Jersey City Rising

[JCMAN320]

Great pic if only GS will lite up the steps around the crown it would be great. I think they might do it once they complete their campus here in Jersey City. Just wait till the Ellipse which will lite up, and The Met will light up as well and all these nbew buildings lights come on and fill in the gaps JC will be a beacon of vibrancy on the great New Jersey side of the Hudson River.

Hamilton Park in Weehawken best views of the Hudson County and NYC bar none makes it look utopian.

Also Jersey City with its reinvention of itself and its illustrious great history and Liberty State Park, along with Hoboken and its role in history and its unique feel, Weehawkens cliff side atmosphere, Bayonne with its Cape Liberty Cruise Port, the Light Rail connecting with the PATH, and Newark Airport linking with Hoboken and Jersey City; Jersey City and the rest of Hudson County are becoming more and more part of the NYC experience every year as we gain more and more press!!!

[Dagrecco82]

What a great entrance this makes for our area. I would love to come in on a cruise at night. Just imagine how it will look in 6 years, not just for Manhattan but also for Jersey City.





I really hate planes

[injcsince81]

I really hate planes

One word dagrecco82: Photoshop!

Great pics.

[TimmyG]

Council to weigh courthouse condos abatement deal
Wednesday, April 11, 2007 By KEN THORBOURNE
JOURNAL STAFF WRITER

Perhaps the third time will be the charm for developers seeking to turn the old courthouse building on Montgomery Street in Jersey City's McGinley Square into a 39-unit condo complex.
The developer, Imperial Properties of Pine Brook, approached the city several months ago seeking a 25-year tax abatement, paying the city 12 percent gross annual revenues. The standard tax abatement deal in the city is 20 years and 16 percent "payments in lieu of taxes."
The city's tax abatement committee, chaired by City Council President Mariano Vega, gave a thumbs up to the 25-year term, but kicked up the PILOT payment to 14 percent.
But when the matter came before the council last month, several council members balked at giving the project such a generous package.
The matter was tabled, renegotiated, and then at Monday's council caucus, the developers proposed a 20-year, 15 percent PILOT arrangement.
But several council members still weren't impressed.
"My fear is once you set a precedent you're stuck with it," said Heights Councilman Bill Gaughan. "I just want to know why this (project) deserves a discount."
The developers left the room for a huddle, and then returned to announced they'd agreed to a normal 20/16 tax abatement.
According to a chart prepared by developer's attorney, Eugene Paolino, the difference between this project paying 16 percent PILOTs and 15 percent PILOTs over the course of 20 years amounts to roughly $250,000.
The abatement is scheduled for introduction at tonight's meeting, starting at 5:30 p.m. at City Hall, 280 Grove St.

[Dagrecco82]

One word dagrecco82: Photoshop!

Great pics.

Definitely! I need to invest in one.

[JCMAN320]

Downtown dirt pile to be cleared

The Jersey City Redevelopment Agency has brokered a deal with a local developer to remove approximately 3,600 cubic yards of soil located on First Street, on what is called the Powerhouse Triangle.

"The mountain of soil is an eyesore and this is long overdue," JCRA Executive Director Bob Antonicello said today.

The dirt has been sitting on the city-owned property for some time now, as city officials waited to see whether it could be used in the construction projects in and around the Powerhouse Arts District neighborhood.

However, it was recently decided that the soil wouldn't be used for that and a local developer, Athena Urban Renewal, is now removing and hauling the dirt to city-owned property in the Grand Jersey Redevelopment area, saving the city the approximately $250,000 removal cost, Antonicello said.

Once cleared, the developer will use the city-owned property as a sales office for its neighboring "A" condominium building. It's unclear whether the developer is renting the land from the city, or receiving it exchange for removing the dirt.

Jarrett Renshaw

JCMAN Personal Note of the Night: I would love to see that triangle become a park. It the perfect spot for it. Must be incoporated into the city's new park master plan and mus be aquired or the developer of the Athena can do it like the developers of Grove Point did PATH Plaza over.

[nafco]

JCman, i agree and actually thought that before too. That would be a really good spot for a little park with benches and trees, not the kind in manhattan that are gated off where people cant actually go inside.

[JCMAN320]

Very true Nafco. Great minds.

[ianmac47]

What if anything is going to happen to Greene Street? Is it going to remain closed indefinitely?

[JCMAN320]

They have that small section of Greene St. closed off next to the Powerhouse because they have to sure up th Powerhouse from my guess. Once they do that it should open up.

[fronti]

A park would be nice, but living down the block a 24 hr deli/ bodega would be better.

[citybooster]

Anything come out of the rumor mill regarding the raising of 77 Hudson ten floors for a hotel?would that apply to both towers,rising to 600 feet or so?

JC MAN,you said the parking lot between Liberty Towers and 77 Hudson belonging to Goldman Sachs(Across from 30 and the future 50 Hudson towers-public plaza) would eventually be another GS tower of similar height to 30 Hudson,did I read you correctly?How many towers can GS ,who doesn't even have two thirds capacity filled at 30 Hudson as of yet ,and is already developing a major one in Lower Manhattan,seriously going to be capable of practically constructing....it seems 50 Hudson will be a tall order enough for GS to fill.

Finally,the delay of the Ellipse proposal going to the Jersey City Planning Board from this Tuesday a couple of weeks to April 24 at the request of Le Frak....what is the scuttlebutt about their reasoning in asking for a delay?Any changes in plans for the height or reduction in number of units,for instance?

[JCMAN320]

Well see what happens with 55 Hudson, Im not sure what GS will do it with i Just have seen a rough ideas for it. I haven't heard anything with 77 Hudson wiht addign a hoitel, would love more info though.

McGinley merchants poised for upswing

Friday, April 13, 2007
By COTTON DELO
JOURNAL STAFF WRITER

Though McGinley Square is removed from the more established niches of development and gentrification in Downtown Jersey City, lifelong resident Stephen Cunniff senses his neighborhood is ready to pop.

"Sometimes you've got to be the first kid on the block," said Cunniff, 43, whose second Imago Beauty Group - a high-end salon stocked exclusively with chic Aveda hair care products - will open for business on Monday at 673 Bergen Ave, near Fairview Avenue. A grand opening celebration will be held on Sunday from 4 to 7 p.m.

Having opened his flagship salon in Hoboken 10 years ago, Cunniff was contemplating flashy locations like Jersey City's upcoming Trump Plaza near the waterfront for his second shop.

In September, his friend Billy Santomauro persuaded him to open a salon in The Basilico - a 100-year-old brick building Santomauro had renovated and outfitted with 19 condos and two street-level commercial spaces.

Cunniff was swayed by the prospect of contributing to a renaissance in his own neighborhood - which had experienced the ravages of the local drug trade.

"'If you want to attract young, cool, hip people to live here, we've got to do something big,'" he recalled Santomauro - who also lives a short walk from The Basilico - saying.

Cunniff expects the salon to become a destination for out-of-towners in the mold of its Hoboken forerunner. He's also purchased the studio apartment above the salon and plans to eventually convert it into a space for massages.

"If you put the name 'Aveda' on the door, people will come," he said.

While Cunniff's love for the neighborhood reinforced his sense that a business would flourish there, newcomers are also seeing its potential.

Helen O'Brien-Parker, 30, moved to her Basilico condo in December and subsequently convinced her business partner, Kristin Reisinger, that the area would support the coffee shop they'd been scouting locations for Downtown. Pura Vida - a health conscious café serving salads, wraps and smoothies - opened on Tuesday.

Though some advisors warned her against setting up shop in an area that's experienced little gentrification to date, she believes the neighborhood is poised for an infusion of new people and businesses.

"Downtown was like this when my brother and sister opened up The Merchant five years ago," she said - referring to her siblings' wildly successful bar and restaurant on Grove Street. "I guess we're the pioneers."

COTTON DELO can be reached at cdelo@jjournal.com

[phresident]

They have that small section of Greene St. closed off next to the Powerhouse because they have to sure up th Powerhouse from my guess. Once they do that it should open up.

No need to guess. That small portion of Greene Street which is still closed because the city has not been able to put in traffic lights at 2nd and Washington. They can't because they gave away so much of the public right of way to the A Condominiums construction site. And, as that project kept creeping further and further out into the street (without being granted it) the city simply turned a blind eye to it.

Before anyone calls me anti-development, keep in mind that in Manhattan, much larger buildings are built in tighter spaces and the sidewalks are often kept open under construction bridges. If you want public right of way, you pay a hefty price for it.

But Jersey City is like the song from Oklahoma...a girl that can't say no.

[ianmac47]

Yeah, I have to say while I really like the Athena tower, those jackasses could be a little more efficient with their construction. I mean, not only do they have second street completely closed now for months, but on far too many occasions they have had washington st completely closed off. And I agree, they absolutely could be construct the building without taking up so much street and sidewalk.