Jersey City Rising

[JoeSas]

Abatement revise to be approved for two towers
Wednesday, April 23, 2008
By KEN THORBOURNE
JOURNAL STAFF WRITER

Persuaded by the developer that a two-tower development proposed for Downtown Jersey City is dead in the financial water without a new tax abatement deal, the Jersey City City Council is expected to introduce a new 10-year agreement for the project tonight.

In November 2006, Roseland Properties of Short Hills agreed to a 20-year tax abatement paying the city 16 percent of annual gross revenue to build Monaco North and Monaco South at the corner of Washington Boulevard and Sixth Street.

But given the downturn in the economy, the developer can't raise financing for the project without the shorter 10-year agreement, James McCann, the attorney for Roseland, told council members at their caucus Monday night.

The new agreement - negotiated by city administration officials - calls for payments to the city of 10 percent of gross annual revenue per year, amounting to roughly $1.8 million in "payments in lieu of taxes."

Downtown Councilman Steven Fulop complained the new deal will open the floodgates for other builders who signed tax abatement deals before the 10-year model was in place, namely the proposed second towers for Goldman Sachs and Trump Plaza Jersey City.

City Council President Mariano Vega said he was persuaded to support the new deal since "it gets my head out of the sand because I'm not an ostrich."

As a incentive to get the city to agree to the new deal, the developer relieved the city of its obligation to repay $1 million of roughly $2.4 million the developer pre-paid in taxes.

In addition, the developer agreed to give up more money if the project isn't completed by October 2011.

The project consists of two 47-story towers containing 524 market-rate rental units and a 10-story parking lot. Tonight's meeting is scheduled for 6 p.m., at Middle School 4, 107 Bright St.

[JCMAN320]

Stumbled upon the company doing the building at Warren and York Streets here in Jersey City. Millennium Homes is doing the building and on there site there is little information, you can however request information by signing up.

http://millenniumhomes.com/warrenatyork.html

[JCMAN320]

There is a future development site at the corner of Colden & Bates St., north of Grand St., and a block west of Monmouth St., that has recently changed hands. Ianmac states this on Newyorkssixth.com.

LWDMR & Associates had plans for a 12 story slender brick and glass building with 8 units with retail on the base. Mushroom Development now has it and the plans are for a 8 story industrial style loft building with 126 units and commercial space on the base.

For the Mushroom Development rendering go to properties > scroll right > Bates Project.

Went from this:
http://lwdmr.com/galleries/5/

To This:
http://www.mushroomdevelopment.com/

[ianmac47]

Mushroom actually had the same 12 story, brick and greenish glass rendering up for a while last year when they were suppose to break ground in the Spring. However, since they didn't break ground, I periodically checked the website looking for updates. Yesterday they altered the Bate's project image, with a new start date of 2008. Most of the other projects on their site are smaller 3 - 4 story buildings. I suspect that 12 stories was overly ambitious, and 7 seemed like a good step into bigger territory.

[ianmac47]

Actually, I may have been wrong. LWDMR Associates is listed as having done the rendering for the old bates, but it may not be the same as the the one listed:

http://www.lwdmr.com/galleries/5/

This is what Mushroom had originally on their site:
http://www.emporis.com/en/il/im/?id=532489

The rendering is from the same firm, but looking at it a second time, it may not be different renderings of the same building.

[JCMAN320]

Well Newport Mall is going very highend all of the sudden. When I was a young teen the mall was a joke, now it is gaining a highly reputable rep and bringing highend stores to Jersey City.

To start with there is over a 229,000 sg ft Macy's there, the JCPenny there is going to be converted into a 180,000sq ft Nordstrom. There is also a Sears and Kohls there. Additionally there is American Eagle, Coach, Gap, Baby Gap, Lady's Gap, Express Men and Women, Aldo, Whitehall Jewelers, Swarvzoki Crystal, Champs, Footlocker, Aeropostale, Forever 21, Bath and Body, Sephora, Victoria's Secret, Brookstone, FYE, Radioshack, etc...

Now in coming stores this summer are Armani Exchange and a Hollister, they are already starting the work on them. Also comming is Abercrombie & Fitch and Rehul No.925 that will replace Pay/Half. Aeropostale and Ashley Stewart are moving near Sears and Hot Topic and Aerie by American Eagle will move into their former spaces. They will also be doing over the movie theatre there, which needs it, to turn if from a Cineplex Odeon Theater and will be renamed AMC 11 Newport Center.

All of this for us in Jersey City is a HUGE deal, I cannot even overstate it. When I was a younger if you talked about an Armani Exchange coming to JC, people would have looked at you like you came from Pluto, the would laugh!!!

I can't wait for the City Center Towers in JSQ to get moving where it will have highend stores in it's base and spur more retail diversity through JSQ and give JC to retail area anchors.

[giselehaslice]

This is good news, Id much rather have a mall with high-end shoppes rather than creepy and crappy stores.

Were did you hear this news? Or is it just rumors?

[JCMAN320]

Thank you for reminding me Gisele I forgot to cite it, its on wikipedia. I know for a fact that the Hollister and Armani Exhcnage is coming because both there sheds have summer 2008 opening on them and you can hear work from behind them. Also the Abercrombie rumor has been circulating for a long while.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Newport_Center_Mall

[JCMAN320]

Also the long rumored Whole Foods that is suppose to be coming to the new Liberty Harbor neighborhood I think just might becoming reality soon. Reps of Whole Foods say that they would like to have a presence in JC and JC officials have had talks with them, but to no resolution yet.

One reason I think that it might be happening soon with some sort of deal is that Whole Foods has begun putting adverstisements for their various other stores in New Jersey on Jersey City buses that go no where near Whole Foods nearest JC location in Edgewater. I have seen them on numerouses buses that travel along JFK Blvd and on streets Downtown. To me this adds merrit to WFs looking to move to JC.

That location that it would move to from what I have heard on NYssixth.com is on the corner of Grand St. & Jersey Ave., where LH has there sales office now. On that site is set to be a 8-12 story apartment building with 30,000 sqft if retail and Whole Foods, along with Wegmans and Trader Joe's have been in talks on the retail site.

[citybooster]

That sounds really great,JCman!What of the city council meeting for the revision of the abatement status of the Monaco project...supposed to have been a couple of nights ago,but no word so far any way whether the Monaco will indeed have a chance at life soon.

[JCMAN320]

EDITORIALS
Bettering our own national treasure

Friday, April 25, 2008

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

[JCMAN320]

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

Here are the websites for Brunelleschi Construction and m650:

http://www.bruncon.com/

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

Enjoy!

[Malcontent]

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

[JCMAN320]

I believe you are correct malcontent

[ianmac47]

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

http://www.appliedco.com/aboutUs/pip...y_harbor.shtml

it shows the light rail at the base.