopeful students, jaded urban youth and hardened laborers insert their PATH Quick Cards and also wait on the other side of the station for the Newark train. Almost all have a paper in tow: the free commuter papers, amNewYork and Metro, or the New York Post, which is double the price for being 10 minutes away from New York. With that exception, the station is almost as New York City as it is New Jersey.

Above ground, locals raise the gates and prepare for business. Construction resumes on the Grove Pointe Towers that loom over the station entrance; the residential high-rise will be the newest and most inland of local developments. Homeless men and women emerge from sleeping in front of the Employment Commission to resume their duty as dirty but benign neighbors. They sit across from the liquor store with the pigeons in the plaza all day, waiting for scraps of food or change. Women haul shopping carts. There’s the old Latino man who voluntarily directs traffic on behalf of pedestrians outside the station’s busy intersection and tells everyone, “I love you, man!” John, the old vet with a bum leg whom the Veterans’ Administration has abandoned, drinks to euthanize the pain. He always has a kind word and rarely asks for spare change.

City Hall is two blocks away. Its classic marble architecture and courtyard are neither inviting nor foreboding. It just stands calmly, a landmark with little bustle, as a witness to the quiet revolution of commerce and dining on the south side of Grove Street. The newest establishments invite the mid- to moderate income sets. At Marco & Pepe, you could convince yourself that you are in Chelsea, brunching at a sidewalk café complete with white tablecloth, napkins, unpronounceable menu items and little dogs parked by the table. The Merchant, right across from City Hall, fills in for a typical bland Wall Street pub—dark wood interior, sports on the televisions and ’80s rock playing on the jukebox. Pedestrian traffic feels imminently foreboding south of The Merchant, as it is not as well lit and the blocks are patchy. But the pub’s late hours help stave off trouble for the sparse sidewalk traffic to the end of the block.

Starving artists and thrifty types shun the idea of Jersey food at New York prices and instead opt for the local ethnic fare. Shadman has some of the best Pakistani food outside of Jersey City’s Little India district. Ibby’s Falafel is addictive, and related to the proprietor of the renowned Mamoun’s in Greenwich Village. Across the station on the corner, Hard Grove Café remains steadfast and popular despite health code violations that temporarily shut it down in 2004. North of Newark Avenue, Grove turns into Manila Street in honor of the local Filipino community down the block. La Conguita restaurant on one corner and its grocery store directly across serve the neighborhood with inexpensive and savory Latino food from across the Americas. This corner remains busy, as the bright street lights, restaurants and residences provide comfort for the late-night commuters returning home.

By 5 p.m., Mexican families with flower carts wait outside the train station. Whoever has something to say or sell hawks his flyers to the steady stream of returning people. Newark and Jersey avenues are now at their busiest. It is mostly businesses, with about half of the buildings with residents upstairs. Despite the boom, many buildings a block or two from the train station inexplicably still hold the same “Lofts for Sale or Rent” signs since I arrived three years ago. What is potentially the most prime real estate in the metropolitan area is often overlooked for the flashy new condos by the water, away from the locals.

Between 7 and 9 p.m., the gates start coming down. Most of the pedestrians briskly walk home, while the extra careful or distant take a $5 cab ride from the station. Newark Avenue remains brightly lit and populated enough to be relatively safe until past midnight, now that a city ordinance has been passed to allow restaurants and bars to remain open until 2 a.m. Afterward, a few 24-hour bodegas, the late-night halal chicken shack and intermittent vehicular traffic keep you from feeling abandoned. I park my bike in front of the bohemian bar, LITM, knowing that it will be there when I return and offer me a speedy ride home. Yuppies determined to keep their property values up refuse to succumb to the occasional spate of crime, and respond with signs to inform the community of incidents and effectively keep watch. As a result, police patrols by car and on foot have increased, and the levels of yahooing and loitering have significantly decreased.

The rest of Jersey City is miles away from the influx of real estate, commerce and finance in the downtown district. Even one stop down from Grove Street, at Journal Square, the blight still trumps any attempts at a boom. Downtown Jersey City is the great compromise: one foot in New Jersey, one foot in New York City, and the best of both.

Robin Laverne Wilson is an Honors College interdisciplinary major senior
at Rutgers-Newark. Posted September 2006.

JCMAN320

October 22nd, 2006, 10:41 PM

Well personally I think once the Waterfront builds out, I think the 1 and 2 level businesses in JSQ will be razed for more towers. Also some of the homes around JSQ I think will be demoed for towers. I don't see that happening in the Heights because it has always been 1and 2 family homes and small apartment buildings. I think the immedate area around JSQ will see more towers and unfortunately some very old nice homes will have to be knocked down.

tbal

October 23rd, 2006, 02:23 PM

I absolutely agree, JCMAN230. Journal Square is a short trip on the PATH from both New York City and Newark. There is no reason why we shouldn't see several more highrises built after the Harwood Towers. As long as the JCPD keeps the crime rate in that part of the city down, I think Journal Square has a bright future in terms of development and revitalization.

JCMAN320

October 23rd, 2006, 03:10 PM

Crime is not bad in JSQ area I go to school around there so I know. I think once they take care of the quality of life issues in that area such as the homeless, it will pick up especially once the Harwood Towers are built. I mean cmon The Loews and the Stanley are two great theaters that anchor the square. Beck just performed at the Loews on Saturday so already JSQ is getting a new respect.

investordude

October 25th, 2006, 02:45 AM

The article below basically says you have to hire a government agency as hiring consultants - with their specific agenda that you can only employ Jersey City residents on Jersey City construction projects. This only applies to blighted areas, which makes it even more stupid because those are the area the government most wants redeveloped, while the private sector would probably rather build in some place that's thriving already. Besides, they'll get less skilled workers and drive up construction costs as a result, giving Jersey City crappier projects in these blighted areas they'd otherwise get. A classically stupid example of protectionism.

http://www.nj.com/news/jjournal/index.ssf?/base/news-3/116158494252560.xml&coll=3

I hope residents in the rest of the state respond to this by fighting the corruption behind this agenda.

JCMAN320

October 25th, 2006, 11:04 AM

I agree investor. I do think they should hire more local workers, but just for projects in blighted areas is foolish.

tbal

October 25th, 2006, 11:14 PM

Someone next to me on the PATH this morning was discussing the redevelopment of downtown with someone else (he apparently works for the city's redevelopment agency). He mentioned something about the Maneschewitz building being bought by Toll Bros to be developed into a 40-story building and (I might have misheard of course) Fields Development is planning an office building/tower to be built somewhere in Jersey City. Is this true? Does anyone know anything about this Toll Brothers building? Maneschewitz is practically right across the street from Grove Pointe.

JCMAN320

October 25th, 2006, 11:45 PM

Yes tbal it is all true. People are fighting the manchweitz building because they want towers out the powerhouse art district. But Toll Bros. are citing that what happened at 111 First that they can do it. The arts will still be there but people just don't want towers in the district. So it may happen or not. The office building im not sure where it will be but I think it will be on Washington St. near Harborside.

MrWolf

October 26th, 2006, 01:17 PM

http://www.nj.com/images/jjournal/searchmasthead.gif (http://www.nj.com/jjournal/)
http://www.nj.com/images/spacer.gif
»

Powerhouse vision has gotten blurry

Wednesday, October 25, 2006

The Powerhouse Arts District, once a symbol of a progressive urban planning, is quickly becoming a badge of failed stewardship - and the line between intention and reality is becoming more and more blurred.

The first domino to hit the floor was 111 First St. After costly legal wrangling and engineering reports that concluded the building would cost millions to preserve, Lloyd Goldman forced to the city to approve plans for the demolition of the historic warehouse and the construction of a modern skyscraper.

A number of the city's political elite were genuinely upset about the decision, particularly because it highlighted the city's failure to follow simple, procedural rules that might have saved the building and the plan itself. Jersey City Corporation Counsel Bill Matsikoudis proclaimed that the Goldman decision would not spur the "domino effect" conservationists feared - turning the unique warehouse district into dominant Vertical City that surrounds its borders. Well, such declarations now appear hard to justify.

Local attorney and powerbroker James McCann recently alerted the city of Toll Brothers' desire to seek amendments to the Powerhouse plan that include demolishing a large portion of the Manischewitz Building. The letter alludes to the Goldman decision as a precedent.

Sources tell me that Toll Brothers - which refused to speak about its intentions - wants to build a 40-story building on a portion of the Manischewitz lot. The plan, though not publicly released, will likely be met with opposition. "We oppose building tall at the Manischewitz Building," said Joshua Parkhurst, president of the Jersey City Landmarks Conservancy, the group instrumental in helping create the historic zone.

The future of the Butler Building, considered as another key landmark in the area, also is uncertain, because city sources tell me that the building's owner, aware of the Goldman decision, expressed interest in tearing down the historic warehouse and building higher. Matsikoudis now says that developers' proposals will be reviewed on a case-by-case basis and that council members will have to make "policy decisions" about what type of development they want in the district - a sharp change from a regional approach.

The administration rightly argues that while some of the aesthetic may have changed, much of the philosophical vision of the Powerhouse Arts District remains the same, including thousands of feet of gallery space, creating a vibrant retail, cultural and entertainment district and artist housing.
If the city wants to retain a semblance of the original aesthetic vision of the Powerhouse Arts District - and that's debatable - the City Council needs to take a lead role.

It should consider declaring the remaining buildings historic and add the extra legal protection necessary to combat the domino theory that will inevitably come crashing down, should the city stay the course. "If the buildings are declared historic, it would provide us with more legal protection and show developers that the city has a clear plan for the area," said Bob Antonicello, executive director of the Redevelopment Agency.

If these steps are not done, maybe City Council should change the area's moniker to something more appropriate.

JARRETT RENSHAW can be reached at jrenshaw@jjournal.com.

tbal

October 26th, 2006, 11:15 PM

Thanks for the info, guys.

Has anyone heard anything about the San Remo & Monaco I & II? Apparently the planning board approved an "amenities package" on Tuesday night for the development. Seems like it would be one of the most desiriable developments downtown since it would have practically unobstructed views of Downtown Manhattan since the Avalon Cove lowrise already fills the land across the street, and the site is pretty close to the Newport PATH and practically right next to the lightrail station at the Marbella/Metro Plaza.

Personally, I think Monaco I & II are the most appealing of all the buildings approved for the waterfront so far - something about them looks very unique.

brunfuss

October 27th, 2006, 12:00 AM

has the Metropolitan been approved? Oct. 24th came and went.

if the Metropolitan is built, i hope Trump will aim to top this building rather than build a Phase II. i mean the building even resembles the tower Ivana had planned for Vegas.

Dan2290

October 28th, 2006, 03:35 PM

Hello guys,
I am a restaurant owner that would like to expand my business into the jersey city area ( I have my eye on the project at 100 columbus drive ). I am looking to start a japanese steak house restaurant in the area do you guys think this would be a good idea?? I have noticed there arent any hibachi restaurant around the area. I have taken a few trips down to the area but what I notice is that a majority of the restaurants in the area are empty during the lunch and dinner hours. This makes me skeptical of the whole plan... can anyone help me out here please?? Possibly even recommend some japanese restaurant in the area I can take a look at myself

Thanks!

tbal

October 29th, 2006, 12:23 AM

There is a good mix of Asian restaurants along Newark Ave, but no Japanese restaurants come to my mind. I think that 100 Columbus would be a good location for a new Japanese restaurant, but I can't tell you how much leasing rates will be there :). I do know that the leasing rates will be high for the apartments, however, and given this, I think that people who will be renting there will have alot of disposable income, so it may not be a bad idea to open a Japanese restaurant there. Seems like the yuppie types love the different types of Asian foods too...good luck!

TimmyG

October 29th, 2006, 02:09 PM

120-page affordable housing plan coming
Developers may have to pay $150,000+ per unit to skip requirement

Ricardo Kaulessar
Reporter staff writer 10/28/2006

Jersey City plans to deal with its shortage of affordable housing with a plan outlined in a 120-page internal document that may be released to the public this December, sources say.

The document is being put together by Doug Greenfield, supervising planner for the Jersey City Department of Housing, Economic Development and Commerce, who is also heading up a team of city officials who have been counting the number of affordable housing units in the city.

The state now requires municipalities to provide one affordable housing unit for every eight market-rate units built and for every 25 jobs created in the city.

But the city is also considering another method of increasing its affordable housing stock - forcing developers to pay $150,000 or more for every affordable housing unit they decide to not to build.

New guidelines
The Council on Affordable Housing (COAH) is a state organization that sets guidelines for municipalities to meet their affordable housing obligations.

By their standards, "affordable" rental housing in New Jersey should not cost more than 28 percent of a person's income.

Previously, municipalities were assigned a specific number of affordable housing units to be built within their borders. Now, there is a ratio to market-rate units and jobs.

City Councilman Mariano Vega said last week that he has been involved with the city's formation of the plan, meeting with various city officials including Mayor Jerramiah Healy and offering input.

Vega did get into details of the plan, since it is still a "work-in-progress." But he praised the initiative of the plan, which he called "a major policy shift" for the city in terms of addressing affordable housing.

"It is important we meet our obligation in providing affordable housing in this city as all these condos are coming online," said Vega. "As someone who grew up in Downtown Jersey City in a cold-water flat, I am sensitive to this issue of making sure we provide for those who may be able to afford to stay in this city."

Vega said that the city has required much affordable housing in new buildings, but must also make sure old renovated buildings provide some.

Raising the fee
Right now, developers who opt not to build affordable housing in their market-rate units must pay the city a fee of $1,500 per unit. The fee then goes into the city's affordable housing trust fund, which is now up to $6 million, which in turn is meant to go toward building affordable housing projects.

However, the city may drastically raise the amount.

"What are we trying to do is come up with the right amount," said Vega. "Right now, we know it can go up somewhere from $150,000 to $250,000 per unit."

Vega said there is a model for the increased fee: The city's settlement with New Gold Equities regarding 111 First St. The settlement, which would allow New Gold to construct at least two residential towers and 710 units within the 111 First St. area, also calls for 58 units of affordable housing to be built by the developer off-site.

If the developer opts not to do so, then it will be charged $150,000 per unit, or $8.7 million.

However, the idea of raising fee has some cringing.

"We don't want to chase away the developers," Mayor Jerramiah Healy said last week. "We need to consider this issue carefully rather than stopping investment coming into the city."

Attorney Eugene Paolino of the Jersey City-based law firm Schumann Hanlon represents a number of projects throughout the city including the St. Francis Redevelopment Project, the Beacon on Baldwin Avenue and Essex Commons on Essex and Greene Streets.

Paolino said raising the fee would definitely pose a problem with his clients and other developers.

"I think that is going to let many developers to reconsider development in the city," said Paolino. "I think all of them want to do the right thing since affordable housing is not just a housing issue, but also a social issue," said Paolino.

Paolino also added, "There really needs to be a serious discussion between the development community, the city, and COAH in terms of the affordable housing obligation."

Long wait lists, and developers' problems
Even in Downtown Jersey City, considered by many to be nothing but condos and market rate rental apartments, there are affordable apartments. The Dixon Mills complex located on Wayne Street and older buildings at Newport have affordable housing units, as do the federally-funded low-income Jersey City Housing Authority complexes.But they often have long waiting lists.

And then there's Essex Commons. The 70-unit building located on Essex, Greene and Morris Streets has 14 units to be set aside as affordable housing as required under the Colgate Redevelopment Plan, which governs construction in the area.

But people looking to rent an affordable unit find themselves running into an obstacle - the building's owner has made them unavailable to rent.

City Councilman Steven Fulop (who represents the area where Essex Commons is located) has interceded on behalf on several people who have inquired on availability of affordable units, only to be turned away.

"In talks I have had with the developer regarding this matter, I've come away with the conclusion that they do not want to fulfill their obligation of renting these units," said Fulop.

As it turns, Fulop entered into a complicated situation, according to private attorney Eugene Paolino.

"This issue is subject to discussion with the city, but I cannot discuss any further," said Paolino.

However, Paolino did say that some of what is guiding the developers - Redwood Homes of Mountainside, N.J. - is the following: they did not receive tax abatement and they were saddled with the obligation after obtaining the property in bankruptcy court.

Both factors, coupled with having to rent the units as affordable housing, would place a financial burden upon the developers.

However, city planner Robert Cotter said last week Essex Commons has to comply with their obligation as provided in the redevelopment plan.
Ricardo Kaulessar can be reached at rkaulessar@hudsonreporter.com

TimmyG

October 29th, 2006, 02:12 PM

67-story tower approved for Pep Boys lot
Planning Board OK's 'Metropolitan'; residents concerned about height http://www.zwire.com/images/spacer.gifRicardo Kaulessar
Reporter staff writer 10/28/2006
Soon another skyscraper will be hovering over the Jersey City skyline.

The Jersey City Planning Board at its Tuesday meeting approved the Metropolitan, a 67-story building to be built near Newport Mall. It will be built on the site of a Pep Boys Automotive store in Metro Plaza, across the street from the mall.

The 755-foot tower, when completed, will have 809 residential units with 817 parking spaces, approximately 809 of those in an eight-floor garage inside the building, and eight outside. There will be 12,445 square feet of retail space.

G&S Investors, a real estate investment company based in Port Chester, N.Y., will build the project. They have been the owners of the Metro Plaza shopping center since the early 1990s.

The designer is the architectural firm Arquitectonica of Miami. They also designed the Ellipse, a 460-foot residential tower planned for construction in Jersey City's Newport residential area.

They also designed the Westin Times Square hotel in New York City.

But several speakers from the public expressed concern over the project.

Concessions
The project will deviate from the Hudson Exchange Redevelopment Plan in several ways.

Among the deviations are decreasing the width of the parking spaces from 9 feet to 8.5 feet, which increase the number of spaces from 610 to 817.

The developers will also decrease the setbacks from the street on three sides of the building.

Bernardo Fort Brescia, architect for the project said there will be a 35,000 sq. ft "green roof" on the garage, which means landscaping and trees.

Other amenities include a swimming pool and tennis courts.

John Pavlovich, traffic engineer on the project, said a traffic signal would be installed on the street there was found to be a bigger increase than indicated in a traffic study they commissioned.

ShopRite won't close

Larry Inserra, Jr., owner of the ShopRite supermarket at Metro Plaza, dispelled any rumors that the supermarket would be closing as the result of the Metropolitan project, calling it "one of most successful stores in the chain."

Nevins McCann added that there are plans for a master plan for the area as the Metropolitan project would be the first phase of a larger development project that would span over 20 years, with retail always having a presence in the plaza. The master plan would include creating an extension of Fourth Street to run past the plaza to mitigate the projected increase of traffic in the future.

The public's turn

Members of the public then had an opportunity to present their issues.

Valerio Luccio, a Second Street resident and president of the Harsimus Cove Neighborhood Association, called the height of the building "a bit excessive."

He also questioned whether there will be configuration of the plaza, which Luccio said has acted as a barrier separating Downtown residents from the waterfront.

"The real problem I have with this whole thing is I don't have a lot of information, and this is very disappointing," he said. "The developers did not approach the neighborhood association or the community to discuss this whole plan with us."

Francis Schiller, another attorney for the project, said the proposed master plan for the plaza will be presented in a few months to the Planning Board, and his clients would make arrangements to meet with the community.

Catherine Grimm, a Heights resident, wondered if the building could be built as a "green" building, or environmentally friendly, with as solar panels to generate heat and plumbing to recycle rainwater. One representative for the project said there are no plans for a "green" building.

Richard Deagle, a Jersey Avenue resident, wondered why the master plan has not been presented before a site plan for the project, and why a building of this size is being constructed only blocks from already existing residential areas.

"We are talking five blocks from Jersey Avenue and seven blocks from Hamilton Park for the second tallest building in [New] Jersey," said Deagle.

Dan Falcon, a Newport resident, was also upset about the master plan not being presented before the Metropolitan site plan. He also requested that the application be tabled until there is a master plan.

Approval with conditions

The Planning Board did not heed Falcon's request, as they approved the application for the project, giving kudos to the architect for the design.

But before the vote, City Planner Maryann Bucci Carter said the parking width of 8.5 feet is a permitted width and that the building's height is also permitted within the existing redevelopment plan.

Planning Board Commissioner Leon Yost said that the developers should think carefully of so many parking spaces in an area where the NJ Transit light rail runs through, but gave his approval.

Commissioner Michael Sottolano said looking at the building, he was "overwhelmed" and "it's a tremendous project."
Ricardo Kaulessar can be reached at rkaulessar@hudsonreporter.com

©The Hudson Reporter 2006

pianoman11686

October 29th, 2006, 03:45 PM

From Arquitectonica's website:

pianoman11686

October 29th, 2006, 03:50 PM

Those are two renderings of the Ellipse, a 40-story tower planned in Newport, NJ. According to the architect's website, it will have 300 units, and 250 garage spaces in a podium at the base of the building. If you look at the renderings, you'll see this podium is seamlessly designed into the building. Additionally, the building will be constructed on a pier, which will contain some kind of cultural facility at the end of it.

This is one of the more beautiful towers I've seen recently. It's absolutely perfect for its waterfront location.

JCMAN320

October 29th, 2006, 05:49 PM

This all great I can't wait. The city hasn't seen a building boom like this since the 1800's when the railroads were building where the towers now stand and new neighborhoods were getting urbanized.

All yes a Jap Steak house would be welcomed. The more these developments come on the more they will connect to the neighborhoods of Downtown and you will see more foot traffic and the restaurants packed. The weekdays are slow but the weekends the restaurants are packed. I would love to see you set up your business here in Jersey City. I wish you all the best Dan.

lofter1

October 29th, 2006, 08:55 PM

Finally a great building for JC -- Congratulations -- I pray this one gets built.

investordude

October 30th, 2006, 11:48 AM

I'm surprised no one has a comment on the proposal to charge developers 150k for every market rate apartment.

My sense is that would essentially stop development in Jersey City and move it to Brooklyn or other alternative markets. $150k seems iike enough also to generally eliminate Jersey City's price advantage when compared to Manhattan for many smaller apartments, thereby eliminating a major justification for living there.

Any other thoughts on this ridiculous idea?

TimmyG

October 30th, 2006, 12:54 PM

^^^ I agree. Raising the fee one hundred fold will certainly have a huge negative impact on development. Instead of providing more affordable housing, it could backfire and lead to a decline in development in general.

DominiRicanJSQ

October 30th, 2006, 03:31 PM

Good day fellow WNY forum members,

There seems to be a lot of development in JC over the last 4-5 years. I moved to JSQ in 2003 after realizing that NYC condo prices were rediculous.

I found a nice recently renovated one bedroom condo right behind the Leow's theater at the Square for about $112k in 2003, and have been looking forward to all the new development. 2 bedrooms in my building now command over $250k, and a 3 family house behind my building on the other block as a condo going for $695k :eek:

Groove St. is almost unrecognizable since I was last there over a year ago.

The old blight called Hotel on the Square is finally gone, with 2 towers replacing it.

Being born and raised in NYC, I was sad to see my "title" as NY'er gone, but considering how many former NY'ers are moving out here, Jersey City might as well apply to become NYC's 6th borough LOL.

badger2

October 30th, 2006, 10:20 PM

JCMAN, still waiting on American Can updates and pics! Did you forget me???

JCMAN320

October 31st, 2006, 12:14 AM

Sry badge I'm taking the pic tomorrow I never got around to it the other day. Tomorrow should be beautiful and great weather for pics.

Also investor I agree with you. Let them build affordable but like it said in the article a lot of politicans agree with you feeling that this would chase away developers. I mean there is a lot to JC that makes it disireable because it is a very nice city, but this would be something that any developer would cringe at. There must be a better way to do this without threatening these developers.

MrWolf

October 31st, 2006, 01:28 PM

I can't believe that the city would put its precious ratables in jeopardy by playing hardball with developers. They have not shown this inclination in the past and seem to be grandstanding at this point. They will probably settle on a much lower number when it is all said and done (i.e. 10K per unit).

wander118

October 31st, 2006, 05:20 PM

JCMAN320

November 1st, 2006, 11:35 AM

Scivantage Moves to Jersey City Office in Preparation for Expansion

Evelyn Lee
NJBIZ Staff
10/30/2006

Scivantage, a provider of Web-based brokerage solutions, announced today that its Manhattan office staff has moved into 30,000 square feet of office space on the 13th floor at 10 Exchange Place in Jersey City, adjacent to the PATH station and Hudson River water taxis. The company’s previous offices in Wall Street were about a quarter of the size of the Jersey City space, according to Robert Press, vice-president of marketing for Scivantage. The move was made in preparation of the company’s planned expansion. Scivantage, which has tripled its staff during the past two years to more than 100 employees, plans to increase the number of its development, technical support, and sales staff at a similar rate over the next few years, says Press. Scivantage’s headquarters, formerly based in New York City, will now be in Jersey City. In addition to this office, the company also has facilities in Northern New Jersey, Boston and Silicon Valley.

JCMAN320

November 2nd, 2006, 10:51 AM

Pols back $15M in tax juggling to fix parks

Thursday, November 02, 2006
By CHARLES HACK
JOURNAL STAFF WRITER

The walkway at the south end of Liberty State Park has a pothole big enough to swallow a sport utility vehicle.

State Park Service officials say they need $10 million to $15 million to repair an undermined quarter-mile stretch of seafront path that is now so in danger of collapsing that it is closed to the public.

And that repair bill is just a fraction of the $250 million backlog of capital funds that the state estimates is needed to fix its parks, according to Frank Gallagher, administrator at the Office of the Director of the State Park Service.

Hudson politicians have joined environmental groups to push referendum Question 2 on Tuesday's ballot, which amends the state Constitution to shift $15 million of corporate taxes for the capital maintenance and improvement of state and local parks.

"The fund is going to be a permanent revenue source for capital improvements in state and local parks," said state Senate Majority Leader Bernard Kenny, D-Hoboken, who co-sponsored the bill.

"Whether it's Lincoln Park in Jersey City or Liberty State Park, they will have access to the dollars."

Gallagher said that it would be the first time the State Park Service has had a stable source of revenue, allowing it to plan better.

The amount is just part of the 4 percent of corporation business taxes that are already allocated to environmental projects under the Constitution.

The measure would reallocate the money from funds used to remove leaking underground oil and gas tanks. Just over $5 million is used each year, state Treasury officials confirmed.

"The beauty of the way that this money has came about is that it's not going to have to bond anything additional," said a co-sponsor, Assemblyman Louis Manzo of Jersey City. "It is money that has already been set aside. We are asking the public to reauthorize the spending."

Mark Perkiss, a spokesman for the state Treasury, said that as of the end of September there was $63.6 million in the Petroleum Underground Storage Tank fund.

The funds would increase to $32 million each year for capital improvements in 2016, when a clean air program to retrofit diesel buses and trucks expires.

Not everyone agrees that the fund transfer will be a free lunch, however.

Steve Lonegan, state director of the Americans for Prosperity and mayor of Bogota, said that the New Jersey corporate business tax is the third highest in the country and is forcing businesses and jobs out of the state.

"We should be cutting the corporate business tax, not reallocating it," Lonegan said.

He says that funding for parks should come from an already bloated $31 billion state budget for 2007.

Perkiss also points out that demand on the Petroleum Underground Storage Tank fund could increase "substantially" this year, as new legislation to expand the uses of the fund was recently signed into law.

CHARLES HACK can be reached at chack@jjournal.com.

JCMAN320

November 2nd, 2006, 10:55 AM

EPA soil cleanup to pave way for parking lot, homes

Thursday, November 02, 2006
By JARRETT RENSHAW
JOURNAL STAFF WRITER

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency will start removing steel drums and other debris from a 16-acre parcel dubbed the "Turnpike Dump," between Grand and Aetna streets behind the Jersey City Medical Center.

The $1.2 million cleanup is expected to begin this month and continue until March. The EPA conducted a cleanup of the landfill in the early 1990s after a large tire fire erupted, highlighting the environmental problems at the site.

However, this time the focus will be on what's lurking underneath the soil, which is relatively unknown to local and federal officials. The land was the site of unregulated dumping of steel drums, construction debris, tires, vehicles and a host of other waste from the early 20th century until the 1980s.

Many of the steel drums are unmarked and the EPA cleanup crew will don protective suits and set up air monitors in and around the site to help ensure safety. All waste will be transported off-site for appropriate treatment and disposal.

The property, divided into two lots, is owned by the city. One of the lots is earmarked as the future home of a public parking garage for the Medical Center, while Roseland Properties and Garden State Development Inc. will build a residential building on the other lot.

"We are excited that the EPA is coming to New Jersey to address the long-standing problems at the site and to help redevelopment of an area that has been an eyesore," said Ben Delisle, a project manager with the city's Redevelopment Agency who spearheaded the city's efforts.

investordude

November 2nd, 2006, 06:08 PM

I was browsing around the Census numbers for the 2005 American Community Survey (www.census.gov).

From 2000 to 2005, the college educated population jumped from 24 to 32% in Hudson County while the US education rate jumped only from 24% to 27%. If the Beacon gentrifies its environs, and Journal Square high rises spur some improvements there, I could easily see Jersey City at that growth rate though the decade, in which case we'd reach 40%.

For comparison, metrpolitan Boston (which specializes in education) is about 40% educated and the NY area is 34% educated today.

I guess this isn't specifically a real estate development, but my hunch is college educated wage earning folks like to cluster, so I think this is good news for the future of JC.

JCMAN320

November 2nd, 2006, 07:13 PM

Jersey City is home to my college, Saint Peter's College, and New Jersey City University, Hudson County Community College, and Rutgers University offers Business programs down at Harborside. Also University of Phoenix has a small campus down in Newport and rumors abound that Seton Hall want to offer classes here in Jersey City as well. Thats good news about the jump in percenatge. With the Beacon eight down the street from Saint Peter's College it will great to attract people from the college to stay in Jersey City.

tbal

November 3rd, 2006, 10:42 AM

Seems like Wells is beginning to poise itself to take advantage of a spill-over of jobs from NYC...:)

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

Wells Buys 630,000-SF Tower
By Eric Peterson (http://www.globest.com/cgi-bin/udt/im.author.contact.view?client_id=globest&story_id=150355&title=Wells%20Buys%20630%2C000%2DSF%20Tower&author=Eric%20Peterson&address=http%3A//www.globest.com/news/775%5F775/newjersey/150355%2D1.html&summary=JERSEY%20CITY%2C%20NJ%2DMaking%20its%20sec ond%20big%20New%20Jersey%20buy%20in%20less%20than% 20two%20months%2C%20the%20REIT%20picks%20up%20the% 20100%25%2Dleased%20International%20Financial%20To wer.)

http://www.globest.com/newspics/nej_internationalfinancialtower.jpg
Int. Financial Tower

JERSEY CITY, NJ-Making its second major acquisition in the Garden State in recent weeks, Wells Real Estate Investment Trust II Inc., Norcross, GA, has picked up the International Financial Tower, a 630,000-sf, 19-story office building here. The sale price was not released, but a source with knowledge of the transaction puts the number in the $195 million range, or more than $300 per sf.

The seller was a closed-end real estate fund set up by CommerzLeasing und Immobilien Group, Duesseldorf, Germany. CIG had teamed up with the Atlanta-based Germania of America to buy the building in 2000 from its original developer, Mack-Cali Realty Corp., Cranford, NJ, for a reported $153 million.

The building, located at 95 Christopher Columbus Dr., is currently 100% leased. The Bank of New York-owned Pershing LLC, a service provider for the financial industry, occupies three-quarters of what is commonly referred to as “the Pershing Building” as its headquarters, with a lease that runs into 2021. The asset, which features a waterfall-dominated five-story atrium, was completed in 1989 as the headquarters for a predecessor firm of Pershing.

‘This is a fine addition to the Wells REIT II portfolio, a true class A property in a desirable financial center with a very strong lead tenant,” says David Steinwedell, chief investment officer for Wells Real Estate Funds. “The Hudson waterfront submarket is showing strong office absorption and we feel very good about this area.”

“There were a number of competitive offers, and we were successful in making the deal,” says Jeff Gilder, managing director of acquisitions, who teamed with vice president Heather Griner to represent Wells in-house. “We think it is a good value for both parties.”

Also in the building are PNC Bank and NTT Data Communications. As reported by GlobeSt.com (http://www.globest.com/news/25_25/newjersey/122159-1.html), the latter, a subsidiary of a Japan-based data communications provider, renewed its lease for more than 136,000 sf in mid 2004. That lease runs through mid-2014.

The deal follows by weeks another major pick-up by Wells just a few miles away in downtown Newark. As reported by GlobeSt.com (http://www.globest.com/news/775_775/newjersey/“http://www.globest.com/news/732_732/newjersey/149301-1.html”), that earlier acquisition was 80 Park Plaza, a 26-story, one-million-sf tower fully occupied by Public Service Electric & Gas as its headquarters under a lease that runs through 2015. Wells paid a reported $147.5 million for 80 Park Plaza, which was sold by an affiliate of Lehman Brothers.

investordude

November 4th, 2006, 01:06 AM

http://www.nytimes.com/2006/11/05/realestate/05njzo.html?ref=realestate

tbal

November 4th, 2006, 02:48 PM

I'm certain that Trump will be the second tower...I have a feeling that he stated that it was questionable whether it would be built because it could hurt sales at the first tower being built since it will block a lot of the residents' views. But, only time will tell...Anyway, on with the construction update!

First I have to say that the area around Trump and Athena was crazy this morning - talk about revitalization! There were several workers at 111 First and crews were starting work at the POWERHOUSE! That nasty barbed-wire fence has been taken down and there was a lot of heavy equipment in action along the Washington Blvd side of the building.

Tower I at Trump is six stories in height so far:
http://i58.photobucket.com/albums/g245/jcwalkingman/Trump3.jpg

Here's a view showing Columbus Tower I in the background:
http://i58.photobucket.com/albums/g245/jcwalkingman/Trump1-1.jpg

View of the tower from the corner of Washington and Morgan:
http://i58.photobucket.com/albums/g245/jcwalkingman/Trump4.jpg

Framing for windows and doors was being installed on Gull's Cove, and the structure itself is almost complete:
http://i58.photobucket.com/albums/g245/jcwalkingman/GC2.jpg

View from the Jersey Ave Lightrail Station:
http://i58.photobucket.com/albums/g245/jcwalkingman/GC3.jpg

View from the corner of Marin and Grand Street:
http://i58.photobucket.com/albums/g245/jcwalkingman/GC1.jpg

77 Hudson is moving along, with several massive footers having been poured in the last two weeks:
http://i58.photobucket.com/albums/g245/jcwalkingman/77H1-1.jpg

Look at the concentration of piles in the ground!
http://i58.photobucket.com/albums/g245/jcwalkingman/77H3.jpg

Overview (well, sort of) of the site:
http://i58.photobucket.com/albums/g245/jcwalkingman/77H2.jpg

tbal

November 4th, 2006, 03:09 PM

The Athena Tower is starting to look very vertical:
http://i58.photobucket.com/albums/g245/jcwalkingman/Athena1-4.jpg

View from Greene Street (behind the Powerhouse):
http://i58.photobucket.com/albums/g245/jcwalkingman/Athena4-1.jpg

Looking down Second Street:
http://i58.photobucket.com/albums/g245/jcwalkingman/Athena3-3.jpg

Liberty Harbor North I is growing (slowly):
http://i58.photobucket.com/albums/g245/jcwalkingman/LHN2.jpg

The site of the second LHN building will form the fourth side of this courtyard when it is built:
http://i58.photobucket.com/albums/g245/jcwalkingman/LHN3.jpg

The Westin is finally going vertical, with the first floor under construction:
http://i58.photobucket.com/albums/g245/jcwalkingman/Westin1-3.jpg

And, although construction hasn't started on the new Harbor Lights building yet, there was this SWEET Ferrari sitting in the driveway of the current Harbor Lights building (to be demolished):
http://i58.photobucket.com/albums/g245/jcwalkingman/Ferrari.jpg

(Sorry guys, I had to post that last one ;) )

tbal

November 4th, 2006, 08:10 PM

At Grove Pointe, the facade is climbing toward the 12th floor:
http://i58.photobucket.com/albums/g245/jcwalkingman/GP2-1.jpg

Grove Pointe towers over the intersection of Marin and Columbus, across from the American Financial Exchange Tower:
http://i58.photobucket.com/albums/g245/jcwalkingman/GP3.jpg

Looking up from the Grove PATH Plaza area:
http://i58.photobucket.com/albums/g245/jcwalkingman/GP4.jpg

Columbus Tower I is moving along as well (note that they didn't build the parking garage/retail section all the way to Marin, but rather stopped about 2/3 of the way...I guess they plan to use the rest of their land for something that would give a bigger return [hint hint]):
http://i58.photobucket.com/albums/g245/jcwalkingman/Columbus1-1.jpg

A look at the windows (and panels) being installed on the tower:
http://i58.photobucket.com/albums/g245/jcwalkingman/Columbus2-2.jpg

And finally, can anyone confirm that this is where the Mondrian was supposed to go? (next to the WALDO Lofts building, with the 'For Sale' sign, and the current Harbor Lights building to the left):
http://i58.photobucket.com/albums/g245/jcwalkingman/Mondrian1.jpg

JCMAN320

November 4th, 2006, 09:25 PM

Great pics tbal. It's suppose to go where the for sale sign is. Also at Columbus Tower that area at the corner is going to be for another tower either office or residential.

TimmyG

November 6th, 2006, 10:25 AM

Pump station soon to share with hotel or retail complex
Monday, November 06, 2006 By JARRETT RENSHAW
JOURNAL STAFF WRITER

The Jersey City Redevelopment Authority Board is expected to choose between two competing proposals - one for a hotel and the other an entertainment complex - for a nearly 10-acre tract of land adjacent to Liberty State Park.
The site, which houses a Municipal Utilities Authority pump station, is bounded by the New Jersey Turnpike extension to the north, Communipaw Avenue to the east and Philip Street to the south.
Manhattan-based Metrovest - which is turning the former Jersey City Medical Center into a massive condo project called the Beacon - pitched its plan to the JCRA board two weeks ago that calls for a 250-room hotel and conference center.
The proposed nine-story Liberty Hotel and Conference Center would feature a stone-and-glass facade and would include approximately 50,000 square feet of meeting and banquet space, a rooftop bar and pool, along with a public plaza surrounded by retail and entertainment establishments.
The plan also calls for the construction of approximately 250 condos and an unspecified amount of retail space. Metrovest President George Filopoulos did not return phone calls seeking comment.
G & S Investors, who recently won approval for construction of the city's second largest building dubbed the Metropolitan, are expected to unveil their proposal to the JCRA Board on Nov. 21 at 4 p.m.
Details of their proposal are not available since it's not yet a public document, but city officials say the plan is a "retail/entertainment complex" that will include a movie theater.
No sale price for the lot, which is owned by the MUA, has been determined, said city officials.
In requests for proposals, the city asked that all plans include one or more of the following: a class 'A' hotel; tourism and destination developments such as water parks, theme parks, sports complexes or aquariums; public and private recreational facilities and bars and nightclubs.
"Anything that will cause a traffic jam should be totally out of the picture. Water parks, theme parks and those types of things should be off the table," said Friends of Liberty State Park President Sam Pesin, who pointed to public opposition of a proposed water park adjacent to Liberty State Park as a precedent.
The JCRA issued requests for proposals in August, and 17 developers picked up the packets, but only two developers returned them.
City officials said the site's perceived environmental problems and the demand that the Municipal Utilities Authority's pump station remain intact were the reasons for the lack of response.
The site has had a number of former industrial uses, most recently as a water treatment facility and automobile storage area. The site is suspected to include chromium. The cleanup of the site is the developer's responsibility.
The site is adjacent to five acres of property currently being used by the city's Incinerator Authority as a car impoundment yard and is not included in the proposals.

JCMAN320

November 6th, 2006, 10:31 AM

Damm it Timmy you beat me to it. LOL. I'm so siked I can't wait to see these proposals. If my coordinates serve me right this site is right down the road from the Liberty Science Center. That is a perfect site for either and entertainment complex or a grand hotel.

JerseyBrett

November 7th, 2006, 01:23 AM

JCMAN, what is the current status of the "6th Street Embankment" project? Are they turning that into a park? It should be Jersey City's own High Line. That would be a wonderful additional to the Downtown park system. I'm moving there next year after I graduate from college so I'm only hoping for the best in Jersey City.

Spoon

November 7th, 2006, 04:25 PM

Wow I just walked through Jersey City for 2 hours and I was so impressed. I've never ventured back by Grove Street but I did this time and I was blown away.

Essentially the area around Grove street looks like Hoboken, but Hoboken like 10 years ago. Great infrastructure, beautiful buildings, lots of retail. I walked down Barrow street towards Liberty harbor north and rode the light rail back to Hoboken.

Construction is sick and it is everywhere. JC will be something in 5 years.

With that being said the waterfront area is such crap urban planning that it is kind of unfair to the city. Grove street and all those great neighborhoods deserve better. I definitely prefer the Hoboken waterfront to JC's but all thos neighbhorhoods in JC rock. (not saying Hoboken's waterfront is the best thing in the world just better than JC's)

I will say that JC is utilizing its light rail stations better than Hoboken. Hoboken has 3, and 1 you can't build near b/c it's at the train terminal but the other two are so underutilized. One sits next to a Housing Project and a power plant and the other they've built one condo next to it. In Jersey City they have Harborside Financial Center and Goldman Sachs near one. They have Liberty Harbor North and Gulls Cove near others. They have newport mall and the newport area near another.

Why is Hoboken dropping the ball with its light rail stations?

Again JC = impressive!!

badger2

November 7th, 2006, 11:46 PM

JCMan....you have forsaken me! My contacts in city hall tell me they have every intention of moving formward on this. My underlying understanding of the economics puzzle me as to why they think it can work...

tbal

November 8th, 2006, 11:41 PM

Looks like we might be seeing a 23-story tower a few blocks from Journal Square according to tomorrow night's Zoning Board meeting agenda:

"Amendment to Final Site Plan to construct an additional story for a total of 23 stories to a plan originally approved 11/3/05 for a 22 story residential building with 118 dwelling units above an approx. 47,500 sq. ft., 4 story parking garage"

Here's the link:http://www.cityofjerseycity.com/calendar/zb/november_9_2006.pdf

It looks like we will also see an 11-story building replace the parking lot and old buildings across the street from The Gotham on Warren St.

investordude

November 9th, 2006, 07:37 AM

hazard1

November 10th, 2006, 03:05 AM

badger2

November 10th, 2006, 09:19 AM

Hi badger2, what's special about the American Can economics that doesn't impact other residential buildings? I can see how you could in general wonder if there will be too much residential supply in JC, but what's specific to American Can?

My reference is deal specific, based upon the cost to acquire the building, what I believe to be their construction costs and what they will most likely sell at.

investordude

November 10th, 2006, 06:54 PM

Crain's is reporting they are looking to build elsewhere. I can't really think where they could easily go besides Jersey City without unreasonably burdening their employees.

My guess is they are just bluffing because Goldman got a subsidy and they didn't, but I suppose its possible they could move. Quite honestly, it seems like a bad business decision to leave Manhattan and force so many of their existing employees a longer commute which they may not like, but I could see them adding employees in Jersey City instead of Manhattan, which seems like a plus for the region as a whole.

badger2

November 10th, 2006, 09:29 PM

Gotta be bluffing, Merrill, Citibank and Metlife all had plans to move certain front office operations out of the city and into the surrounding urban communities only to find themselves burned when they found key employees refusing to make the moves, and then found it difficult to recruit key employees to work from these locations.

Anyone have occupancy %'s for the JC Goldman tower???

z22

November 11th, 2006, 01:31 AM

I can't see any possibility that Merrill will have HQ outside Manhattan. They can use 99 Hudson for bluffing in NY/NJ war. If Merrill play smart they may be able to get away with what they want from both sides. Like Citigroup did when they bluff to get out to NJ while trying to get money for expanding Long Island City location. At the end what they got was money from NJ to move staff to Warren and incentive from NYC for expanding Long Island City building which were announced on the same day.

investordude

November 11th, 2006, 02:17 AM

But I also think they are smart to bluff. Given the power of New York's Congressional delegation, I think they are in a good position to get some favors for staying.

TimmyG

November 11th, 2006, 12:25 PM

Abatement deals for 3 projects get council OK
Saturday, November 11, 2006 By KEN THORBOURNE
JOURNAL STAFF WRITER

Jersey City continues to shower waterfront developments with tax abatements.
On Wednesday, the City Council introduced 20-year abatements for three projects that are either right on the waterfront or a stone's throw from the Hudson River.
As he voted against the abatements, Ward E Councilman Steve Fulop, who represents the waterfront area, pointed out that Mayor Jerramiah Healy campaigned on a platform that abatements were no longer needed to attract investment to the waterfront.
"This can't get any closer to the water without being in the water," Fulop said of a 269-unit condominium project slated for the foot of Second Street.
Healy's spokeswoman, Maria Pignataro, disputed Fulop's characterization of the mayor's campaign stance. "The mayor has always said he would take them (abatements) on a case-by-case basis, and is always looking to bring more ratables and investment into the city," Pignataro said.
During an editorial board meeting with The Jersey Journal prior to the November 2004 special election, Healy indicated that he did not believe abatements were necessary on the waterfront.
Besides the Second Street project, the council voted to introduce abatements for Monaco North and Monaco South, a development consisting of two 47-story towers with 541 market rate rental units at Washington Boulevard and Sixth Street.
The council voted 6-2 for those abatements, as well as for the Second Street development, with Ward F Councilwoman Viola Richardson joining Fulop in voting against them and Ward C Councilman Steve Lipski absent. The abatements will be up for adoption Nov. 21.
The council also introduced, by an 8-0 vote, a 20-year abatement for 100 Water St., a 112-unit market rate condo project slated for Claremont Avenue on the city's West Side.
The benefit of tax abatements as far as city officials are concerned is they don't have to share the payment-in-lieu-of-taxes negotiated with the developers with the school district or county government.
Opponents argue that abatements unfairly shift the tax burden to those without abatements and shortchange the county and school district.

tbal

November 11th, 2006, 11:34 PM

As far as Merril goes, office space in downtown JC is becoming scarce and at the last Planning Board meeting, their attorney asked for a 3-year extension of permit to maintain a parking lot at 99 Hudson Street, but they were granted only a two-year extension. A lot of strange things seem to be going on right now in terms of office construction - Mack-Cali seems to be running low on available space at Harborside but hasn't made any announcements for construction of Plazas 4a, 6, or 7; Golman Sachs received approval for a second tower at 50 Hudson a few months ago but we haven't heard anything since; and as I just mentioned, Merril Lynch seems to have further put off construction on their plot of land at 99 Hudson by a few years. Globe Street keeps reporting on how low the vacancy rate is in Midtown Manhattan, and how high rents are going, but perhaps a lot of companies see the demand for office space peaking soon and on the verge of dropping?

Anyway, it's great to hear about Monaco I & II - we will have 5 or 6 beautiful (and huge!) new towers going under construction just in the area around Avalon Cove next year if Roseland decides to start construction in Spring 2007 as the other developers have.

z22

November 12th, 2006, 12:28 AM

What's the reason behind approving only 2-year extension rather than 3 years as requested? Does it mean anything after the two year period is expired? I don't feel that Merrill will do anything with 99 Hudson within the next few years anyway.

fronti

November 12th, 2006, 12:56 AM

Is there any logical reason for more abatements on the waterfront? Or is this the only way to keep the waterfront part of JC?

tbal

November 12th, 2006, 11:11 PM

Merril Lynch's lease at the World Financial Center expires in 2013, and it would take 2 to 3 years to construct a new office tower at 99 Hudson. According to curbed.com, Merril is looking for something state-of-the-art to move into since upgrading its floors at the WFC would be quite costly. They have pretty much ruled out moving into the Freedom Tower.

As for tax abatements, you must realize that the greater the number of young professionals living in JC, the greater the chances of a company moving jobs across the river is. The three towers mentioned will be able to house several thousand professionals, so they are a valuable investment for a city trying to woo corporate jobs to its waterfront. Since a housing oversupply may be developing, and would be a reason not to build residential towers on the waterfront, a tax abatement serves to counter this and provides an incentive to go ahead with construction.

Do I think the abatements are fair? Absolutely not (I certainly didn't get one with my apartment). But, in this case they make economic sense when you look at the big picture.

JCMAN320

November 13th, 2006, 12:02 AM

Hey everybody sorry for not reporting I've been sick as hell. Badger I will take the pics. There are actually big red neon letters in the windows which I will take a picture off. With teh abatements they do suck but they are econmically sound. Also with these towers going up I can't wait Jersey City's skyline will rival most North American cities and is a great compliment to Lower Manhattan's skyline.

JCMAN320

November 13th, 2006, 02:23 PM

Here is the story behind the red letters:

Joan Osborne at art opening in Jersey City tonight

Drivers using the Pulaski Skyway in Jersey City at night have been greeted by a startling neon green message lining the top windows of the old American Can Company Building.

The large, illuminated letters read "IT IS GREEN THINKS NATURE EVEN IN THE DARK."

"Indestructable Language" is the brain child of New York City artist Mary Ellen Caroll. The eight-foot letters, powered by an energy efficient, low wattage transformer, are intended to raise awareness about conservation and energy alternatives.

People can learn more about the conceptual word art project tonight at the the opening reception at the building, at 50 Dey St., from 7 to 10 p.m.

It is open to the public and there will be a musical performance by Joan Osborne and DJs from White Dove. Andrew C. Revkin, an environmental reporter for The New York Times and author of "The North Pole Was Here," will speak.

Jarrett Renshaw

investordude

November 15th, 2006, 11:51 AM

According to this, conditions still aren't right for building office space in New Jersey: http://www.nytimes.com/2006/11/15/realestate/commercial/15office.html

tbal

November 15th, 2006, 10:45 PM

Keep in mind that the authors are counting places like Weehawken and Hoboken in their 'waterfront vacancy rate' figure. The rate is probably closer to 10 percent in Jersey City (it may well be under 10), primarily because the fact that we have the big Wall Street players here already attracts even more of them, and because we have far better infrastructure than either Hoboken or Weehawken - higher-capacity roads, lightrail stations in our downtown business district, and PATH stops within a 5 minute walk from all of our major office buildings.

As long as the economy doesn't slip into a recession, I see Jersey City being the place of choice for office construction outside of Manhattan.

MrWolf

November 16th, 2006, 06:02 PM

E-Trade signs 15-year Mack-Cali lease

"Real estate investment trust Mack-Cali Realty Corp. said Thursday financial services provider E-Trade Financial signed an additional 15-year lease at Jersey City, N.J.-based Harborside Financial Center..." -- Business Week

--------------------------------------------------------------------
Mack-Cali Leases over 106,500 Square Feet to E*Trade at Jersey City Office Building

Financial Services Firm Signs Long-Term Lease at Harborside Financial Center

(BUSINESS WIRE) Mack-Cali Realty Corporation today announced that E*Trade Financial Corporation has signed a new lease for 106,573 square feet at Harborside Financial Center in Jersey City, New Jersey. The lease carries a term of 15 years and seven months.

E*Trade Financial Corporation, a financial services provider, leased the space at Harborside Plaza 2, a 761,200 square-foot class A office building that is 100% leased. The tenant had been subleasing 37,970 square feet at the building.

Mitchell E. Hersh, president and chief executive officer of Mack-Cali, commented, “We are delighted that E*Trade has signed on and expanded its presence as a long-term tenant at Harborside. This transaction demonstrates Mack-Cali’s ability to service its tenants and build long-term relationships with leading businesses.” He added, “In addition, this lease significantly enhances the long-term value of this premier waterfront complex.”

Additional information on Mack-Cali Realty Corporation is available on the Company’s Web site at www.mack-cali.com (http://www.mack-cali.com/)
LINK (http://home.businesswire.com/portal/site/google/index.jsp?ndmViewId=news_view&newsId=20061116005790&newsLang=en)

tbal

November 16th, 2006, 09:47 PM

SWEET! :cool:

JCMAN320

November 17th, 2006, 12:50 PM

$20 million disaster response center
Groundbreaking occurs for new police, fire communications hub

Ricardo Kaulessar
Reporter staff writer 11/10/2006

It's a project to cost over $20 million and be built in an area of Jersey City overrun with prostitutes and old industrial buildings.

But according to Mayor Jerramiah Healy and other city officials, the new, state-of-the-art Jersey City Public Safety Communications Center, located at the intersection of Cornelison and Bishop avenues, will be worth the cost and welcome in a downtrodden area.

"As we go forward, this city will be in a much better position to have all our police, fire, and first responders be able to communicate together," said Healy said at a groundbreaking ceremony for the center on Monday.

The two-floor, earthquake-proof communications center will house all police, fire, and Emergency Medical Services communications under one roof, which will enable dispatches to be processed faster to ensure a quicker response. It will also serve as a training facility for all the city's Public Safety departments.

City architect Glenn Wrigley said construction on the center is expected to start in January and will take place over an 18- to 24-month period. Thus, the center will not open for at least two years.

The funding for the communications equipment was provided by a federal $12 million grant to the city following Sept. 11, 2001, and approximately $10 million will come of the city's capital budget.

City Councilwoman Viola Richardson said the presence of the new center will "put the good prostitutes out of business" but, more importantly, will bring a heavy police presence into an area she represents.

"We are the last ones to get service but if the services are here, then we will score a quicker response," said Richardson.

Bringing public safety together

Representatives from the police and fire departments and other officials at the ceremony emphasized the importance of the center.

U.S. Congressman Steve Rothman (D-9th Dist.) said working with U.S. Sen. Robert Menendez and former U.S. Sen. and current N.J. Gov. Jon Corzine to get the federal funds was the "least we can do as elected officials."

Police Chief Thomas Comey said Healy asked him to work with the Fire Department and the city on designing the center "for the future and to design for today."

"This building will someday save lives," said Comey. "We have integrated technology where now police, fire, and hopefully EMS will sit in the same command center in supervisory levels where we will be able to give the fire department real time video feed before they ever get to the scene of a fire."

He also said they will also be videos provided to police before they go to the scene of a crime.

Fire Department Director Armando Roman said the project was several years in the making.

"As is the case with so many worthwhile projects, it takes the combination of the right time, the right motivation, and the right leader to get things moving forward," said Roman.

Roman said the communication problems that occurred on 9/11 between the New York City fire and police departments brought about a communications center such as the one in Jersey City.

Ricardo Kaulessar can be reached at rkaulessar@hudsonreporter.com

JerseyBrett

November 17th, 2006, 08:24 PM

Hey everyone. I found a development planned in JC by GreenbergFarrow called Heritage Plaza. It doesn't specify its exact location. Does anyone know where this is located and the current status of the project? Thanks.

TimmyG

November 18th, 2006, 11:22 AM

DOWNTOWN SUCCESS STORY
18 years after $30M investment, a $78M sale
Saturday, November 18, 2006 By JARRETT RENSHAW
JOURNAL STAFF WRITER

Jersey City's Downtown looked much different in 1988, before the cranes and construction workers dotted nearly every corner.
In hopes of sparking investment in the then-beleaguered area, the Jersey City Redevelopment Agency issued $30 million in bonds to aid the Morris Company in the renovation of the historic Dixon Mills into an apartment complex with 467 rental units.
Now, 18 years later, the Morris Company paid back the city for the bonds and just inked a deal to sell the complex for $78.5 million - or $168,094 per unit - to a partnership between GoldenTree InSite Partners and Robert Martin LLC.
"It really just shows you how far the city has come in the last 25 years," said Bob Antonicello, acting executive director of the JCRA.
The new partnership group plans to convert the units into condominiums, first offering them to current tenants, according to city sources.
Originally built as the Joseph Dixon Crucible Company's plant and headquarters, the distinctive property is listed on the National Register of Historic Landmarks and was famous for producing Ticonderoga brand pencils.
Roughly 65 of the units were reserved for moderate-income residents, a protection that was set to expire within four years, said Antonicello. However, the Redevelopment Agency helped broker a deal that extends the protection for an additional year, said Antonicello.
The remaining units are not under the city's rent control ordinance, said Antonicello.
The deal was brokered by CB Richard Ellis' New York Tri-State Investment Team.

tbal

November 18th, 2006, 04:00 PM

First, some unexpected news:

The lowrise building between the Metropolis Towers was undergoing demolition today. The building had several tenants, including a video rental outlet, a law office, and a convenience store. As some of us know, their was an 'infill' proposal by the owners of the Metropolis Towers to redevelop the parking and other underutilized areas into a new set of towers and additional retail. Being that the tenants in the buildings demolished today were active, and considering that the land is prime real estate (hence the reason for Grove Pointe and Columbus Plaza shooting up across the street) it seems logical that they are in fact beginning site preparation for construction of these two additional towers:

http://i58.photobucket.com/albums/g245/jcwalkingman/Metropolis6.jpg

(For the record - three of the four corners at the intersection of Marin Blvd. and Columbus Drive are now undergoing extensive revitalization simultaneously - the activity taking place in this area this morning was a sight to see, between this demo work, Grove Pointe construction, the PATH/Newark Ave reconstruction, and Columbus Plaza construction).

Pics of the demolition:

http://i58.photobucket.com/albums/g245/jcwalkingman/Metropolis3.jpg

http://i58.photobucket.com/albums/g245/jcwalkingman/Metropolis5.jpg

http://i58.photobucket.com/albums/g245/jcwalkingman/Metropolis4.jpg

http://i58.photobucket.com/albums/g245/jcwalkingman/Metropolis1.jpg

tbal

November 18th, 2006, 04:17 PM

In the Grove area, brickwork is a now a little more than 50% complete on the Tower:

http://i58.photobucket.com/albums/g245/jcwalkingman/Grove9-4.jpg

The view from Columbus Drive at Grove Street:

http://i58.photobucket.com/albums/g245/jcwalkingman/Grove9-1.jpg

Installation of windows continues at Columbus Tower I:

http://i58.photobucket.com/albums/g245/jcwalkingman/Columbus9-2.jpg

The parking garage/retail section is progressing, but at a seemingly slow pace:

http://i58.photobucket.com/albums/g245/jcwalkingman/Columbus9-1.jpg

Another shot of the completed exterior work on the lower floors:

http://i58.photobucket.com/albums/g245/jcwalkingman/Columbus9-3.jpg

The Athena Tower continues to grow skyward:

http://i58.photobucket.com/albums/g245/jcwalkingman/Athena9-5.jpg

The first glass has been attached to the building:

http://i58.photobucket.com/albums/g245/jcwalkingman/Athena9-2.jpg

Fifteen floors and climbing:

http://i58.photobucket.com/albums/g245/jcwalkingman/Athena9-1.jpg

tbal

November 18th, 2006, 04:39 PM

Rebar is going up for the second floor of the Westin Jersey City Hotel:

http://i58.photobucket.com/albums/g245/jcwalkingman/WJC9-4.jpg

A view from the 4th level of the Newport Mall Parking Deck:

http://i58.photobucket.com/albums/g245/jcwalkingman/WJC9-3.jpg

Another look:

http://i58.photobucket.com/albums/g245/jcwalkingman/WJC9-2.jpg

The building really hugs close to the road - it will really tower over 6th Street when completed:

http://i58.photobucket.com/albums/g245/jcwalkingman/WJC9-1.jpg

Two new sections are being added to the crane at Trump Plaza today:

http://i58.photobucket.com/albums/g245/jcwalkingman/Trump9-1.jpg

The tower continues to rise above Washington Blvd (the Athena Tower and Marbella are to the left):

http://i58.photobucket.com/albums/g245/jcwalkingman/Trump9-4.jpg

Overview of the entire building:

http://i58.photobucket.com/albums/g245/jcwalkingman/Trump9-3.jpg

77 Hudson is moving along:

http://i58.photobucket.com/albums/g245/jcwalkingman/JCPics9030.jpg

Prep work for the West Tower:

http://i58.photobucket.com/albums/g245/jcwalkingman/JCPics9033.jpg

And finally, here's a quick look at the progress at Gull's Cove I:

http://i58.photobucket.com/albums/g245/jcwalkingman/JCPics9034.jpg

z22

November 18th, 2006, 05:03 PM

First, some unexpected news:

The lowrise building between the Metropolis Towers was undergoing demolition today. The building had several tenants, including a video rental outlet, a law office, and a convenience store. As some of us know, their was an 'infill' proposal by the owners of the Metropolis Towers to redevelop the parking and other underutilized areas into a new set of towers and additional retail. Being that the tenants in the buildings demolished today were active, and considering that the land is prime real estate (hence the reason for Grove Pointe and Columbus Plaza shooting up across the street) it seems logical that they are in fact beginning site preparation for construction of these two additional towers:

http://i58.photobucket.com/albums/g245/jcwalkingman/Metropolis6.jpg

(For the record - three of the four corners at the intersection of Marin Blvd. and Columbus Drive are now undergoing extensive revitalization simultaneously - the activity taking place in this area this morning was a sight to see, between this demo work, Grove Pointe construction, the PATH/Newark Ave reconstruction, and Columbus Plaza construction).

Are the new towers face directly to the Christopher Columbus Dr (lie across in east-west orientation)?

What are the names of the new towers, any more detail you have?

tbal

November 18th, 2006, 05:42 PM

The rendering is a view from where Grove Pointe now stands, looking across the intersection of Marin Boulevard and Christopher Columbus Drive. The towers will run along Columbus Drive, right across the street from the parking deck under construction at Columbus Plaza.

I don't know how long ago this was posted by the Jersey City Economic Development Corp on their website (my guess is two to three years ago) but here are some details about the project:

"Metrovest, a Queens-based residential developer and property manager, will build Metropolis Towers this fall. The two, 25-story towers totaling 575,000 square feet will be located near the Grove Street PATH Station along Marin Boulevard and Christopher Columbus Drive.

DMR Architects designed the project. Amenities will include a rooftop pool, a four level parking garage, and recreational facilities."

Link: http://www.jcedc.org/metropolistowers.shtml

For those of you who are interested, I posted a huge construction update on page 74 of this thread ;).

tone99loc

November 18th, 2006, 07:24 PM

here's some misc. shots:
http://static.flickr.com/108/300413368_c08b58ff69.jpg
That's the view from my apt facing midtown from the 19th floor of the Mandalay (The Mandalay is between Newport and Exchange Place and is located at 20 Second St)
http://static.flickr.com/100/300413370_4167ee9060.jpg
The view towards Newport, also from 19th floor
http://static.flickr.com/116/300413380_1649f25e02.jpg
Facing Newport again, on the ground - This "field" in the foreground is where a new tower will rise starting in the Spring
http://static.flickr.com/108/300413376_7832bf81ab.jpg
Same position, more or less, facing midtown

More pics later...

JCMAN320

November 18th, 2006, 07:29 PM

Yes the Metropolis Towers are being built there just to confirm it. I saw the plans when I was in the city planning office. Those corners of Marin, Grove, Newark, and Christopher Colombus drive are becoming the heart of Downtown JC especially with the Grove St. PATH having entrances on all of those corners.

Also people this what I mean by the planning dept. improving the Watrfront elimintating those fences around the older developments that were built when Downtown and the Waterfront was a no-mans land. With the San Remo towers and now the Metropolis Towers taking out those fences and adding street life and retail it won't be long before the Avalon Cove condos will take their fences down to put up a development along Washington Blvd. Washington Blvd. has the potential to be a great road that links Exchange Place and Paulus Hook with the Power House Art District, Harborside and then on to Newport. Just think what that stretch will look like in 10 years especially with the renovated Powerhouse becoming a striking landmark and becon for what will become the culturally rich Powerhouse Art District.

Also Heritage Plaza I'm not sure I don't think I have heard much about it. If u can find out some more and let me know I sure would be greatful jerseyberett.

JC is truly an amazing city the way the whole city is really under construction and the way the old historic neighborhoods are meeting with this new development is quite a site. Also I was just in Manhattan the other night and I was looking across and I was thinking of all the new projects under construction and the ones recently approved that will soon be built and once they are all finished JC will have an amazing and beautiful skyline for a city our size geographically. I love this town!!!

PS. Tbal and tone great pics!!!

JerseyBrett

November 18th, 2006, 09:50 PM

Here is the link to the Heritage Plaza development:

http://www.greenbergfarrow.com/main.html

They didn't have a direct link to the projects so click on "Our Experience." Then, click on "Mixed Use." Then, "Retail/Residential." Heritage Plaza is the 2nd project on the list. I'm assuming this project is on the west side of Jersey City?

tbal

November 18th, 2006, 10:55 PM

Thanks for compliments, JCMAN!

I did a little research and found that Metrovest GPNJ owns the property. I was in one of the existing towers back in April, and they were almost done with renovations to them. I am guessing that this is the next and final phase for bringing the value of the property up (it makes sense to bring the value of the existing buildings up to par first before building more).

Seems like we have a fresh new development to keep track of! I'll keep you guys posted with updates.

The Grove Plaza area is already a busy place, but all of these new developments will make it a real magnet for a lot of people. There will be so many new retail outlets and restaurants that will make the area a real 24/7 hot spot.

P.S. The Grove Plaza and stretch of Newark Ave are starting to look incredible - they just delivered a ton of granite curbing to the site and should be done this week with laying down the slate/bluestone surface (sure looks better than those ugly fading pavers).

JoeSas

November 20th, 2006, 09:58 AM

Hello Everyone...I just bought a place on First St (and Brunswick), and walking home from the PATH down Christopher Columbus will be so much nicer if this plan goes through....I've been living in JC for about eight years (Grove St, Hamilton Park, the Heights and now glad to be back downtown!) and reading this thread has been great- so I thought I would start contributing...
A NEW Newark Avenue?

http://images.zwire.com/images/spacer.gifhttp://images.zwire.com/images/spacer.gifhttp://images.zwire.com/images/spacer.gifA NEW-ARK AVENUE – This is the southern side of Newark Avenue in Jersey City that City Councilman Steven Fulop is proposing to revitalize. http://images.zwire.com/images/spacer.gif
There are plans to put the NEW into a section of Newark Avenue.

The City Council at its meeting on Nov. 7 passed a resolution for a swath between Newark Avenue and Christopher Columbus Drive from Grove Street to Jersey Avenue to be studied for redevelopment or rehabilitation by the Jersey City Planning Board.

Someday, the streetscape could include bike racks, trees, historic lighting, new businesses and apartments, and improved cross-walks.

The resolution was introduced by Councilman Steven Fulop, who represents the area to be studied.

Fulop said he put forward the resolution after meeting recently with business owners and representatives of the Historic Downtown Special Improvement District to discuss upgrading the streetscape on Newark Avenue and bringing in new businesses.

By law, an area designated for redevelopment can have its zoning changed, and the city can use the power of eminent domain to transform the area.

Presently, the section of the street in question includes a McDonald's, a pizzeria, pet and hardware stores, and a small city park.

Fulop said last week that he expects to see the Planning Department present the findings of their investigation sometime between January and March.

"In my mind, it is a very positive thing to pursue improving this side of Newark Avenue," said Fulop.

What is the plan?

Fulop wants zoning changed for the area (which is zoned Neighborhood Commercial) to see the large retail spaces on Newark Avenue be split into two spaces to allow for more businesses on Christopher Columbus Drive, and bring more life to an area that is currently dominated by a mural painting.

"The spaces on Newark Avenue are too large for one retail store, and I would like to help create a streetscape where the mural is currently located," said Fulop. "We need visible storefronts on Christopher Columbus Drive, as it is not an inviting atmosphere for people seeing the gates down."

Thus, the idea of pushing for a study of "an area in need of rehabilitation."

Fulop said he has in mind a "streetscape and conceptual plan," something that is also described on his website (www.stevenfulop.com) (http://www.stevenfulop.com)). The streetscape element would include bike racks, trees, historic lighting, and improved cross-walks, to promote a more pedestrian friendly area to shop and sightsee.

Also, the streetscape plan includes elements are LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) certified to be environmentally friendly and allowing grants to be pursued.

Fulop said his plan came out of looking at what already exists in the area. There is a streetscape on the north side of Newark Avenue spanning from the intersection at Christopher Columbus Drive to Barrow Street. The streetscape includes several buildings with a brickface façade and a street-based clock stationed at the corner of Barrow and Newark.

He also has looked at the new businesses and new developments that have opened on Newark Avenue. He cites the examples of the It's Greek To Me restaurant on the northwest corner of Jersey and Newark avenues, and the construction of the Grove Pointe, a 29-story building on Columbus Drive near Newark Avenue that will consist of 67 condominiums and 458 rental apartments. The developers are revamping a one-block section of Newark Avenue and the triangular park area at the entrance to the Grove Street PATH station.

Fulop's plan for revitalizing Newark Avenue is another of a number of initiatives that he has pursued since coming into office last year, such as a "Restaurant Row" ordinance that has extended hours for alcohol to be served at restaurants and other establishments.

"I think we're pushing the process," said Fulop. "By the end of my first term in 2009, I want to see a thoroughfare filled with restaurants."
But what does the public think?

When the resolution sponsored by Fulop was passed at the previous meeting, there was no public speaking since it is not permitted during the approval of resolutions.

But some in the public weighed in on Fulop's plans last week.

Dan Levin, a Third Street resident who lives only blocks from the Newark Avenue area, said he only learned about Fulop's proposal by reading about it in the Nov. 12 Jersey City Reporter. He has hoped that Fulop would have spoken to residents before any resolution was passed.

"A powerful redevelopment plan can take property through eminent domain, as business owners have invested hundreds of thousands of dollars," said Levin. "You don't need a redevelopment plan to do streetscape improvement."

Fulop said he did not intentionally avoid informing the public, and noted that he deals with 13 neighborhood associations. After the interview, Fulop posted information on his website including renderings of how Jersey Avenue and Newark Avenue could look if the area undergoes the transformation.

Fulop also presented his ideas to the Harsimus Cove Neighborhood Association Wednesday night.

Valerio Luccio, the outgoing president of the association, said he was on board with Fulop's proposal.

"My understanding is what Steve is doing is an ongoing process and he was doing a little bit of both upgrades and changing the zoning to really promote Columbus Drive and Newark Avenue," said Luccio. "We need more forceful action besides aesthetics."

Luccio also said there has been talk about doing streetscape upgrades for years, but Fulop's plan is first in a long time that is close to reality.

Business owners in the area said they welcome any upgrade project.

Steve Kalcanides, owner of longtime Newark Avenue business Helen's Pizza, said last week Fulop has spoken to him about upgrade ideas.

"There has been a couple of years passed since the city did a facade program on the north side of the Newark Avenue, but grant money ran out to do any work on the south side," said Kalcanides. "I look forward to seeing it happen. Steve Fulop is really taking bull by the horns."

Wilson Kim, owner of Nature's House at 159 Newark Ave. for 10 years, said he likes Fulop's ideas and hopes to see other initiatives.

"I hope they can create parking on a slant, because a lot of customers don't shop on Newark Avenue because there's not enough parking," said Kim. Ricardo Kaulessar can be reached at rkaulessar@hudsonreporter.com

JCMAN320

November 20th, 2006, 01:48 PM

Great News Joe and welcome!!

Planning division aims to save century-old homes

Monday, November 20, 2006
By JARRETT RENSHAW
JOURNAL STAFF WRITER

The Jersey City Planning Division wants to carve out new residential zones in the Greenville and West Side sections of the city in the hopes of saving older Victorian-style homes from demolition.

The city is proposing a zoning change that would increase the required minimum lot sizes from 2,500 to 4,000 square feet, making it more difficult - if not impossible - to tear down the homes on these oversized lots to make room for two smaller houses. A report issued this month re-examining the city's master plan recommended the changes, noting that while the housing boom has brought new construction and new investment into many of Jersey City's neighborhoods, it has also "exposed some failings" in the land development ordinance.

"Pressure to build more residential units has moved to tearing down larger homes on large lots to be subdivided," the report said. "The Planning Division now regularly receives requests to subdivide and tear down older one- and two- family homes with excellent architectural character to make way for two two-family homes on a standard or even sub-standard lots."

The Planning Board last week delayed adopting the changes to the city's master plan, as well as recommending the zoning changes to the city council, which would have to adopt the proposal by ordinance before the changes would go into effect.

Though the planning board is not required to notify the owners of these homes, board members said they wanted to stall the vote until owners were made aware of the potential changes.

A number of homeowners in the area have long clamored for historic protection of the century-old homes, so it was no surprise that residents warmly welcomed the zoning changes.

"I don't want any of those little houses on the street," said Gilda Serrao, who lives in a 100-year-old Victorian-style home on Gifford Avenue. "They don't look nice and they don't fit in with the rest of the houses."

Toby Applegate, who lives on Bentley Avenue, said he supports the changes, but empathizes with homeowners who may have some trouble selling their homes in light of the proposed changes.

JerseyBrett

November 20th, 2006, 04:01 PM

Great idea! They've been downzoning many areas of NYC for many years to preserve the character of the neighborhood. As long as you have balanced growth, I'm all for it. However, the planning board should grant landmark status to the older homes after they are downzoned to prevent more teardowns.

JCMAN320

November 20th, 2006, 05:36 PM

City to decide between entertainment complex and hotel for MUA site

The Jersey City Redevelopment Agency board is expected to hear the second of two development proposals tomorrow for the east side water treatment plant.

G & S Investors, which recently won approval for construction of the city's second largest building - the Metropolitan - is expected to unveil plans for an entertainment/retail complex at the site, according to city officials who said they could not discuss the plans in greater detail until after it becomes public.

The site, which houses a city Municipal Utilities Authority pump station, is bounded by the New Jersey Turnpike extension to the north, Communipaw Avenue to the east and Philip Street to the south.

It is also adjacent to Liberty State Park.

Manhattan-based Metrovest — which is turning the former Jersey City Medical Center into a massive condo complex called the Beacon — pitched its plan to the JCRA board last month for a 250-room hotel and conference center.

The board will likely select between the two proposals in December and offer the developer a memorandum of understanding for development rights at the site.

The JCRA board meeting is scheduled for tomorrow at 4 p.m. on the 14th floor of 30 Montgomery St.

Jarrett Renshaw

MrWolf

November 20th, 2006, 10:19 PM

JCMAN - Looks like your prognostications of months back are coming together. With the new Emergency Communications Center being built on Cornelison, the new Hudson County offices not too far from there (1,100 county workers and sherrifs office to be moving in) and the 26 acre Grand Plaza slated for construction soon, it seems that the area everyone thought was beyond help (around The Beacon) is in for significant change in the near future. This is all great development for what is the heart of the city!

Lafayette

November 21st, 2006, 11:47 AM

Well, I am hoping for the entertainment/retail to win...since the adjacent lafayette and greenville areas dont have much retail or entertaiment this would definitely add to the redevelopment efforts.

JCMAN320

November 21st, 2006, 03:59 PM

To designate developers for housing on King Drive

Tuesday, November 21, 2006

The Jersey City Redevelopment Agency is scheduled to designate developers today for three housing developments on Martin Luther King Drive, city officials said yesterday.

Collectively, the three projects will create 238 units of low-, moderate-, and market-rate housing and help build the customer base to support the nearby Hub shopping center, said JCRA Executive Director Robert Antonicello.

The bulk of the housing will be near the King Drive light rail station at Virginia Avenue.

The biggest project will have 166 condominium units on a 2.4-acre site bordered by King Drive and Orient, Rose, and Kearney avenues.

For 10 years, the site was earmarked for the Thomas Jackson Estates, a proposal to build 24 two-family homes. But the Joint Venture Partnership contracted to develop the area was found in default earlier this year.

The members of the new partnership are the JCRA, the Neighborhood Development Corp. and Philadelphia-based builders, Universal Companies and Brandywine Construction & Development Services.

The JCRA also plans to name local builder Ed Folkes the developer for three mixed-used houses and two two-family homes at 311-315 King Drive, Antonicello said.

The Jersey City-based Community Outreach Team, led by the Rev. Kevin E. Knight, is expected to be designated the developer for a 67-unit senior building at 15-21 King Drive.

KEN THORBOURNE

badger2

November 22nd, 2006, 10:53 AM

JCMan, you forgot me! Anything new on American Can? Any pics?

I am very curious as to why I have seen no evidence of marketing by the developer???? Any thoughts?

millertime83

November 22nd, 2006, 01:28 PM

I can't get over the lack of any setback of the Westin Jersey City Hotel from the light rail right of way.

TimmyG

November 25th, 2006, 10:51 PM

Council hands out more tax abatements
Friday, November 24, 2006 By KEN THORBOURNE
JOURNAL STAFF WRITER

The Jersey City City Council continued to crank out tax abatements this week.
Six tax abatements were introduced for The Beacon, the $350 million project by Manhattan-based Metrovest Equities to transform the old Jersey City Medical Center complex into a swanky condo development. The council adopted four other abatements, three of them for waterfront projects.
Following the pattern set more than a year ago, the six abatements introduced Tuesday for the Beacon run 30 years. The normal duration for tax abatements in the city is 20 years.
The Beacon received an added break when it came to the gross annual revenue that has to be paid to the city. The normal payments-in-lieu-of-taxes are 16 percent of gross annual revenue. The six abatements introduced Tuesday call for PILOT payments of 12 percent - up from the 10 percent the project received a little more than a year ago for its first four properties.
George Filopolous, principal of Metrovest Equities, told council members Monday that 250 of the 315 units in the first two buildings under construction have been sold. Those two buildings, the Rialto and the Capital, will open next spring, he said.
The council also adopted 20-year tax breaks for Monaco North and South, a rental complex rising at the site of the old Doubletree Hotel at Washington and Sixth streets and a condominium complex at the foot of Second Street.
Downtown Councilman Steve Fulop blasted these abatements as "gifts" and noted that Mayor Jerramiah Healy campaigned on the premise that waterfront abatements were no longer necessary.
The waterfront abatements passed 6-2, with Ward F Councilwoman Viola Richardson joining Fulop in opposing them. At-Large Councilwoman Willie Flood was absent.
A 20-year abatement for a market-rate condo project at 100 Water Street on the west side of the city was approved.

Radiohead

November 26th, 2006, 12:08 AM

Speaking of the Beacon (aka the old Jersey City Medical Center), here are some recent distant and closeup shots of this 1930's era JC landmark. When I was a kid, from a distance, I used to think this was a city in itself.

http://static.flickr.com/100/306218856_cab45f4df7_o.jpg

http://static.flickr.com/102/306218859_0bbf569a6b_o.jpg

http://static.flickr.com/114/306218862_514d24a037_o.jpg

http://static.flickr.com/100/306218864_8862d91074_o.jpg

http://static.flickr.com/107/306218868_6af31c11df_o.jpg

http://static.flickr.com/101/306218873_b9fc0b5cc1_o.jpg

http://static.flickr.com/105/306220986_d1cbbe0229_o.jpg

http://static.flickr.com/111/306220990_9946ff72dd_o.jpg

http://static.flickr.com/107/306220993_6db6ece707_o.jpg

nafco

November 26th, 2006, 09:38 PM

hey everyone, been checking out the forum. thought id jump in for a little bit. does anyone know if theyve had any progress on the powerhouse recently. i found this large area of windows missing where i dont remember it missing before.

Is this a renovation or did this just fall in the wind or something?

JCMAN320

November 26th, 2006, 10:19 PM

It is part of the renovation. There was scaffolding over the window about a month back and it was taken down. The complete renovation should be starting soon.

Great pics radiohead!

JCMAN320

November 26th, 2006, 10:34 PM

Children's museum, movie theater in proposal for site

Friday, November 24, 2006
By JARRETT RENSHAW
JOURNAL STAFF WRITER

A nine-screen movie theater, a children's museum and more than 300,000 feet of retail space could be on its way to the land surrounding an East Side water treatment facility in Jersey City, according to plans unveiled Tuesday at a Jersey City Redevelopment Agency meeting.

The proposal, by G&S Investors based in Old Bethpage, NY - dubbed the Park Edge Center - would attract "national" retail stores and feature three levels of retail and parking, G&S officials said. In addition, the project would create 2,000 construction jobs and yield nearly $5 million in annual revenue to the city based on property and sales tax revenue projections, G&S representatives said.

G&S is competing against Manhattan-based Metrovest Equities to develop the nearly 10-acre site, home to a Municipal Utilities Authority pump station - which will remain - and is bounded by the New Jersey Turnpike extension, Communipaw Avenue and Philip Street.

Metrovest, which is developing the former Jersey City Medical Center into a massive condominium complex called The Beacon, proposed last month to build a 250-room hotel and conference center at the water pump site.

Metrovest's proposed nine-story Liberty Hotel and Conference Center would feature a stone-and-glass facade and would include approximately 50,000 square feet of meeting and banquet space, a rooftop bar and pool and a public plaza surrounded by retail and entertainment establishments.

The JCRA Board is expected to select from one of the two proposals at its December meeting - and one resident had a suggestion. Sam Pesin, President of the Friends of Liberty State Park, urged JCRA Board members to select the Metrovest plan because it offered less congestion and impact to the park.

"The entertainment complex will bring much more traffic to a park that attracts millions of visitors a year, and we need to protect the park," Pesin said.

G&S recently received approval from the Planning Board to build the second largest building in the city and the state, an 809-unit apartment building in Downtown Jersey City called the Metropolitan. The City Council also granted the project a 20-year tax abatement.

Radiohead

November 26th, 2006, 10:44 PM

I'm not sure of the status of the Powerhouse. I'm assuming it is considered a JC landmark and can not be torn down. However, I'm not sure if the Trump Tower is being built next to it or is going to replace it. From the third photo below, which was taken in June '06, it looks like renovations are being done inside. Why then do I remember reading somewhere (Jersey Journal?) that the interior is in such disrepair that the cost of renovating it is prohibitive?

Perhaps JCMan or someone else in the know can shed some light.

http://static.flickr.com/102/307215260_661f376462_o.jpg

http://static.flickr.com/111/307215263_f721b88417_o.jpg

http://static.flickr.com/104/307227157_d5eb0ef4b6_b.jpg

Radiohead

November 26th, 2006, 10:47 PM

Well, JCMan you beat me to the punch re: the Powerhouse. You're on you're A-game. Thanks for the update!

JCMAN320

November 26th, 2006, 10:49 PM

The Powerhouse is on the National Register of Historic Landmarks. It is going to be renovated to be a combo of performance arts center and retail and as the anchor of the Powerhouse Art District or more hiply known as The PAD.

Thank god it was saved it is a beauitful building like a cathedral to industry and mass transit. It was built 1908 and it was built to power the Hudson-Manhattan Railroad now known as the beloved PATH.

Trmp Plaza is being built next to it across Bay St.

Thx Radiohead no problem :)

Radiohead

November 26th, 2006, 11:45 PM

While Port Liberte has been around a while, I'd never actually been in it until recently ( and other than small, stock real estate shots, there are few photos of it on the internet). Man I was blown away. It was almost hard to believe I was in JC. I could live there.

http://static.flickr.com/100/307266889_d1119eb396_o.jpg

http://static.flickr.com/120/307266890_c3f741242a_o.jpg

http://static.flickr.com/119/307294174_b8249f83b2_o.jpg

http://static.flickr.com/105/307294176_aa69fd8b1f_o.jpg

http://static.flickr.com/99/307266894_f01b583793_o.jpg

http://static.flickr.com/117/307266899_190e42f0a2_o.jpg

http://static.flickr.com/105/307266896_004a219ca1_o.jpg

Here's a panorama, with some imperfections per the photoshop.
http://static.flickr.com/103/307266903_47b2c3a7b0_b.jpg

z22

November 27th, 2006, 12:05 AM

Nice photos, Radiohead.

To me, the architecture of the first phase (the middle island and on the right of the panorama) is much better than the newer phases. The original builder built them very well. That was probably the reason why the original builder went under.

The newer phases are cookie cutting and cheap houses. They diminish the charm of the European style of the original architecture. Too bad Port Liberte could have been better. Sometime you got to go with the design that is financially sound.

MrWolf

November 27th, 2006, 08:31 PM

Jersey City is a Pocket of Strength in a Lackluster Office Market

Evelyn Lee -- NJBIZ Staff -- 11/27/2006

Even in a lackluster year for the New Jersey office market, location still makes a difference.

"In the office market, things right now are pretty flat," says Mike McGuinness, executive director of the New Jersey Chapter of the National Association of Office and Industrial Properties in New Brunswick. There are some more significant vacancies than last year. Landlords are trying to attract tenants with improvement packages.

The overall office vacancy rate for this year hovers around 17 percent, which is usually a sign of a "tenant's market," according to Richard Baumstein, executive director of Cushman & Wakefield in East Rutherford.

In some key submarkets, however, the office market has been performing better, with vacancies at about 10 percent. "When the market is around 10 percent, there's no particular advantage for the landlord or tenant," says Baumstein.

The state's strongest submarket, the experts concur, is the Hudson waterfront, particularly in Jersey City, where the three largest office buildings on this year's list are. In the top spot is 101 Hudson Street, which moved from sixth place on last year's list. Newport Office Center 7, which was No. 8, now ranks second and Newport Tower jumps to No. 3 from No. 13 last year.

The proximity of Manhattan to northern New Jersey will help to boost the office submarket there, says Richard Duenas, senior director of Cushman & Wakefield in East Rutherford. "The New York City market is doing very well," says Duenas. "We'll see substantial push-out to northern New Jersey to take advantage of lower prices, substantially lower prices."

Other strong submarkets include Bergen County, Newark, Metropark and Short Hills, according to experts. As for what makes for a desirable and sought-after location, McGuinness says proximity to mass transit and availability of good schools are defining factors.

Morris and Somerset counties have not fared as well, partly because of industry changes, says Mitchell Hersh, president and CEO of Edison's Mack-Cali Realty, which manages 101 Hudson St. "There's been a lot of job loss in telecommunications so that's resulted in some of the overhang in that market," says Hersh. "Pharmaceuticals, which has historically been an engine of growth, has slowed down dramatically. That's had an impact on a lot of markets."

Fewer new office buildings will be coming on the market, in light of the higher vacancy rates, according to McGuinness. "The vacancy rates have been higher, so the pressure's on to fill the vacancies," he says. "It's keeping new development down."

investordude

November 27th, 2006, 10:07 PM

http://www.nydailynews.com/front/story/474782p-399255c.html

I am inclined to agree this in practice will be good for New Jersey in developing a creative class critical mass, assuming the legislature actually does the right thing - which in my opinion is not a given.

investordude

November 27th, 2006, 10:09 PM

by saying the benefit depends on the legislature doing the right thing, I mean "the economically right thing" by attracting hipsters with a progressive bill. I'm also progressive, so I'd think its the morally right thing too, but I was mainly talking about the economic angle of doing the right thing in who to attract to your city in the previous post.

JCMAN320

November 28th, 2006, 12:20 AM

New York I think has to start realizing that Jersey City and along with New Jersey have a lot to offer now more than ever in recent memory. If the property tax relief passes and the gay marriage bill passes, New Jersey will look progressive more than ever.

investordude

November 28th, 2006, 05:20 AM

Don't want to get too off topic but I actually think recent tax policies are the Achille's heel of Jersey's renaissance, such as shutting down the government so you can increase taxes. The Fed Beige Book reported that New York is booming at New Jersey's expense since that passed. Images of how the money is spent, like the UNMDJ fiasco, further reinforce problems.

The saving grace is New York is admittedly even more corrupt and broken on taxes and spending, but the whole region stands to lose if both states don't get tough reform in place.

JoeSas

November 28th, 2006, 09:29 AM

New York's Sixth has started blogging again after a really long hiatus. They have some pictures and updates of projects. I used to live over by 204 Sixth, a new condoization. I have heard it referred to as the "Outdoor Furniture District" because the tenants there used to sit on plastic furniture and barbeque and play cards across the street in front of the embankment. All the connected rowhouses are under construction so methinks those people will be displaced. It seems really pricey for 550 SF.

http://www.newyorkssixth.com/

TimmyG

November 28th, 2006, 10:48 AM

Last Square holdout fights for more $$
Tuesday, November 28, 2006 By KEN THORBOURNE
JOURNAL STAFF WRITER

Two down, one to go.
The Jersey City Redevelopment Agency has purchased two of three buildings standing in the way of a massive redevelopment project on a key block of Journal Square, an official said yesterday.
The two properties - 12 & 14 Journal Square, the site of a closed Wendy's and a still-open Kentucky Fried Chicken - will be conveyed to the developer within two weeks, said JCRA Executive Director Robert Antonicello.
Jersey City-based Harwood Properties inked a deal with the JCRA in May to build two residential/retail towers adjacent to the Journal Square PATH Transportation Center.
In keeping with that agreement, Antonicello said, Harwood Properties will reimburse the JCRA the $2.7 million it paid to acquire the two properties from Florham Park-based developer Fred Kruvant.
Robert Kang, owner of the third property - 15-16 Journal, which houses a McDonald's, Song's Hallmark, HT Wireless, and a dentist's office - is disputing the $2.5 million figure the JCRA maintains is the value of his property, Antonicello said.
Kang has paid for his own appraisal, which the JCRA is reviewing, Antonicello said. Antonicello declined to say how much money Kang is seeking, and Kang couldn't be reached for comment.
Harwood Properties is under contract to buy the other properties still standing on that block before the end of the year, officials said. Two businesses still operate out of 1-7 Journal Square - Three Brothers Pizza and Daily Tortillas.
The owner of these buildings, New York investor Ralph Tawil Jr., agreed to sell to Harwood Properties in March, after paying the city a record $1.1 million in fire and building code fines.
Harwood Properties officials hope to break ground on their $350 million project early next year and anticipate a two-year construction timetable.

JCMAN320

November 28th, 2006, 11:19 AM

I agree investordude you do make a good point. New York and New Jersey must start working as one unit and stop letting the Hudson divide us. This whole thing with New York thumbing it's nose at New Jersey has to stop and start realizing we are all part of one larger metropolis.

Also the state shut down did hurts us big. That was unfortuante and shouldn't of happened just to increse sales tax 1 percent and in the urban areas from 3 to 3.5 percent. I hope that the property tax relief will work whenever they pass it. We will recover though. Job growth has seen an uptick since then and so has spending that helped with the Thanksgiving holiday and the coming holiday's ahead. Atlantic City suffered somewhat, but it hasn't stopped the investment that continues to go on down there.

I have always said that the only difference between NJ and NY politicans are NJ politicans always seem to get caught. lol.

investordude

November 28th, 2006, 06:34 PM

Given that real estate values have risen, i can see how he would dispute the eminent domain estimate. I'm still baffled about why they needed eminent domain for this.

badger2

November 28th, 2006, 11:00 PM

No pics for American Can? Additionally, I cannot, for the life of me, figure out why they might build, but not market the property? Seriously, there have been no advertisements, to my knowledge, anywhere!

tbal

November 28th, 2006, 11:08 PM

badger2 - I'll get some pics of American Can this weekend as part of a bi-weekly JC construction update (I know you've been asking for those for awhile now).

TimmyG

November 29th, 2006, 10:27 AM

Ferry's back for Newport
Wednesday, November 29, 2006 By ALI WINSTON
JOURNAL STAFF WRITER

An alternative to the bridge-and-tunnel crowd is back, after the BillyBey Ferry Co. announced yesterday it will again provide ferry service between Newport Terminal in Jersey City and West 39th Street in Manhattan.
The service, which begins Friday, will run from Paulus Hook to Newport Terminal to West 39th Street, then from West 39th Street to Paulus Hook to Newport, said Paul Goodman, chief executive officer of BillyBey Ferry.
"We've been trying to add people out of the Paulus Hook area, but there aren't enough people to sustain the route," Goodman said. "This does not change the frequency of the ferry, it only adds slightly to the duration of the trip and adds passengers to a less than fully utilized boat."
Newport residents were disappointed at the closure of the Newport-39th Street route last year, made even more difficult by NY Waterway's decision to discontinue service from Newport to Pier 11 at Wall Street in December 2004. Local tenants associations have long pressed for resumption of ferry service, Goodman said, and meeting that need has been BillyBey's focus "for the last couple of months."
The decision to add Newport to the Paulus Hook route was also influenced by Downtown's development boom: "There is a lot of construction going on and if we can generate enough interest now, over time we should be able to build ridership," Goodman said.
BillyBey will provide service during weekday peak hours, Monday-Friday from 6:50 a.m. to 9:50 a.m., and 4:09 p.m. to 7:39 p.m. Fares remain unchanged at $6 for a single trip, $57.75 for a 10-trip ticket, and $210 for monthly tickets.

MrWolf

November 29th, 2006, 07:30 PM

Good channel 2 news piece on JC and its emergence as a cool place to shop. Fantastic PR!

http://wcbstv.com/video/?id=94002@wcbs.dayport.com

JCMAN320

November 29th, 2006, 11:15 PM

Good stuff! Jersey City as I said before is starting to come into it's own.

brunfuss

November 30th, 2006, 04:33 AM

just a complete hypothetical here, i was looking solely at population statistics and density in Hudson county and got thinking, what if Jersey City were to eventually annex surrounding municipalities? i know a lot of people would automatically shoot it down, and maybe for good reason, but NJ could also gain a new largest city, and one that can stand against other American cities in size and regional importance.

municipalities i thought of to annex were Hoboken, Union City, West New York, Weehawken, Guttenberg and North Bergen. that would make JC 35 mi sq., and a population of 472,818.

i left out Bayonne due to their history being a sister city to Bayonne, France, and Secaucus due to its lack of density.

i think the other municipalities listed would fit in nicely as new neighborhoods, still maintaining their original names as such. Harlem may be part of NYC but it is still Harlem, same would apply to Hoboken.

i read a report that the movie industry was reluctant to work in Jersey City due to a lack of space, they'd start filming a few blocks too many, they'd wind up in Union City or Hoboken. due to all the density in Hudson county it may was well be one city.

maybe one day the whole gold coast would become one city, maybe JC could annex all the way up to Fort Lee, then JC would even have its own China Town (well Korea town).

investordude

November 30th, 2006, 08:52 AM

http://www.globest.com/news/792_792/newjersey/151023-1.html

JCMAN320

November 30th, 2006, 11:32 AM

Brunfuss when Jersey City started to form its present day boundries back in 1838 they annexed off town after town.

Jersey City started at where Paulus Hook is today by Alexnader Hamilton and 3 former mayors of New York City who part of the Associates of Jersey Comapny They realized how important and vital Jersey City would become. So credit the grid layout of Downtown and the early architecture and parks to Alexander Hamilton and 3 former NYC mayors. Then it acquired the towns Harsmius Cove, Pavonia, Bergen, Hudson City, Communipaw, West Bergen, and finally Greenville. This all happened because at a great boom Jersey City was going through just like today.

Harsimus Cove still exists as a neighborhood, Paviona is modern day Hamilton Park neighborhood and Newport (it is also the reason the PATH stop at Newport is called Pavonia/Newport), Bergen is the modern day Journal Square, Bergen Square, and McGinly Square area, Hudson City was what is now called the Jersey City Heights, Communipaw is modern day Lafayette, and Greenville is still retained it's name as a section of the city. It was the last city to be acquired. Now later Jersey City put it out to vote of those other town who wanted to join. Hoboken voted to stay by a slim margin and so did Bayonne. West Hoboken voted no but Union Hill wanted to do join but because it wasn't contiguous to JC it couldn't join because West Hoboken was in it's way. West Hoboken and Union Hill joined in 1925 to become Union City. So JC kept it's present day borders. Jersey City really wanted to Bayonne because they wanted to control not just the Hudson and Hackensack Rivers but the entire Jersey side of the bay and the Kill Van Kull.

Till this day Bayonne and Jersey City have a rivalry so your right I don't think they would acquire them. Hoboken would be great considering it's highly dependent on Jersey City and so would Union City considering they wanted to join way back in the day. Guttenburg just shouldn't exist because it's a town that is 8 blocks long and two blocks wide. North Bergen should acquire West New York and then Guttenburg. It would be nice if you included all of Hudson County in to Jersey City you would have a city of 620,000 (appox) right next to NYC!! That is bigger than Boston, Baltimore, and a few other cities just by population!!!

So I think it should be done!

OmegaNYC

November 30th, 2006, 02:38 PM

I always felt that the larger cities in NJ should annex the smaller towns that surround them. However, NJ is too much of a suburban state to do so. Look at Bergen County for example. It is NJ's most populus county with almost 900,000 people, yet it's largest city Hackensack, has a population of over 42,000.

JCMAN320

November 30th, 2006, 03:44 PM

Well if all projections are right with all the new residences being built and units coming online, Jersey City just might pass Newark by as the state's largest city just by population in 2008 if not by then then 2012.

debris

November 30th, 2006, 05:14 PM

JC's borders seem to make sense to me. Newark does not. Newark should take Irvington and East Orange, that's a no-brainer. Maybe Orange, too. The resulting 400k city should be made NJ's 22 county, solving the suburban Essex secession issue. I believe someday the Newark light rail network will be rebuilt, and easily extended west into Irvington and East Orange. Maybe then these places will have a chance.

The only other obvious annexation candidate, IHMO, is Yonkers into the Bronx. The Yonkers government, especially the school board, is a total, complete joke, they should be all taken out back and shot. On the other hand, there are some suburban parts of Yonkers which would never want to merge with NYC.

And, oh yeah, when is something going to be done with the Meadowlands? Especially the part in Kearny, where the PATH and Northeast Corridor lines go? Seems like a total waste of land. Doesn't even function well as a park, far as I can tell. Perhaps Newark should annex to the east as well.

STT757

November 30th, 2006, 07:22 PM

I was born on Staten Island, my Mom was born on Staten Island, my Mom's side of the family is Dutch and date back to the original Dutch settlers of Staten Island.

We left Staten Island for the New Jersey Suburbs in 1978 when I was three, my Mom always says the two worst things to ever happen to Staten Island was the building of the Varrazano Bridge and the incorporation into the City of New York.

If Richmond County were left as a suburban County separate from the City such as Westchester, Nassau or even Suffolk County they would be way better off today.

The same would be said about merging Hoboken with Jersey City, the City is small enough to function. Don't fix what's not broken, everything is on the right track with Hoboken and Jersey City.

nafco

November 30th, 2006, 09:20 PM

That is a good point about Staten Island, but it is interesting to think about the Annexing in terms of economic reasons. If Jersey City anexed its closets neighbors, and they retained their names and all, like Brooklyn, Queens, S.I. and the Bronx do as all part of NYC, then a larger city under the blanket title of Jersey City might recieve more money as one from the government. It could consolidate its spendings instead of distributing them too much in one way or another to different towns and cities. I have no idea, thats just a guess on my part.

tbal

November 30th, 2006, 10:07 PM

I am praying to God that this is the wrong rendering - it certainly doesn't look anything like the rendering we saw at the Planning Board meeting...

$135M Funding Clears Path for 43-Story Build
By Eric Peterson (http://www.globest.com/cgi-bin/udt/im.author.contact.view?client_id=globest&story_id=151023&title=%24135M%20Funding%20Clears%20Path%20for%2043 %2DStory%20Build&author=Eric%20Peterson&address=http%3A//www.globest.com/news/792%5F792/newjersey/151023%2D1.html&summary=JERSEY%20CITY%2DWith%20planning%2Dboard%20 approval%20in%20the%20developer%27s%20back%20pocke t%20and%20funding%20in%20hand%2C%20work%20can%20st art%20on%20Fisher%20Development%26%23146%3Bs%20269 %2Dunit%20Hudson%20Exchange%20on%20this%20city%26% 23146%3Bs%20waterfront.)

http://www.globest.com/newspics/nej_hudsonexchange.jpg
Hudson Exchange

JERSEY CITY-In early October, this city’s planning board gave its OK to Fisher Development Associates for a 43-story condo tower on the Hudson River waterfront, and the Purchase, NY-based developer now has the financial backing it needs to start actual construction. The New York office of Fremont Investment & Loan has closed on $135 million in financing for construction of the building, which will rise at 2 Second St., opposite lower midtown Manhattan.

“We have had a successful relationship with Fisher Development, and we are enthusiastic about this well-located development and its sponsorship,” says Richard Smith, vice president and loan originator for Fremont’s New York regional commercial real estate office. “We were able to provide them with the comfort of having only one participating bank and, as a result, no syndication risk.”

That participating bank brought into the project by Fremont is Emigrant Savings Bank. Also involved in the project are the New York-based RCG Longview, which is an equity partner in the deal, and the New York-based investment advisory and management firm Ramius Capital Group Inc.

Named Hudson Exchange, the 436-foot-high tower that was approved in October by the planning board calls for a total of 269 residential condo units, many with outdoor terraces and most with city and water views. The base of the building will be a 60-foot-high parking deck with a total of 275 parking spaces. The site plan also calls for a 6,000-sf retail space that is expected to be occupied by a restaurant, as well as a marina and a waterfront walkway. The site itself is near the Newport Centre Mall and Newport Centre’s office and residential towers.

“I like building in Jersey City, and I have built here previously,” Brian Fisher of Fisher Development told planning board members at last month’s meeting at which the project was approved. “I want to get started as soon as possible,” he said, indicating that his company expects to break ground next spring and complete the project within a two-year time frame.

Fisher’s other two local projects include the $100-million Liberty Towers on Hudson Street, completed three years ago, and the earlier Liberty Terrace, also on Hudson Street.

investordude

November 30th, 2006, 10:39 PM

I think annexation would be a disaster for JC. One of the reasons people like it more than comparable parts of New York is you can get things done there. Bigger government has more beauracracy.

If Jersey City were really the dominant metropolitan area, it would make sense to do annexation to make itself bigger, but I think it should just continue to benefit from proximity to Manhattan without worrying about the kind of mega-infrastructure headaches New York faces. Just look at Atlantic Yards to see that these things are hard because so many different interests need to be heard to do anything without screwing some part of the population over, and that its probably not worth it unless you're really the main city for your metro area and therefore (hopefully, like Manhatta) has a large commercial tax base to offset the additional costs.

JCMAN320

November 30th, 2006, 10:47 PM

You make a good pont investordude I never thought of it that way.

Tbal I hope that it the wrong rendering it looks like the early Newport Towers. Can you describe the one you saw at the meeting I must have mised that one.

JCMAN320

November 30th, 2006, 11:27 PM

PSE&G, feds reach agreement on Jersey City plant

The federal government and a subsidiary of New Jersey-based Public Service Enterprise Group today settled a complaint that the company failed to install air pollution controls at two coal-fired power plants in New Jersey, including one in Jersey City that some activists say is the dirtiest in the state.

The settlement is subject to court approval and levies a $6 million civil penalty on PSEG Fossil, which is based in Newark. PSEG Fossil, a subsidiary of PSEG Power, also is required to do $3.25 million worth of work to reduce emissions.

EPA regional administrator Alan J. Steinberg said the agreement will improve the air quality for New Jersey and its neighboring states.

The EPA said PSEG failed to live up to its obligations under a 2002 consent decree saying the company had to install pollution control equipment at the coal-fired plants in Jersey City and Hamilton. PSEG did install the equipment at the Hamilton plant but not in Jersey City, federal authorities said.

The settlement allows PSEG Fossil to continue operating the Jersey City plant for four years beyond the existing Dec. 31, 2006, deadline for installing the equipment. PSEG Fossil must let federal authorities know by the end of next year whether it will install the additional emissions controls by the end of 2010, or plan to shut down the unit.

PSEG Power President Frank Cassidy said the agreement will "deliver the same or better amount of emissions reductions."

The New Jersey Public Interest Research Group last year found the Jersey City plant is the dirtiest in the state when it comes to the release of soot-forming sulfur dioxide. Nationally, it ranks 46th among 1,200 plants.

Radiohead

December 1st, 2006, 01:18 AM

Personally, I think think many townships in NJ need to be merged to reduce the costs of government. There are so many townships in a relatively small geographic area...each with it's own town administration, school board etc..... all on the public dole. Is it any wonder taxes are out of control and New Jerseyites are leaving en masse.

But is there too much municipal government or too much municipal government corruption? I believe the reason for the former is the latter. Nobody wants to rattle the cage, despite the state's unbearable tax burden on it's citizens.

I have seen residents of other states literally slack jawed when they hear the property tax rates in this state. It can not continue.

Back to Jersey City....it is a decent size and annexation isn't really necessary (though I wouldn't oppose it if it did happen...though it won't).

investordude

December 1st, 2006, 01:55 AM

Yes, i agree - I believe Teterboro Airport is its own city, for example. But like you say, that hardly applies to jersey city, or its neighbors (Bayonne, Hoboken, Newark, all major suburbs)

brunfuss

December 1st, 2006, 06:27 AM

i have a mixed view possible annexation myself. tho considering how small many of these nearby cities are, i don't see it as being very traumatic. the original boundaries of the cities would still exist, they'd all just now fall under the municipality of Jersey City. Hoboken could still elect representatives, only these reps would not be paid or receive pension :)

the fundamentals of local government would be handled by JC, each of the new additions could deal with their own conflicts of zoning, character, etc., only now they'll be bringing their decisions to a different city hall. worse comes to worse, they can de-annex themselves. we saw how quickly North Jersey towns split up in the early part of last century, what's easier, splitting up or combining?

like i said, NJ is gonna be pushing for consolidation in the future. and if i've been listening correctly, they said they may force some municipalities to merge.

Jersey has a lack of identifiable cities, sure everyone knows Atlantic City and Asbury Park, but many others are looked over completely. i don't see NJ as a mere suburb, NJ does benefit from proximity to NYC, but it is not just a landing ground for NY, it's home to millions of people, some of whom seldom set foot in NY.

tbal

December 2nd, 2006, 04:33 PM

Around the Powerhouse:

I guess the big news I have this week is that major demolition (exterior) has begun at 111 First Street. A few dozen workers were at the building this morning. Some 'chutes' on the side of the building bordering Washington Street were being dismantled:

http://i58.photobucket.com/albums/g245/jcwalkingman/JCPics10016.jpg

The corner of the building closest to Trump Plaza is being torn down:

http://i58.photobucket.com/albums/g245/jcwalkingman/JCPics10027.jpg

Trump Tower I is beginning to rise at a faster rate. (For the record, the parking structure still has openings along its East side, so that second tower is still looking like its going to happen):

http://i58.photobucket.com/albums/g245/jcwalkingman/JCPics10030.jpg

A shot from the corner of Washington and Morgan streets:

http://i58.photobucket.com/albums/g245/jcwalkingman/JCPics10015.jpg

Looking at the rising tower from Greene Street:

http://i58.photobucket.com/albums/g245/jcwalkingman/JCPics10028.jpg

Construction of the Athena tower is also moving along quickly, with brickwork having begun and a significant number of windows already in place. At the moment, it stands at 20 stories, so we have 13 more to go...

http://i58.photobucket.com/albums/g245/jcwalkingman/JCPics10024.jpg

Looking down Second Street:

http://i58.photobucket.com/albums/g245/jcwalkingman/JCPics10019.jpg

The tower as seen from Warren Street:

http://i58.photobucket.com/albums/g245/jcwalkingman/JCPics10025.jpg

tbal

December 2nd, 2006, 04:53 PM

Grove Street area:

All that is left now of the former lowrise that was between Metropolis Towers is a pile of dirt and rubble. I have heard that they expect to begin construction of the new parking garage and towers in the Spring:

http://i58.photobucket.com/albums/g245/jcwalkingman/JCPics10037.jpg

The retail section of Columbus Plaza is starting to look quite massive above Columbus drive:

http://i58.photobucket.com/albums/g245/jcwalkingman/JCPics10011.jpg

Workers continue to install windows on Columbus Tower I (it looks like all brickwork on the tower is now complete):

http://i58.photobucket.com/albums/g245/jcwalkingman/JCPics10014.jpg

Another shot of the tower:

http://i58.photobucket.com/albums/g245/jcwalkingman/JCPics10012.jpg

Grove Pointe's unique facade continues to climb the sides of the tower:

http://i58.photobucket.com/albums/g245/jcwalkingman/JCPics10038.jpg

Looking east down Christopher Columbus Drive:

http://i58.photobucket.com/albums/g245/jcwalkingman/JCPics10039.jpg

And finally, I stumbled across this excavator in the parking lot that currently occupies 109 Columbus Drive (a midrise building with 18 residential units has been approved for construction on this lot, but the excavator may be in use at the Grove PATH Plaza reconstruction and perhaps it is being stored temporarily here):

http://i58.photobucket.com/albums/g245/jcwalkingman/JCPics10040.jpg

tbal

December 2nd, 2006, 05:12 PM

Toward the South side of downtown, 77 Hudson's East Tower footings are in place and crews are beginning to backfill soil around them in preparation for pouring the first floor plate. Here's an overview of 77 Hudson site:

http://i58.photobucket.com/albums/g245/jcwalkingman/JCPics10032.jpg

Work continues on the exterior of Gull's Cove Building I:

http://i58.photobucket.com/albums/g245/jcwalkingman/JCPics10034.jpg

Looking southeast from Grand Street:

http://i58.photobucket.com/albums/g245/jcwalkingman/JCPics10036.jpg

The third floor is taking shape at the Westin Jersey City:

http://i58.photobucket.com/albums/g245/jcwalkingman/JCPics10020.jpg

Looking at the site from above:

http://i58.photobucket.com/albums/g245/jcwalkingman/JCPics10023.jpg

I am hoping to get pictures tomorrow of The Beacon, The Cliffs, Shore Club North Tower, 833 Jersey Avenue (if any progress has been made), Hamilton Square (St. Francis' main building was demolished within the past week or so), Shroeder Lofts, and of course American Can.

ianmac47

December 2nd, 2006, 08:30 PM

You beat me to the punch with a number of photos, so I thought I'd return the favor:

Schroeder Lofts
http://newyorkssixth.com/newyorkssixthphotoblog/dec022006/schroeder1202-4-small.jpg

More of Schroeder (http://newyorkssixth.com/newyorkssixthphotoblog/labels/Schroeder%20Lofts.html)

[/URL]

The Shore Club
http://newyorkssixth.com/newyorkssixthphotoblog/dec022006/shoreclub1202-4-small.jpg

[URL="http://newyorkssixth.com/newyorkssixthphotoblog/labels/Shore%20Club.html"]More of the Shore Club (http://newyorkssixth.com/newyorkssixthphotoblog/labels/Schroeder%20Lofts.html)

Cliffs Lofts
http://newyorkssixth.com/newyorkssixthphotoblog/dec022006/thecliffs1202-3-small.jpg

More of the Cliffs (http://newyorkssixth.com/newyorkssixthphotoblog/labels/The%20Cliffs.html)

833 Jersey Ave.
http://newyorkssixth.com/newyorkssixthphotoblog/dec022006/833jersey1202-1-small.jpg
More of 833 (http://newyorkssixth.com/newyorkssixthphotoblog/labels/833%20Jersey%20Ave.html)

lofter1

December 2nd, 2006, 08:38 PM

pianoman11686

December 2nd, 2006, 11:42 PM

Jeez, a lot of those towers have some large footprints...

investordude

December 3rd, 2006, 01:27 AM

I realize the newport center has a gym with an indoor pool, but that's really more like a standalone gym than an "elevator ride away" indoor pool. I'm trying to understand why - LIC has an indoor pool in Arris Lofts and I believe the next Rockrose building will have one - and downtown Brooklyn is getting one in the Oro Condos. Also, New Rochelle and White Plains both are getting some indoor pools with their high rises, as is EdgeWater.

So, it would seem an indoor pool works in large buildings outside Manhattan in "luxury enclaves." Given how popular the amenity is, why isn't it any of he new JC high rises [I'm talking residentail, not the hotels] - or am I wrong? Does JC zoning somehow frown on this, or is it just an oversight on the part of the developers not to pursue this market?

MrWolf

December 3rd, 2006, 03:53 AM

Not sure why that is, Investordude, but I don't think it's zoning b/c Grove Pointe and The Beacon definitely have pools (Trump also has a very nice outdoor pool). However, it does seem that there are more developments, than not, without this amenity (most notably the Shore Club which I found strange given their price and swankiness). I can only surmise that these developments are foregoing them due to cost and the thinking that pools are unnecessary in the JC market from a competition standpoint. In NYC, I think that the developments might be more "higher end" and may require this amenity due to their pricetag.

RYinNJ

December 3rd, 2006, 09:48 AM

For the life of me I do not understand the contrasting horizontal brick work on the Columbia Tower (in this (http://www.wirednewyork.com/forum/showpost.php?p=133719&postcount=1166) post).

If anything I'd think they would want to emphasize the verticality -- and use the contrasting bricks to reinforce that.

All I can say is :confused: :confused: :confused:
I agree with u, it is a bit strange. I did notice though, the other day while driving into manhatan through the lincoln tunnel, there is a building nearly identical to Columbus Tower on 42nd street. It was completed several years ago and i remember the reviews of the building at that time were describing it as a capucchino exploding. Columbus Tower has a similar quality!

TimmyG

December 3rd, 2006, 11:28 AM

Neglected area springs to life
'Powerhouse District' grows more powerful
Ricardo Kaulessar
Reporter staff writer 12/01/2006

In the Powerhouse Arts District (PAD) in Downtown Jersey City, warehouse buildings are morphing into residential housing and new stores are sprouting up. The area stretches east to west from Marin Blvd. to Washington Blvd. and from north to south from Second Street to Bay Street.

Its crown jewel is its namesake - the old Hudson and Manhattan Powerhouse building on Washington Boulevard. The boxy building once provided electricity for the massive Hudson Manhattan railroad (the precursor to the PATH system), and city officials have been recently considering turning it into a complex of stores and entertainment, as was done with the old Baltimore Power Station on Baltimore's the inner harbor.

In August, Dash Interiors, a contemporary furniture store, opened nearby at 140 Bay St.
And September saw an open house for the Waldo Lofts at 159 Second St., with 82 condo/loft units including seven set aside for artists.

But several historic buildings have remained dilapidated since the city officially designated the district for redevelopment in November. 2004. While the area is bustling in the daytime due to traffic and current construction, it becomes quieter when the sun sets.

Recent interviews with a business owner and a developer, as well as comments from residents, show that the Powerhouse Arts District is slowly turning into a thriving neighborhood.

Like Baltimore's inner harbor
Recent PAD resident Dr. Yi-Li Lin, a Julliard School of Music graduate and the founder of the Hoboken School of Music and Hoboken Orchestra, said her moving into the 140 Bay St. apartment in the new arts-oriented community was a "win-win" situation.

"[This district] has quite a stunning history, and we also have the Powerhouse right here," Lin said. "There are a number of artists living here, so there is no reason why we can't make this community a powerhouse of culture."

In July, the Jersey City Redevelopment Agency designated Baltimore-based developer David Kordish the developer of the Powerhouse building. Kordish developed the old Baltimore Power Plant into the ESPN Zone Restaurant and a Barnes and Noble bookstore on the waterfront.

In July, a city official said, "Five years from now, I see someone coming to the Powerhouse to go to the Barnes and Noble, and have a drink at a bar."

Construction of the original Powerhouse building started in 1906 and was completed in 1908. It is a steel-framed 200,000-square-foot edifice with its 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. During that time, Kordish had been negotiating with the city to become the developer.

Bike shop, furniture store
There are also several art galleries and a mass mailing firm among the new businesses opening recently in the PAD.

And Dan Levin, a Jersey City resident and owner of FastFrame, a framing shop in Hoboken, is working with a business associate to open a bike shop in the PAD by spring 2007 on the ground floor of 150 Bay St.

"It is a central location, which would make for a great arts and entertainment district," Levin said. "It's in the heart of what Downtown is. With Newport to the north, Paulus Hook to the south, historic districts to the west, it's a wonderful city center location."

Levin believes the extensive construction going on in the PAD will be a boon to his upcoming business, which he hopes will help residents negotiate the congested streets.

"There are really no other bike shops in Jersey City at all, so being the only one and the lack of competition gives a jump to deal with some of that," said Levin.

Ashley Redmond, co-owner of Dash Interiors, decided the area is worth the risk.

"We looked at it like you can pay more money to be in a space that has a lot of traffic walking by, or get a space that appeals to you and spend the rest of the money on advertising," said Redmond.

Dash is an upscale, contemporary furniture store operating in a restored warehouse space. The exposed pipes coming out of the ceiling reveal the building's former use.

Dash opened in July after Redmond and her business partner, Donna Kamps, the mother of her fiancé, spent months looking for a space in Hoboken and in downtown Jersey City.

"We just happened across the building by coincidence, and I just loved the space in here," said Redmond. "It led us to investigate more of what they are planning to do with the area, and we just decided to go for it."

Since then, the two are running a six-day ap week operation selling custom-made furniture.

'Now is the time to invest'
Jim Caufield and his brother Robert run Fields Development, a third generation Hoboken development company that has several projects ongoing in the PAD. These include Waldo Lofts, as well as joint ventures with Philadelphia-based Toll Brothers, such as The Hudson located at 142 Morgan St., and an unnamed project to be built on the site of the old Manischewitz factory on Marin Boulevard.

"We don't like building cookie-cutter, and this allows us to build some very unique structures," said Caufield. "We feel very strongly about the vision to create an arts destination."

James Lindemon is a principal in the architectural firm Lindemon Winckelmann Deupree Martin Russell & Associates, whose office is at 140 Bay St., which his firm designed. They are involved in several other projects in the district.

Lindemon, who has worked in Jersey City for 30 years, said, "now is the time to invest" in the PAD.

He added, "People like Vince Wilt came in and bought and renovated the warehouse that became 140 Bay St., and it is a bit of a risk. As I see it, if people come here in five years, they will have missed out. You have to think as a planner and see the bigger picture."

Pushing for a good quality of life
With new stores and plans for the Powerhouse Arts District in Jersey City, a community group has formed to make sure that the changes are for the best.

At the Nov. 8 City Council meeting, Janine Berger, a 140 Bay St. resident, told the council about increasing traffic and lack of parking due to the various construction projects in the area. Berger, a member of the Powerhouse Arts District Neighborhood Association (PADNA), started a Web site of photos, homepage.mac.com/janineberger/photoalbum26.html, to document this problem.

In the past, PADNA members also have come out against the city's legal settlement with the owners of 110 and 111 First St., which allowed the owners to build two towers on the properties that could reach as high as 60- and 40-plus stories.

PADNA President Richard Tomko has said in previous interviews this year that the district has over 150 residential units occupied, with hundreds to come next year, and over $75 million of private capital has been invested in the area in the last three years.

He and fellow PADNA members are hoping for development that they call "pedestrian friendly," "historically relevant," "art-centric," with "building height limits of approximately 10 to 17 stories." - RK

Ricardo Kaulessar can be reached at rkaulessar@hudsonreporter.com
©The Hudson Reporter 2006

injcsince81

December 3rd, 2006, 11:44 AM

They actually started tearing down the walls of 111 First, making room for the new Koolhaas building.

tbal

December 3rd, 2006, 04:41 PM

Here's a few snap-shots of some of the major reconstruction going on around the city-

First, as promised, here's what's going on at American Can (as you can see a few windows have been replaced on the upper floors):

http://i58.photobucket.com/albums/g245/jcwalkingman/JCPics10062.jpg

Looking up from St. Paul's Avenue:

http://i58.photobucket.com/albums/g245/jcwalkingman/JCPics10065-1.jpg

Viewing the complex from the corner of Tonnele Ave and Dey Street:

http://i58.photobucket.com/albums/g245/jcwalkingman/JCPics10050.jpg

Look at the contrast between the new & original windows:

http://i58.photobucket.com/albums/g245/jcwalkingman/JCPics10057.jpg

Heading South, here's a look at one of the buildings in Phase I of the Beacon:

http://i58.photobucket.com/albums/g245/jcwalkingman/JCPics10048.jpg

A ton of fill has been trucked in at the Northwest corner of the site:

http://i58.photobucket.com/albums/g245/jcwalkingman/JCPics10047.jpg

Some major underground utilities work is in progress through the center of the 'mini-city':

http://i58.photobucket.com/albums/g245/jcwalkingman/JCPics10049-1.jpg

Heading back to downtown, you can see below that a huge part of the main building at St. Francis has been torn down to make way for the new Hamilton Square:

http://i58.photobucket.com/albums/g245/jcwalkingman/JCPics10070.jpg

Overview of the demo site:

http://i58.photobucket.com/albums/g245/jcwalkingman/JCPics10071.jpg

One last look:

http://i58.photobucket.com/albums/g245/jcwalkingman/JCPics10072.jpg

JCMAN320

December 3rd, 2006, 08:47 PM

Thanks Tbal. Badger I'am sorry I just have been incredibly busy that I haven't had the tme to swing by there with work and my classes at college and being on the swim team. Tbal thank you very much for doing that for badger.

It's great to see the Powerhouse Art District come alive. Pianoman said a while back tome to knock them all down (warehouses) and they are blight and are just an eyesore. Yea ok buddy! Just once again proves Jersey City is alive with energy and is just starting to tap into it's pontential. Jersey City is truly stepping out of New York's long cold dark shadow!

jersey7

December 3rd, 2006, 10:14 PM

Hey, I may be new but I've been reading this for months. lol. Just haven't been able to really contribute really to this thread until I visited Jersey City yesterday. I must say that the waterfront areas are much more modern-looking and clean than Manhattan. The views were great. I wish I had my digital camera around to take shots of Jersey City and New York but only had phone.:(

I'd like to take some shots and post it here next weekend.:D

JCMAN320

December 3rd, 2006, 10:23 PM

Jersey City holiday display a symbol to other municipalities

Colored lights, Christmas trees and menorahs are brightening town squares, but the legal landscape for such displays remains murky.

To honor year-end traditions of different religions and cultures without a lawsuit, experts say, look to Jersey City.

The state League of Municipalities provides towns with suggestions about how to handle holiday displays -- and most of their answers stem from "Schundler vs. ACLU," a state Supreme Court case that in 1999 upheld Jersey City's display as not endorsing a particular religion. Jersey City's display included non-religious items such as a snowman figure.

"The basic thing with the issue is that the state cannot appear to be promoting one religion over another. But within that general principal, there’s a lot of wiggle room," said Deborah Kole, the league's attorney.

Schools seeking guidance about holiday programs usually turn to the New Jersey School Boards Association, which also said it can’t provide ironclad rules.

"Schools can't promote religion or inhibit religion, but it's not so cut and dried as saying 'no religion in school,' or 'no Christmas in school,'" said association spokesman Michael Yaple.

He said most schools, as part of their educational program, have Christmas carols as well as music for Hanukkah and Kwanzaa.

Associated Press

JCMAN320

December 3rd, 2006, 11:32 PM

Courtesy of New Yorks Sixth.com:

Jersey City to Get Bookstore Downtown

Jersey City is about to get itself a bookstore. Normally the comings and goings of retail establishments are not exactly worthy of their own blog entry, but this is a bookstore after all, and when it comes down to it, we're bibliophiles through and through.

Imagine Atrium Books And Gifts is presently covered over in newspapers as they prepare to open. And, according to a sign on their front windows, the store intends to open December 8th.

Furthermore, according to a post on JCList, it seems the new bookstore is also looking for interesting folks to help run the place, and we like how the ad reads. Accordingly, applicants must "Have a demonstrated interest or background in books, particularly in any of the following areas (the more the better): fantasy, science fiction, graphic novels, imaginative fiction, science and technology, and health & wellness non-fiction." We're hoping this includes a bit of actual literary fiction too.

And, and of course, their soon to be website

pianoman11686

December 4th, 2006, 12:04 AM

Pianoman said a while back tome to knock them all down (warehouses) and they are blight and are just an eyesore. Yea ok buddy!

Not sure what you're referring to, or why I was even brought up in that post.

JCMAN320

December 4th, 2006, 01:04 AM

investordude

December 4th, 2006, 12:10 PM

lol, sorry, I had to tease a bit - http://nymag.com/news/features/25014/

Big article on Jersey City as the next place for hipsters to be - the claim is Brooklyn/Queens are no played out and so hot they are no longer for real cool people and so the next cool place is Jersey City. Not sure I really buy that, but its great publicity.

pianoman11686

December 4th, 2006, 03:23 PM

Just making a point when you said that we should tear them down way back like last year I don't even remember. Just using it as a point that many people not just you thought the place wouldn't succed. That's all.

Um, I'm actually fairly sure that I was talking about what I saw in Jersey City when I drove through parts of it, looking at certain developments that a family member was interested in. I don't ever recall arguing for widespread destruction of historic facilities that can be put back into good use as housing. It's something I'm very much in favor of.

Thanks anyway, though. Whatever makes you feel better. I don't mind when others attribute false statements or opinions to me.

JCMAN320

December 4th, 2006, 06:55 PM

Sry pianoman guess I get a lil over zealous.

LOL Investor no but I'am pounding my chest more and more after reading that article for my hometown. Jersey City is really that great. We suffer from a stigma of decades past and you know what the secret is out. The realization of Alexander Hamilton's dream of a great city rising on the West Bank of the Hudson is finally coming to fruition. New York cannot ignore Jersey City anymore. New York ignored it's own boroughs when this could have happened over there. Now they, the politicans, are kicking themselves in the ass everytime they drive down the West Side Highway. The secret on how great Jersey City is is out and the city is on the fast track and can't and won't be stopped. It has now spread beyond Downtown to the middle-class JC Heights, and on to Journal Square, to Lafayette, to the Westside, and hell even Greenville, which is still the city that has the biggest crime problem!

I mean hell New Yorkers are pissed now at how much press Jersey City is getting and were just getting started hell Downtown isn't even finished yet and the rest of the city is now starting to experience the wealth. Just think how much more New Yorkers are going to be pissed when ALL of Jersey City really hits stride in the next ten years. ;)

investordude

December 4th, 2006, 08:05 PM

One thing this are has going for it is there are 3 states competing for the same business, so if 1 politician screw up, the results in the other state are highly visible. I definitely agree with you that Jersey City's success is what has finally driven New York to pay attention to its own outer boroughs, which is good for everyone, in my opinion.

But I also knew your response to the NY mag article would be pouring gasoline on a flame when you read it :)

jersey7

December 4th, 2006, 09:55 PM

LocoAko

December 5th, 2006, 12:23 AM

As much as I love Jersey City, it's never going to beat Manhattan. Sorry, lol. But JC is getting better! :)

I can see the Hamilton Park building out of my school and when I eat lunch in Hamilton Park I see huge chunks of it just falling off and plumes of dust and stuff rising through the air.

JCMAN320

December 5th, 2006, 12:56 AM

Lol I'm not saying it's going to overtake Manhattan not at all. I'm just saying that Jersey City is coming into it's own as a city and will give comapnies and people a different a view on New Jersey and this area as a whole. People have come to know that there is life beyond Manhattan. That's all.

jersey

December 5th, 2006, 01:21 AM

The honest truth is that NYC and JC are fundamentally different and will never compete truthfully. But that doesn't mean either is better or worse. They are different. NYC has been a great place and it is even different than it was.

In NYC things are generally nicer and more available, but also crowded, expensive and inconvienent. Up until a while ago while you had fewer options but JC was more convienent, inexpensive, and easily accessible. Also there are just so many conviences to living here as opposed to manhattan, while being very convienent to the city. Here I have a car, cheaper gas, a big apartment and a rent lower than my friends in Manhattan. JC will eventually hit it's stride much like Hoboken has but in a bigger way, imho. With any hope some of the residential will slow down so that JC avoids building too many condos downtown instead of more retail and office space which I think there would be tremendous demand for.

While that article was somewhat positive, I thought the author was kind of a jerk with regards to how negative he was. Of course he is a brooklynite and I have to say that for the most part it is not that nice of a place, based on his metrics. It suffers from the same problems as downtown and his beloved Williamsburg is far, far, far uglier than most places in JC. Jersey City has one big problem downtown and I think it is being addressed, continuity. Between what is happening in Hamilton Park, Liberty Harbor North, and Newark Ave(Hopefully) then Downtown will not be so disjointed. It seems to me like the author zoomed right in on the biggest flaw downtown the area around brunswick at newark, all of the other areas are fairly nice. So in closing JC is today very nice and is only going to get better, his negative points I feel are still true to some extent in manhattan and definitely so in the outer boroughs, the big difference is in jersey building is easier so I think improvements will come soon.

I always have a problem with these people from where ever it is who have to live in "NY City" and have this jersey sucks attitude. As someone who is from the area, my great grand parents lived in JC and did so by choice, I hate this picture of NY as triumphant and NJ is in the shadow. Back in the day NJ's cities were vibrant Newark, JC, Camden, Paterson, etc were huge centers of industry and while not as fantastic as Manhattan, they were nice places in their own right where people wanted to live. Actually they were similar to Lower Manhattan of the time, some of my family lived their and honestly the lifestyle was very similar. Hopefully someday urban renewal will occur in NJ and this state can thrive with smart sustainable development.

badger2

December 5th, 2006, 09:46 AM

Tbal, thanks for the pics! have you heard anything on the development. I think I stated earlier that I was surprised work had begun without any marketing taking/in place. If this project moves forward, given the fact that it was originally planned to be completed in phases, I would be concerned that the market hasn't the legs to see this through completion. Individuals buying into the initial phase will find themselves living in an industrial wasteland of sorts if the developer does not have the wherewithall to see this through completion.

I will say, the windows make a big difference!

Thoughts?

worm

December 5th, 2006, 12:06 PM

badger2, next time you are walking around journal square, look up at the huge bill board above the the Loews. It's an advertisement for the luxury lofts available in the American Can bldg.

nafco

December 5th, 2006, 12:07 PM

I agree that the author definitely had some good points in terms of the continuity of the downtown area and I hope that the planning board is addressing this now and avoiding what mistakes were made in the past. A lot of streets dont meet other streets and the city allowed way too many big box stores with massive parking lots to destroy the urban fabric of the city as well.

Its good to see developments like Liberty Harbor North being done respectively to an urban layout and hopefully more projects like the proposed Metropolitan will begin to infill and replace existing box stores and parking lots. Even a garage is better than a lot in any city. Does anyone know by the way speaking of the Metropolitan what its footprint will be in its site? How much space is it actually taking away from that plaza?

JCMAN320

December 5th, 2006, 02:01 PM

The Metropolitan will take up the entie footprint of Pepboys and then some. People the city is taking steps to make up for past mistakes. They are going to redevelop that whole block section surrounded by Jersey, Newark, Aves and Christopher Columbus Drive. Also that big Metro PLaza mall will give way to smarter development. Jersey City is taking steps to correct past mistakes so not to worry. The city will only get better with time. I agree with Jersey. New Yorkers, have to stop having this Jersey sucks attitude. It's so old and played out. New Jersey is a great freggin place to live. I'am thankful everyday for being born and and beign from New Jersey. All my loyal Jerseyeans trust me the Jersey sucks attitude will change. You can't keep a good secret hidden for long.

Also the office developement will come back. At Harborside all those big parking lots will soon be office buildings. Harborside 4 is already approved and awating the go ahead once the market comes back and so it Harborside 7, which will be taller than the GS Building. Speaking of GS they will soon start building an office tower next to GS and Merril Lynch still owns that site next to 101 Hudson St. Also in Newport Lefrak has stated that once the development starts pushing towards Hoboken Terminal, he would like to put a couple more office buildings next to it. Personally I would like teh JSQ Towers to have one for residential and the other for office. There is a surplus of office space still at JSQ so once those towers are built I expect to see more office buildings built up there. JC is by no where built out office space wise!!

investordude

December 5th, 2006, 03:11 PM

I think the Liberty Harbor North project has 4.5 million square feet of office space planned in it, doesn't it? Seems like that could attract office space for higher end clients and small businesses started by the skilled tech savvy immigrants flocking to Jersey City.

JSQ, however, I think will go residential before office because its worth more as residential space. I'd think tenants looking for cheap office space in that area would opt for Newark because you don't have residential developers wanting the same land so acquisition I'd guess is way cheaper.

I could be wrong though.

ianmac47

December 5th, 2006, 03:20 PM

As the open land downtown disappears, so will the box stores. Newport will be built out in the next 10 to 20 years. So will the area between 10th and 14th streets. I believe it was Le Corbusier who once said "A skyscraper is a machine that makes the land pay." Once there are no empty lots downtown, the value of the land will be so great that it will make financial sense to knock down big box stores and rip up parking lots to build towers and garages to maximize the value of the land undearneath.

badger2

December 5th, 2006, 06:35 PM

JCMan,

Is GS actually supposed to start building the 2nd tower soon? I knew they got approval, but had a sneaking suspicion it was merely to increase the value before selling off the entire parcel -

JCMAN320

December 5th, 2006, 06:55 PM

Well Badger it was my impression from the council meeting was that the council wasn't going to approve the project if they were just going to sell it and not build.

Exerpt from the article in the Jersey City Reporter:

"In the ordinance approved by the council allowing for the changes to the plan, it is stated that the reason is that "Goldman Sachs owns the site and has constructed an underground parking garage under this site" and "The original plan for this site as a worldwide training center has changed and the concept has emerged for a Goldman Sachs campus centered on the Hudson River."

But there are questions about Goldman Sachs seeking to build a new, taller building at a time when their 30 Hudson St. location is filled to half-capacity with employees. The company is also constructing a new headquarters in Lower Manhattan near Battery Park.

Goldman Sachs executive Timor Galen said during the council meeting that the proposed new tower for 50 Hudson St. was necessary to redistribute the workforce between 30 Hudson St. and the future Lower Manhattan headquarters. He also said by next year he expects the 30 Hudson St. building to be "two-thirds" full."

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

I don't know how soon they will build. More lights have been coming on in the higher floors now so maybe once they fill it the first one like they said they will start this one. I also light up the current big sucker they built like it's suppose to be. The reason I heard that they didn't want to light it was because they didn't want it to be terrorist traget right after 9/11. Well they better light it now!!

investordude

December 5th, 2006, 08:12 PM

What's wrong with them selling the office to another developer? Just rezone it - if another tenant comes to build either office or residentail super tall there, so what? It's all good.

tbal

December 6th, 2006, 12:59 AM

badger2 - I'm glad i could help out. I'd really never been to American Can before, and it looked amazing. The new windows do make an enormous difference. The building is going to look unbelievable when it is finished.

As far as GS is concerned, they are building in Downtown Manhattan at present, so they will need to fill that building first. In addition, the GS Tower in Downtown JC still isn't even 2/3 occupied.

As much as I would love to see that new GS tower rise on the JC waterfront today, I think we are at least 2-3 years away from seeing the beginning of construction.

investordude

December 6th, 2006, 06:03 PM

I know this is actually outside Jersey City, but I guess its part of Greater Jersey City :). Scroll down to the end for the Pegasus Project. Apparently, the plan is to convert the Harrison Path into a 3000 house residential area with new streets and demolish the ugly factories which forever emblazon a negative perception of New Jersey on the large number of people who see them. No plan to make the turnpike pretty though.

Still, I think this is great news for Jersey City, and especially great news for Newark, which needs a more attractive gateway to change its reputation.

http://www.therealdeal.net/issues/DECEMBER_2006/1164932310.php

investordude

December 6th, 2006, 06:06 PM

i found the website for the Pegaus Group project - unfortunately its describes as "on the drawing boards" which doesn't sound that close to fruition to me. Still, the drawings should get you excited - looks a heck of a lot better than what's there now, that's for sure.

http://www.thepegasusgroup.com/drawing.html

jersey7

December 6th, 2006, 07:11 PM

I think in order to sustain such large numbers of new people coming in with all this development, Jersey City should focus on creating massive transportation projects. Sure, the light rail and PATH has done a lot and still has the capacity for more, but we should look towards the future and build subways. Newark has one and its doing fine, so why not us! But seriously, thinking about the long term, it would be great if Jersey City built an extensive subway system in the long term and if highly successful at making this city a great city, it would serve as an archetype for other cities in New Jersey. Just my 2 cents.:D

ramvid01

December 6th, 2006, 08:34 PM

TimmyG

December 6th, 2006, 09:51 PM

Something like that would be great. It's too bad the money probably won't be there for it for a long time.

tbal

December 6th, 2006, 10:30 PM

An additonal PATH tunnel under the Hudson or subway system through Jersey City will not happen within most of our lifetimes. There are too much politics involved, it would cost well over $1 billion for a subway system that would do anything at all to increase commuter capacity, and most residents here would fight against it because they wouldn't want to put up with the noise, disruption, and all the other troubles that construction brings to a developed area. Heck, people are even bothered by the small amount of construction going on during the rebuilding of the Grove PATH station. AND THAT'S JUST A STATION!

Once someone from the Port Authority decides to establish a proposal for another tunnel or subway system in JC, it will take probably a decade before anything concrete takes root (just look at the Trans-Hudson Express Tunnel, which has been in the works for about a decade already, and isn't supposed to be completed until 2016 at the earliest - and keep in mind that funding for that new line is coming from multiple organizations - from the Port Authority, from NJ Transit, from the federal government, and additional funding from the state governments of both NY and NJ).

Investordude - as far as the Pegasus project goes, it is already practically under construction (well, they have been doing major site preparation for at least several months now at the Pegasus site...and the site owned by Advance Realty has been under demolition/construction since September, so it looks like developers are still feeling very confident in the prospects of the Harrison residential market). Anyway, that's a Harrison topic - post it in the Harrison thread!!:) :p

jersey7

December 7th, 2006, 12:22 AM

I think that in the short term, they should build subways in Jersey City. Then in the long term, connect these new subways to Manhattan. Its like how they have it in Asia, they don't call it a 'city' subway system, but rather a 'metropolitan' subway system(and it works extremely well). Now, about the greedy politicians...:mad:

Also, I've seen in Taiwan, not sure though, but I heard they have a light rail system that goes the entire length of the island(and now a high-speed rail). It is truly a shame what politics has caused.

We should steal billions of dollars out of the half a TRILLION dollar defense budget. Hehe, there's money for that now.;)

investordude

December 7th, 2006, 10:06 AM

nafco

December 7th, 2006, 10:39 AM

I dont think anyone can say anything about there not being progress in the area in the last 10 years in terms of mass transit. The development of the light rail was actually pretty impressive in how orderly and quickly it was done.

Subways are expensive, and I think since the light rail proved a good model for the city, it should be redone in areas where there is no real connection to anything else like the large part of the city east of lincoln park and between the path and the west end ave stop. a connection to at least existing stops and maybe the secaucas junction might help connect the city a lot and reduce car traffic there.

JCMAN320

December 7th, 2006, 01:54 PM

Not just a development but a community
Liberty Harbor North to open for occupancy
http://images.zwire.com/local/Z/ZWIRE1291/zwire/images/2006/12/story/12liberty03a_story.jpg

Ricardo Kaulessar
Reporter staff writer 12/01/2006

It is a project spanning over 20 years, 80 acres, about 10,000 residential units, five million square feet of retail and office space combined, and 27 new city blocks.

Liberty Harbor, also known as Liberty Harbor North, is a community in the making, located in Downtown Jersey City, from Grand Street to the Morris Canal overlooking Liberty State Park and from Jersey Avenue to Marin Boulevard.

Next October it will officially open for occupancy.

The 215 condominium units of the 667 total units being built in the first phase of this three-phase project are up for sale, with approximately 50 percent sold as of Thanksgiving Day.

Sales are starting at $300,000 for studios to upwards of $1.7 million for townhouse suites.

Opening up, not closing in

Former North Bergen attorney Peter Mocco, the developer of Liberty Harbor, excitedly showed off its state-of-art security system. A mini-screen placed on the wall of each unit shows views from various cameras stationed at different points in the building. And a wireless, computerized system will allow residents anywhere outside the vicinity to keep an eye on their home and neighborhood via the Internet.

"You can see your neighborhood from anywhere in the world," said Mocco.

Mocco was also proud of the marble kitchen countertops displayed in the showroom at Liberty Harbor's main office on Grand Street, plus the wooden floors and Viking stoves.

When completed, Liberty Harbor will liken to a small city with a projected population of over 20,000 people, which Mocco said armed security will patrol.

Liberty Harbor changed in its initial community layout after 1999. Starting in 1984, the plan was for a gated community to monitor those arriving and leaving. But in 1999, former Mayor Bret Schundler recommended to Mocco the Miami architect Andres Duany, who proposed a new direction that called for opening up the area.

"The plan back in the 1980s was to create a very safe, very secure, walled in community," said Mocco. "The new concept was to throw all the doors open."

Delegating the design to multiple architects' styles reflected this openness.

"I decided I didn't want to be cookie cutter, so I hired different architects to design different parts of Liberty Harbor," said Mocco.

When will it be completed?

For the project's completion, Mocco said another 10 years and at least another $3 billion dollars will be needed.

Mocco did not precisely address how the completion will play out and he only chose to wax hopeful about the Herculean endeavor.

"Back in 1985, I always saw Liberty Harbor as truly a world-class location," said Mocco.

"At the time, it was a series of abandoned, ramshackle shacks, some industrial-type buildings. I saw that, properly developed, this site would join the Paulus Hook and Van Vorst historic districts, and fill in a very critical landmass providing access to the waterfront."

Mocco bought the 70-plus acres of land that became Liberty Harbor from the Jersey City Employees' Retirement Fund in 1985 for $880,000.

Mocco added there could possibly be a hiatus in the project if he doesn't make enough unit sales, which were slated to fund the rest of the project.

Things to consider

With the public's concerns about high-end housing like Liberty Harbor replacing moderate-income housing in the city, Mocco was asked if the upcoming community would include affordable options.

Mocco said he would consider building housing for seniors similar to the Hamilton Park Health Care Center, a nursing home at 533 Monmouth St. that he built in the late 1980s.

Ricardo Kaulessar can be reached at rkaulessar@hudsonreporter.com

JCMAN320

December 7th, 2006, 02:21 PM

Guys here is a new addition to the new magazines that have popped up about the greatness of Jersey City!!

http://www.wearenew.com/
This site is about the contemporary art scene is Jersey City which is huge and outside Soho we probably have one of the biggest artist studio tour in the Northeast as well as very large artist population

http://www.wearenew.com/local/
Here is the local blog for it. This site along with others are worth saving to favorites if you are interesting in becoming Jersey City lover or just want to know more about this great little big city just on the other side of the Hudson.

http://jerseycityvibe.com/ - All you want to know about JC life right here!

http://newyorkssixth.com/ - Yes they are officially calling JC NY's "sixth borough"!

http://www.conveyermag.com/issue1.html - What makes Jersey City distinct from other cities? How does life differ here? What does it feel like walking on this city’s streets? These questions form the voice of CONVEYER, an occasional publication about Jersey City. Through the use of imagemaking and storytelling, CONVEYER attempts to articulate and document this city’s “sense of place” — the things that distinguish Jersey City from cities like Brooklyn, NY (courtesy of wearenew.com)

JCMAN320

December 7th, 2006, 04:39 PM

City offices open at the MLK Hub

The Jersey City Division of Commerce and the Police Department’s Community Relations Unit have a new home - at the Martin Luther King Drive Hub, a federally funded urban renewal project anchored by a supermarket and other retail outlets.

“The City is committed to furthering its investment at the MLK Hub, and by housing some of our offices here we hope to continue in its flourishing success and continue to provide our residents with efficient and improved City services,” Mayor Jerramiah Healy said in a written statement.

The mayor and other city officials were scheduled to attend a ribbon-cutting at the site today.

The 83,000-square-foot Hub plaza, which opened in 1999, has been plagued by financial problems in recent years and infighting among the non-profit groups charged with running it.

The Jersey City Division of Commerce, which has recently moved from 30 Montgomery St., is primarily responsible for the licensing of taxi drivers, sidewalk cafes, auto repair, alcohol and beverage control, weights and measures, bingo, raffles to name a few.

The police Community Relations Unit was relocated from 325 Palisade Ave.; its officers are involved with block watch organizations, gang awareness programs for youths and other community-oriented programs.

The hours of operation for the Division of Commerce are 8:30 a.m. to 3:45 p.m. Monday to Friday, and the contact number is 201-547-5139. The Community Relations Unit is open to the public from 7 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. daily and may be contacted at (201) 547-5682.

jersey7

December 7th, 2006, 07:50 PM

Subways are expensive to build, and you already have the PATH and light rail and ferries. If you're going to blow that kind of money, spend it on things that can differentiate JC from New York, like excellent public schools. The schools along the waterfront may be good, but island they are a mixed bag.

I really think its hard to make the argument that transit spending in Jersey City is inadequate.

My argument was not that Jersey City lacked enough transit funds and we should "blow" money at it, but rather an idea for the future. Like in 1956 when the Federal Highway Act was approved, there was enough rail at the time to haul much of the nation's freight. No doubt that it took bucket loads of money to build highways but it benefited the nation as a whole in the longterm. Just as highways benefited the nation as a whole, so too would a diversification of public transit, including subways. Of course its expensive, but there's such an unmeasurable amount of benefit that will occur. Think of Verizon spending billions of dollars to place in fiber optics for all its markets in 22 states, or China spending about a quarter of a trillion dollars for Chongqing city alone.

However, it was a good discussion.:D

z22

December 7th, 2006, 11:46 PM

http://www.wearenew.com/local/
Here is the local blog for it. This site along with others are worth saving to favorites if you are interesting in becoming Jersey City lover or just want to know more about this great little big city just on the other side of the Hudson.

JCMAN, see the link above. Somehow you manage to keep your promise on posting photos of American Can for Badger, LOL...

JCMAN320

December 8th, 2006, 12:40 AM

LMAO!!! True that z22, I still find a way. That is one way of marketing the building. Put artist work in the windows that can be seen for miles! ;)

jersey7

December 8th, 2006, 04:34 PM

Yeah, I saw that "GREEN" sign on the building over at 1&9 when I was in Jersey City. They should do that on the Jersey City waterfront saying "NEW YORK, YOU GOT NOTHING AGAINST US!" or something. Hah.

tbal

December 11th, 2006, 02:05 PM

Hey guys...check this out - it looks like Harbor Lights is about to break ground (or maybe it already has???)-

From an email I recieved yesterday:

Dear Mr. ***,

We are pleased to announce that our Harbor Lights Condominiums Project being developed by Who Land & Development, LLC in conjunction with Powerhouse Land Development, LLC has been registered with the New Jersey Department of Community Affairs (Registration No. R-4175) and those units are now available for purchase.

Please call 201-222-6055 and ask for Michael, David, or Michele to schedule a sales appointment if you are interested in purchasing a unit at Harbor Lights.

PROJECT OVERVIEW & LOCATION:
<LI class=MsoNormal style="TEXT-ALIGN: justify">New 153 unit high-rise condominium project comprised of 3 residential towers (Phase I, II and III) to be constructed over a 3 story underground parking garage and retail/art gallery/terrace level. <LI class=MsoNormal style="TEXT-ALIGN: justify">Located in the Powerhouse Arts District (PAD) in Downtown Jersey City, between First and Second Streets fronting on Marin Boulevard. <LI class=MsoNormal style="TEXT-ALIGN: justify">Individual towers will face West (Phase I), North (Phase II) and South (Phase III) and many units offer extraordinary views, including those of the Manhattan Skyline.
Conveniently located within 2 blocks of the Grove Street Path Train Station, providing a 7 minute rush hour commute to Wall Street and an 18-22 minute commute to midtown Manhattan. Also within 2 blocks of the Light Rail Train to Hoboken and Bayonne and located near the New York Ferry System serving lower and midtown Manhattan. The Holland Tunnel and New Jersey Turnpike (Exit 14C) are only a few minutes drive away.
FLOOR PLANS & PRICING:
<LI class=MsoNormal style="TEXT-ALIGN: justify">Units will range in size from 1200 to 1600+ square feet (SF), and are priced from $570,000 to $1,200,000.
Under the PAD Zoning Regulations all units shall have open designs with flexible floor plans allowing live/work spaces to be configured by the individual resident. Depending on unit size and location, buyer can determine anything from a loft-like configuration to a 3 bedroom unit. Each unit will have 2 bathrooms and kitchen.
AMENITIES:
<LI class=MsoNormal style="TEXT-ALIGN: justify">Functional: Each building will include oversize elevators, wide corridors and doors, sound proofing and high capacity ventilation to facilitate their use as artist residences. <LI class=MsoNormal style="TEXT-ALIGN: justify">Luxury: Units will include designer kitchens with stainless steel appliances, granite counter tops, hardwood flooring, tiled or marbled baths. Finishes such as cabinetry, granite, flooring, bathroom tile, paint colors, etc., will be selectable by the individual buyer to accommodate their personal tastes and style.
Other amenities include, but are not limited to, a semi-public terrace art exhibit area, art galleries, a health club and a heated rooftop pool.
FINANCING:
<LI class=MsoNormal style="TEXT-ALIGN: justify">By utilizing the unique Guaranteed Appreciation Mortgage Program sponsored by Who Land & Development, LLC, in cooperation with our participating lenders, monthly payments can start as low as $960 per month. <LI class=MsoNormal style="TEXT-ALIGN: justify">Note that good credit and employment history coupled with a household income of approximately $125,000 annually (or credit worthy co-signer) is required to qualify for the Guaranteed Appreciation Mortgage. <LI class=MsoNormal style="TEXT-ALIGN: justify">The mortgage program was developed for upwardly mobile buyers who wish to avoid being “house poor” and/or who wish to acquire property they may not otherwise be able to afford until 5 years later.
Ownership through this unique program will cost less than renting an equivalent unit.
TIMEFRAME:
Expected occupancy:
<LI class=MsoNormal style="TEXT-ALIGN: justify">Phase I: Building 1 – Fall 2007 <LI class=MsoNormal style="TEXT-ALIGN: justify">Phase II: Building 2 – Winter 2007/2008
Phase III: Building 3 – Fall 2008

We have also enclosed PRELIMINARY floor plans of the 4 basic layouts available (Phase I and II) and an architectural rendering of the project on a yet to be publicly released mailer (“The Key”).

Be assured that your name is on our prospect list and you will be offered the opportunity to purchase as soon as we begin sales.
Since its inception, Harbor Lights has generated a tremendous amount of ”buzz” and the response from word of mouth has been overwhelming, as is the interest in our financing program which has continually elicited the question, “How can that be done?” In the coming weeks, we will be scheduling informative weeknight sessions about the project and the financing program. These sessions will provide you with an opportunity to meet the developers directly, surpassing all the middlemen (sales agents) often associated with buying a home. If you would be interested in attending, please contact us (phone 201-222-6055) and we will reserve a spot for you.

Thank you again for your interest in our project. We look forward to working with you in the future and we will keep you informed of all developments as they occur.

Sincerely,

***
Harbor Lights Developer

JCMAN320

December 11th, 2006, 02:10 PM

MikeKruger

December 11th, 2006, 05:30 PM

Any ideas when they will do anything about the area including Journal Square and to the north on Tonelle & US1/9?
In my travel to the US and Canada I have seen few places looking as 3rd world as this one.

z22

December 11th, 2006, 09:15 PM

As Metropolis Tower begins construction soon, there looks like according to emporis.com that there could be two new towers built along Montgomery St. check it out:

http://www.emporis.com/en/wm/cx/?id=metropoliscondominiums-jerseycity

I think the first two new towers are what you see in the redering along the Columbus Drive. The buildings in Phase II and III, I think they will be much smaller.

tbal

December 11th, 2006, 10:02 PM

^There are only 2 more towers planned for Metropolis towers (there are already two in place). These two, if built, will be built along Columbus Drive.

One thing you have to understand about emporis.com is that it relies on information from people living in a certain area. A lot of the information on emporis is either inaccurate or not up-to-date.

As far as anyone in the public knows, the only thing that looks definite at the moment on the Metropolis Towers property is a new parking garage. However, it is reasonable to believe that the towers will be built after the parking garage is completed, as the parking garage is a huge investment and the only reason why they would suddenly need a parking garage is to make up for space lost by demolishing existing parking lot space, which would happen if Metrovest was to construct the two new additional towers.

The way I predict Metrovest developing the property is as follows:
1. Demolish lowrise structure between existing towers. (*DONE*)
2. Build new parking garage. (slated for Spring 2007)
3. Demolish parking lots that are no longer needed since new parking garage provides adequate parking space.
4. Construct new towers & retail space where parking lots used to be.

JCMAN320

December 12th, 2006, 02:59 AM

Well JSQ is gonna be completely overhauled in the next couple of years and the Tonnele Ave 1&9 corridor will be redevloped around Charollete Circle use to be. The DOT is ready to do major road reconstruction and new ramps leaing to the Whittpenn Bridge and they plan to replace that too.

Hey if your looking for 3rd world check out the Iron Triangle in Queens. It looks like Calcutta!!!

ianmac47

December 12th, 2006, 10:00 AM

Oy, sounds like the DOT is planning on making a five year long traffic nightmare. Not that I don't think something needs to be done with the circle, but the way they've handled the 139 / Turnpike reconstruction on the eastside of the Palisades is an utter disaster.

TimmyG

December 12th, 2006, 10:12 AM

Approval sought for towers on the Square
Tuesday, December 12, 2006 By KEN THORBOURNE
JOURNAL STAFF WRITER

A towering mixed-use development proposed for the heart of Journal Square is set to go before the Planning Board tonight for preliminary approvals.
The $350 million project will include two towers - one 54 stories, the other 47 - with 1,034 rental apartments, three levels of retail stores and parking, said representatives for the developer, Jersey City-based Harwood Properties.
Harwood is seeking about five "minor" changes to the area's redevelopment plan, said Eugene Paulino, the attorney representing the family-run firm. Most of the changes involve how far the project is from the street, he said. The redevelopment plan permits a six-story base while the developer has proposed a seven-story base, he added.
The city has condemned and turned over to Harwood Properties two out of three privately-owned properties on the dilapidated block next to the PATH Transportation Center.
City officials are continuing to negotiate for the third property, 15-16 Journal Square, which houses a McDonald's, Song's Hallmark, HT Wireless and a dentist's office.
Harwood Properties is under contract to buy a stretch of one-level buildings next to the train station - 1-7 Journal Square - from Ralph Tawil, a New York real estate investor who left Journal Square earlier this year after paying the city $1.1 million in building and fire code fines.
Harwood Properties is waiting to bring a development partner on board before buying the Tawil buildings, according to a source familiar with the project.
Three Brothers Pizza and Daily Tortillas are still operating out of Tawil-owned buildings.

JCMAN320

December 12th, 2006, 03:18 PM

Wow three levels of retail that is going to be great for JSQ!!!!!

JCMAN320

December 13th, 2006, 03:53 PM

Council moving to cut 'tear-down' incentives

Wednesday, December 13, 2006

The Jersey City City Council plans to introduce an ordinance tonight to stem the tide of developers practicing "tear-downs" - buying a single-family home on a large lot, ripping it down and replacing it with two smaller homes.

The special "R-1A" zone would apply to a few blocks - mostly within an area bordered by Gifford Avenue to the north, Harrison Avenue on the south, Bergen Avenue on the east and West Side Avenue on the west.

"This will make it much more difficult if not impossible to get a subdivision from the city and hopefully diminish the incentives to tear down these homes," said Jeff Wenger, principal planner for the city's Division of Planning.

"The gist of this is to protect the character of the district," Wenger added.

Originally, the new zone also was to include a swath of Greenville. But Ward A Councilman Michael Sottolano, who represents the area, objected on the grounds that the ordinance would diminish the value of the homes and the homeowners weren't fully informed.

The council meeting is scheduled for 6 p.m., City Hall, 280 Grove St.

KEN THORBOURNE

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

They should spread this zoning to Greenville too. it has a lot of victorian homes. :(

JCMAN320

December 13th, 2006, 04:14 PM

Planning Board tells developers: Meet with residents
Public opposed to pair of buildings on 10th Street

Ricardo Kaulessar
Reporter staff writer 12/08/2006

http://images.zwire.com/local/Z/ZWIRE1291/zwire/images/2006/12/story/12planning10a_story.jpg
This is a sketch of one of two apartment buildings proposed for construction on 10th Street in Jersey City by Newport Associates Development Company.

The Jersey City Planning Board at its Tuesday meeting was besieged by a public outcry over the proposed construction of a pair of 10th Street buildings.

The buildings, totaling 326 units and 260 parking spaces, will be constructed on 10th Street from Jersey Avenue to Monmouth Street.

Some neighborhood residents claimed the developers did not meet with them to discuss the project, and worried that the buildings would take away street parking.

The board postponed the ruling on the project until the developers could meet with the community.

On the railroad embankment

The two six-story buildings, named respectively the Grover Cleveland and Ulysses S. Grant apartments, would be built on top of stone walls that were once the Tenth Street Embankment, remnants of the old Erie Railroad that once ran through Jersey City.

The project includes widening Coles Street, which runs between the two buildings, to allow for two-way traffic for cars coming out of the buildings.

Not everyone was opposed to the project.

The project impressed resident Janet Allen, a member of the neighborhood association Friends of Hamilton Park, who read from a prepared statement.

"When I learned that the big-name developer Newport Associates had submitted plans to build on 10th Street and Hamilton Park, I was ecstatic," she said. "Six stories is no big deal."

But the prospect of building 58-foot buildings on top of Embankment walls between 12 to 13 feet high disturbed several residents who live across from the site.

Nancy Mahoney, a 10th Street resident, objected to the "factory" design of the buildings and to their presence in the area.

"I don't want a factory across the street from me - that is absurd," said Mahoney. "I am strongly opposed to over 66 feet above this wall. It would overshadow me and my neighbors."

Doug Herman, a Ninth Street resident, was concerned about the overflow of cars on city streets from residents of the proposed buildings.

Planning Board commissioners Roseanne Petruzelli and Michael Sottolano also objected to the developer not creating a parking spot for each unit. Planning Board Commissioner Leon Yost suggested to the developers that they build a two-story garage.

Other attendees were unhappy with not being fully informed about the project by the developers.

Differences of opinion

Bill Wissemann is a project engineer for Newport Associates Development Company, a subsidiary of the Lefrak Organization, which is constructing the buildings. He defended himself by saying he met with the board of the Hamilton Park Neighborhood Association, some of whose members live on 10th Street, and showed the plans for the project. He said the Association's board rejected the plans.

Sam Stoia, president of the Hamilton Park Neighborhood Association, said that Wissemann refused to meet with the other residents of his group, besides the board.

Planning Board Commissioner Leon Yost admonished Wissemann for not meeting with residents.

The board voted to carry the application until the next meeting this Tuesday to allow the developers to meet with the community beforehand.

Ricardo Kaulessar can be reached at rkaulessar@hudsonreporter.com

JCMAN320

December 14th, 2006, 04:25 AM

A 'large step' for Square's tall order

Thursday, December 14, 2006
By KEN THORBOURNE
JOURNAL STAFF WRITER

What would be the tallest building ever in Journal Square has received preliminary site plan approval from the Jersey City Planning Board.

The development - to be built adjacent to the Journal Square Transportation Center - calls for two mammoth towers, rising 52 and 46 stories, containing 1,034 apartments, 150,000 square feet of retail, and four levels of parking, officials said.

It would occupy the site of the block of buildings that once included the Hotel-on-the-Square.

This project "is going to bring life back to Journal Square," declared Planning Board Member Larry Eccleston, as he voted to move the development forward with some minor revisions.

Lowell Harwood, managing partner of Harwood Properties, the Jersey City-based developer, called the board's 8-0 vote, " a great move for Jersey City. One large step."

In the most detailed public presentation on the proposal to date, representatives of Harwood gave the Planning Board a PowerPoint presentation on the $350 million project, and even provided samples of the bricks and stone likely to be used in construction.

The first three levels of the project - including the basement - will be devoted to retail. On top of these floors will sit four levels of parking to accommodate 805 cars, they said.

The two towers will share a seven-story base, with the seventh floor housing some of the development's swankiest amenities, including an indoor swimming pool, roof garden, playground and dog run, and for each tower, a game room, conference room and fitness center.

The facade of the building will be a combination of brick, glass, metal panels and metal trim, representatives said. The four parking levels - accessible from Sip Avenue - will be camouflaged with visually interesting, shimmering signs, the representatives said.

The building will even have its own Times Square element - a wrap-around ticker giving news, sports and weather, one official said.

The Planning Board readily accepted a few minor deviations from the redevelopment plan for the area proposed by the developer, most of them having to do with setback requirements.

The most significant change requested by the Planning Board of the developer was to move the development slightly further west in order to expand the walkway from Sip Avenue to the Journal Square Transportation Center from 5 feet to 10 feet.

"That may be a problem structurally, but we are checking it out," attorney Eugene Paolino said.

Harwood hopes to break ground early next year and has said the project will take two years to build.

Mayor Jerramiah Healy sounded like he was looking forward to the groundbreaking.

"Many administrations over the past 15 years talked about doing something at Journal Square. We are doing something about it," he said yesterday.

RYinNJ

December 14th, 2006, 12:56 PM

The buildings will look much taller then they already are b/c of their location on top of the Palisades. From a distance they will really add to JC's skyline.

JCMAN320

December 14th, 2006, 01:02 PM

Oh most eefinately they are already 200 ft up on the Palisades and they will be 52 and 46 stories on top of that. Great addition to the Midtown JC skyline.

jcdude

December 14th, 2006, 07:13 PM

Well, they didn't do it. I'm told Mary Spinello, the west side city councilwomen pulled the ordinance off the city council adjenda. So much for that... it seems we need to elect some new people who actually care about our neighborhoods.

Council moving to cut 'tear-down' incentives

Wednesday, December 13, 2006

The Jersey City City Council plans to introduce an ordinance tonight to stem the tide of developers practicing "tear-downs" - buying a single-family home on a large lot, ripping it down and replacing it with two smaller homes.

The special "R-1A" zone would apply to a few blocks - mostly within an area bordered by Gifford Avenue to the north, Harrison Avenue on the south, Bergen Avenue on the east and West Side Avenue on the west.

"This will make it much more difficult if not impossible to get a subdivision from the city and hopefully diminish the incentives to tear down these homes," said Jeff Wenger, principal planner for the city's Division of Planning.

"The gist of this is to protect the character of the district," Wenger added.

Originally, the new zone also was to include a swath of Greenville. But Ward A Councilman Michael Sottolano, who represents the area, objected on the grounds that the ordinance would diminish the value of the homes and the homeowners weren't fully informed.

The council meeting is scheduled for 6 p.m., City Hall, 280 Grove St.

KEN THORBOURNE

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

They should spread this zoning to Greenville too. it has a lot of victorian homes. :(

JCMAN320

December 14th, 2006, 07:19 PM

Spinello is a witch for lack of a better word. She is not nice at all. I thought she cared about the great architectual character of the west side. I need to talk to some council people I know. Hopefulyl it will be on the docket for the next council meeting.

JCMAN320

December 15th, 2006, 01:12 PM

50 acres of new parks + 145 acres of old parks = $$$
Master plan calls for at least $75M to be spent on green space

Ricardo Kaulessar
Reporter staff writer 12/08/2006

If you want 50 more acres of parks in Jersey City, as well as upgrades to existing parks, you can now go to the internet to check out the preliminary draft of the city's recreation master plan.

But the upgrades won't be cheap, as a $75 million price tag has been estimated just to make recommended improvements in existing parks, and that's without spending millions more to add 50 more acres to the city's open space inventory of 145 acres.

At least two public meetings will be scheduled in January for residents and public officials to comment on the preliminary plan.

The plan notes that Jersey City, based on a state formula, should have 356 acres of open space and recreation land, meaning the city currently has a deficit of 211 acres.

Meetings coming in January

The plan, which looks at the city's 67 parks and open space areas, was put together between February and October by T&M Associates based in Middletown, N.J.

The preliminary draft is subject to changes and is not a definitive document.

Glenn Wrigley, director of the city's architecture department, said last week that the more than 150-page draft was posted on his department's website (www.cityofjerseycity.com/arch/) in late November. It can be downloaded.

Copies of the plan are also available for review at the City Clerk's office and all Jersey City Public Library branches. Also, copies can be purchased for $90 from the City Clerk after first filing an Open Public Records Act (OPRA) request.

Wrigley said that so far he has not gotten any feedback from Mayor Jerramiah Healy or any of the City Council members, or members of the public.

"We expect significant commentary in the next week or two," said Wrigley. "We just wanted to make sure this was in the hands of the public first so that they have time to study the document."

There were originally public meetings scheduled this month to discuss the plan, but officials felt that with the holidays here, they should give the public more time to look it over.

So the meetings originally scheduled for this month discuss the draft are being rescheduled for January.

Wrigley said several definite dates and locations will be posted on the architecture department website before the end of this year.

The color of money...and parks

It will take a lot of green to preserve and create a lot of green.

That's the conclusion made in the preliminary draft.

There are several specific projects mentioned for landmarks around the area.

For instance, there are two plans suggested for the city's now-defunct Reservoir No. 3.

The 13-acre reservoir, at Central, Summit, and Jefferson Avenues, used to provide water to the city. Now some city residents want it to provide recreation space, while others think it should just be a wildlife preserve.

Plan A for the reservoir would cost $21.1 million to turn it into an active recreation field. The plan says that if the area were to include a football field and baseball field, both synthetic turfs, those fields alone would cost $3.5 million.

Meanwhile, plan B for that park, at only $7.1 million, calls for a mix of active and passive recreation with a six-foot wide boardwalk for $60,000 and eight-foot wide nature trail costing $100,000.(I perfer this one)

Both concept plans also call for an elevated jogging path with fencing at an estimated cost of $1 million. However, before the reservoir ever becomes a park, there will have to be a complete inventory of the natural resources and assessment of the walls around the reserve.

Three other costly facelifts

Also demanding some major dollars is development of the city's portion of the Hackensack River Greenway, about 34 acres of land on the west side of the city, for an estimated $10.7 million.

The area, much of which is freshwater wetlands, would see two multi-purpose fields and a baseball field, all costing $4 million. Also, there would be parking for 120 cars with estimated cost of $450,000, and a boat launch area at $250,000.

Also with hefty costs are the $8.1 million cost for the proposed Berry Lane Park, a 14.7 acre athletic complex to be carved out of undeveloped land off Communipaw Avenue.

And $5 million is suggested for the proposed upgrading of Hamilton Park on West Hamilton Place. Plans would include rehabbing the gazebo in the middle of the park for $300,000 and creating two new playgrounds for $600,000, and a dog run at $100,000.

Show us the money

But the preliminary master plan also spells out ways to obtain the necessary funding for improvements and acquisition.

One suggestion is to create an open space trust fund, which would be placed on a ballot for approval by public referendum. People would pay based on their property taxes.

Hudson County itself had a trust fund where one cent per $100 of property tax is applied to the county's open space trust fund. The fund generated $4.2 million from 2005, to be used this year. It also received $1.2 million in state Green Acres grants as a result of having the trust fund in place.

The fund contributed to about a dozen projects for this year including four in Jersey City.

Setting priorities

The plan also prioritizes various park projects, including renovations of smaller parks.

Recommended for year one are certain park projects already underway, including the Apple Tree House on Academy Street, Edward Crincoli Park on Terrace Avenue and Thorne Street, Fitzgerald-Holata Park on Newark Avenue near the Grove Street PATH Station, J. Owen Grundy Park near Exchange Place, and York Street Park at the foot of York Street overlooking the Hudson River.

Other prioritized parks include Riverview-Fisk Park on Palisade Avenue and Ogden Avenue, Columbia Park on Kennedy Boulevard, and Summit-Cornelison Park on Clifton Place and Fairmount Avenue.

The public on the plan

During the year, there were public meetings held in the city's wards to discuss improvements to city parks. The feedback from those meetings was incorporated into the recommendations in the draft.

Some people who read the plan weighed in last week.

City Council President Mariano Vega said he had read through the entire plan. Vega is also the Department Of Parks, Engineering & Planning for Hudson County.

"As someone who deals with parks on a daily basis, this draft is a good blueprint to get us moving forward in our open space planning," said Vega. "Even if we deviate from what was recommended and don't accomplished everything, we at least know what we are deviating from."

But Vega had a few objections. He was concerned about a plan to turn the one-acre Veterans Park at Freedom Point into an active recreation site and 20-car parking lot.

Downtown Jersey City resident Dan Levin thought there was too much active space in the plan.

"The plan is very informative and identifies every park space in the city," said Levin. "But there are a lot of the recommendations that skew towards active recreation when there's a need for more passive space."

Ricardo Kaulessar can be reached at rkaulessar@hudsonreporter.com

LocoAko

December 16th, 2006, 02:54 AM

Wow - I cannot WAIT for those Journal Square towers! They will look amazing and really add to the feel of Journal Square. I have a feeling they'll take more than two years to build. And the traffic going through Journal Square in the morning nearly the terminal may be deadly. How exciting! Now just bring more development to the west side and I'll be happy. Are they even doing anything on the West Side? Mac's video is STILL Just sitting there and the new campus has barely been started. :(

tbal

December 16th, 2006, 03:58 PM

Merrill Lynch Boosts Jersey City Waterfront With 236,350-SF Expansion

By Paul Rosta -- CPN -- Dec 15

In a move that points to the growing strength of prime Jersey City waterfront office properties, Merrill Lynch & Co. is extending its lease at 101 Hudson Street to 236,350 square feet.

The property’s owner, Mack-Cali Realty Corp., could not be reached for comment this morning, but local sources said that Merrill Lynch uses the space for support and technology functions. Sources also report that Merrill Lynch was represented by Jones Lang LaSalle Inc. in the negotiations.

Merrill Lynch’s commitment is the latest example of tenant interest in the Jersey City waterfront, which is a brief train ride under the Hudson River from Downtown Manhattan. “The availabilities have become much, much tighter in the last six months,” said Mark Ravesloot, executive vice president with CB Richard Ellis Inc., which was not involved with the transaction.

Although the overall third-quarter vacancy rate for the waterfront submarket was 15 percent, that figure does not reflect the reduction in availability. For example, several towers in the 3.5 million-square-foot Harborside Plaza complex are effectively fully leased, and a 250,000-square-foot availability at Harborside Plaza 10 is available in portions as a sublease from Charles Schwab & Co., Ravesloot explained.

Other recent major leases in the submarket have included a 350,000-square-foot takedown by Citigroup at Newport Office Center VII and a 300,000-square-foot lease by Deutsche Bank at Harborside Plaza 1. Last month E*Trade Financial Corp. leased more than 106,500 square feet at Mack-Cali’s Harborside Financial Center.

“Obviously the tightening of space in New York (City) has fueled some of the growth,” Ravesloot told CPN. Rents in Jersey City hover in the range of $30-plus per square foot, a deep discount from the $80 to $100 per square foot frequently seen in Midtown Manhattan. Ravesloot added that some major prospective tenants are now exploring the possibility of new office projects on the Jersey City waterfront, where development has focused on high-end, high-rise residential in recent years.

JCMAN320

December 16th, 2006, 05:02 PM

JCMAN320

December 17th, 2006, 08:24 PM

With the 3 levels of retail at the Towers at JSQ it sounds like it's going to be like the shops at Columbus Circle! This is great for Jersey City and JSQ!! JSQ being easily accescible from all parts of JC, Hudson County, and even easily reachable from Newark and Manhattan will make this project a huge boost for the city!!

STT757

December 17th, 2006, 09:14 PM

I really hope with the growth of Jersey City the State of New Jersey will push for the Port Authority to go a head now with a PATH extension to Newark Airport instead of waiting to see what happens with NY's Lower Manhattan rail link plan.

JCMAN320

December 18th, 2006, 01:45 AM

Journal Square gets 1,034 units - and more
Two towers will include Times Square-like news ticker

Ricardo Kaulessar
Reporter staff writer 12/16/2006

http://images.zwire.com/local/Z/ZWIRE1291/zwire/images/2006/12/story/12jsquare17a_story.jpg
SHOWING OFF PLANS – Ted Hammer, architect for the two-tower project to be built in Journal Square, makes a presentation to the Planning Board on Tuesday.

Journal Square will see its first new major development project in years, as the Jersey City Planning Board approved at their Tuesday meeting two towers to be built near the Journal Square PATH Transportation Center.

The towers, at 52 and 46 stories respectively, will include 1,034 residential units and approximately 150,000 square feet of retail space with 805 parking spaces. The first three levels of the project, which will include a basement, are to be designated for retail. On top of the retail base will be the parking area.

The project, estimated at $350 million, is to be built by Jersey City-based developer Harwood Properties, known for the parking lots that they have operated in the Journal Square area for over 50 years, and as one of the developers of the State Square apartment complex on Kennedy Boulevard.

Lowell Harwood, the managing partner of Harwood Properties, attended Tuesday's meeting but did not comment on the project. Instead, the attorney for the project, Eugene Paolino, spoke about its impact.

"This project will bring life back to this part of Jersey City that has lacking for so long," he said, "and Mr. Harwood should be commended for having the vision to create a project that will do that."

Mayor Jerramiah Healy, upon hearing of the project's approval, said, "This represents a huge step forward for Jersey City and Journal Square. Lowell Harwood and his family have a longstanding history in Jersey City, and I am certain that this project will be spectacular for the Square and restore it to its original splendor."

Towering over Journal Square

At the meeting, the Planning Board was given a PowerPoint presentation of the preliminary site plan.

The attractive features of the towers include a Times Square-type wrap-around ticker displaying news, sports, and weather. There will be an on-site indoor swimming pool, a roof garden, playground, and dog run, and a fitness center.

Each tower will have game and conference rooms.

There will also be an entrance and exit for delivery trucks on Sip Avenue.

The board was informed that the project will cause the relocation of various features in the Square, including the 9/11 Memorial Fountain, cabstand, and kiosk.

The Planning Board requested that the development be moved further west in order to increase the width of the walkway from Sip Avenue to the Journal Square Transportation Center from five feet to 10 feet. Paolino said this movement could be done "if possible."

Planning Board Commissioner Michael Sottolano expressed concern that the project would bring in too many billboards and signage to the vicinity, but Paolino said the project is Jersey City's "answer to the Time Warner Building."

City Planner Maryanne Bucci-Carter commended the project but said there will have to be more work on the site plan.

Tom Leane, another project consultant, responded that it would be another nine months before plans are finalized, after which construction will commence.

The board concurred that the project is long overdue.

"Journal Square has suffered enough, and I am glad for its rebirth and rejuvenation," said Sottolano.

Journal Square turns residential

Robert Antonicello, the executive director of the Jersey City Redevelopment Agency, hailed the importance of the project's approval.

"This project signals the transition of Journal Square from a retail center to a more residential community," he said. "It will put Journal Square back on the map."

Antonicello said the project is part of a larger effort by the Healy administration and other city agencies to revitalize this long-neglected area.

Antonicello also said there will be a $1.2 million façade improvement program that will affect storefronts from Kennedy Boulevard to Bergen Avenue, as well as other initiatives.

"We are also looking to re-brand what Journal Square is about," said Antonicello. "Other improvements will include a new mural in Journal Square to be done by the city's Mural Arts Program."

Presently, two of three buildings that are on the site of Harwood's two-tower project have been acquired by the Redevelopment Agency on behalf of Harwood. Those two buildings contained a Wendy's restaurant and a greeting card store. Harwood is in the process of acquiring the third building, where a McDonald's is based.

Ricardo Kaulessar can be contacted at rkaulessar@hudsonreporter.com

JCMAN320

December 19th, 2006, 02:37 PM

Decision day on water plant site projects

Tuesday, December 19, 2006
By JARRETT RENSHAW
JOURNAL STAFF WRITER

The Jersey City Redevelopment Agency Board is expected today to select from two competing proposals for development projects on 10-acre swath of land adjacent to Liberty State Park dubbed the East Side water treatment plant site.

The site, which houses a Municipal Utilities Authority pump station, is bounded by the New Jersey Turnpike extension, Communipaw Avenue and Phillip Street.

G&S Investors pitched their plans to the JCRA board for a nine-screen movie theater, a children's museum and more than 300,000 feet of retail space at the site during its most recent meeting.

The development would attract "national" retail stores and feature three levels of retail and parking, G&S officials said.

They said the project would create 2,000 construction jobs and yield nearly $5 million in annual revenue to the city based on property and sales tax revenue projections.

Metrovest Equities, which is developing the former Jersey City Medical Center into a massive condominium complex called the Beacon, proposed to build a 250-room hotel and conference center at the water pump site.

The nine-story Liberty Hotel and Conference Center would feature a stone-and-glass facade and would include approximately 50,000 square feet of meeting and banquet space, a rooftop bar and pool, and a public plaza surrounded by retail and entertainment establishments.

Sam Pesin, president of the Friends of Liberty State Park, has urged the board to accept the Metrovest proposal, arguing it offers the "most compatible" use with the park.

The JCRA meeting, at its office at 30 Montgomery St., starts at 4 p.m.

JCMAN320

December 19th, 2006, 02:44 PM

Night garbage pickups start Jan. 7 in Jersey City

Tuesday, December 19, 2006
By KEN THORBOURNE
JOURNAL STAFF WRITER

To cut down on traffic congestion and make their process more efficient, Jersey City plans to start picking up garbage during the night, officials announced yesterday.

Beginning Jan. 7, the twice-weekly garbage pickup and once-a-week recyclable haul will take place Monday through Saturday from 10 p.m. to 6 a.m., officials said.

"This new initiative is advantageous to Jersey City in many ways," Jersey City Mayor Jerramiah Healy said. "Traffic congestion and pollution will be reduced, and night collection may serve as a deterrent for illegal activity or crime."

Four other municipalities in Hudson County, officials said, have overnight garbage pick-up: Guttenberg, Hoboken, Union City, and West New York.

Oren K. Dabney Sr., chief executive officer of the Jersey City Incinerator Authority, added that night-time pickups mean garbage will be on the street for a shorter period of time - reducing the problem of street people rummaging though receptacles left by the curb all night for bottles, aluminum, and other items considered of value.

JCMAN320

December 19th, 2006, 03:13 PM

This courtesy of NewYorkssixth.com. By the way I was right when I said the fences around the older developments will be coming down and here's futher proof for JC lovers and haters alike that Jersey City really won't be stopped. Hahaha enjoy!

From newyorkssixth.com:

Metropolis Expansion Revealed?
Rumors have been circulating all over the internet ever since Metropolis Towers began to demolish the low-rise strip mall between the two towers. Yet, with all the other construction projects around the site-- Grove Pointe, Columbus Plaza, and Gulls Cove just to name a few-- its easy to forget the potential of this lot.

According to the online portfolio of DMR Architects though, there will be three phase construction at the complex. Phase I will include two 25 Story towers with 420 units of apartments. These two are towers are perhaps the most hyped-- sort of like the Apple iPod Phone. Based on our own perceptions of the area compared with the renderings, we're thinking these towers will run along Columbus Drive, directly across the street from Columbus Tower & Plaza.

But what gets interesting is Phase II and III. DMR architects has a fairly extensive portfolio when it comes to urban redevelopment and urban in fill projects. And that's exactly what Metropolis Towers needs-- an urban landscape instead of bare parking lots fenced off from a vibrant downtown. In either case, according to the DMR website, a low or mid rise apartment complex and a similar office tower will fill out the rest of the site-- and there is plenty of room, particularly along Warren Street.

In either case, we've taking into consideration the two renderings as well as our own observations and pieced together a rough map of the planned construction.

http://www.dmrarchitects.com/portfolio_housing_metropolis.htm

The second rendering on the right show's that the two towers plus the lowrise portion will take away most of the fences and open it up. That second rendering on the right is of Montgomery St.

http://newyorkssixth.com/newyorkssixthphotoblog/2006/12/metropolis-towers-future-configuration.html

These two rendering show this configuration and now and after the new construction is done. The dotted outline on the lower right is the possible future construction of either retail/office or retail/residential building.

Also that area around the Grove St. PATH is going to become so so damm vibrant!!!!
I love it when my prophesies start to come true. ;)