Jersey City Rising

[tbal]

I'm sure they're making a pitch to Time-Warner, who is looking to consolidate its offices to a new location somewhere within the NYC area (they're supposedly considering Manhattan West, Hudson Yards, and the WTC already). From the NY Times via The Real Deal:


...btw - I think the actual footprint of the Marbella I tower is no larger than the Marbella II lot, though I could be wrong...keep in mind that Marbella I has a driveway/drop-off area. Time will tell I guess...

LeFrak awaits tenant to break ground on latest Jersey City office building

April 18, 2012 10:00AM


Jamie LeFrak and a rendering of Pier 6


The LeFrak Organization is all set to break ground on the latest new construction for its 25-years-in-the-making, $10 billion Newport development in Jersey City. According to the New York Times, all it needs is an office tenant. LeFrak has already erected 14 apartment buildings, seven office buildings and a shopping mall to Newport, but has recently slowed its development pace. The last office building went up in 2003.

It wants to start work on Pier 6, where it could add up to 1.25 million square feet of office space. The first building may rise to 17 stories, but its size would ultimately depend on what kind of tenant agrees to take space. A tenant would have to commit to at least 300,000 square feet to make the project feasible.

“We wouldn’t have stayed in business for 100 years if we were doing wild speculation,” said Jamie LeFrak, a principal of the company.

The complex is expected to cost $100 million to $300 million, and the rents will be far below Manhattan’s. The Hudson waterfront in New Jersey typically commands rent of about $38 per square foot for Class A space, but state tax credit programs could reduce the effective rents to about $20 per foot, the Times said.

As several financial firms, including Citigroup, Fidelity Investments and Depository Trust and Clearing Corporation, have made commitments to New Jersey from Manhattan of late, LeFrak expects a similar tenant to be the impetus for the Pier 6 groundbreaking. [NYT]
Tags: Jersey City, lefrak organization, newport

[citybooster]

Looks nice but if you're going to build on that premier waterfront location,thry're only going 17 stories?Hell,Harborside VII is 31 stories,455 feet....at least go taller than that.300,000 square feet commitment is reasonable,though pretty much pie in the sky getting Time Warner.The rents would be very low and the building would be state of the art,the location amazing once the land is cleared...someone's gonna bite.Though the original rendering is disappointing because it doesn't enhance the skyline....it should rise vertically instead of being spread out.Maybe it's just that I'd like to see something ambitious and impressive rise there,after all the years of speculation what would rise on that side of Newport.

[Malcontent]

The company that is developing Liberty Harbor filed for bankruptcy today.

[Nexis4Jersey]

What happened to the Sail shaped building proposed for that site?

[JCMAN320]

Yea im sure thats a preliminary design; atleast I hope. Thats interesting about them filing for bankruptcy especially since they are starting the second phase.

[Malcontent]

Yea im sure thats a preliminary design; atleast I hope. Thats interesting about them filing for bankruptcy especially since they are starting the second phase.

Hopefully it will not slow down development.

http://www.nj.com/hudson/index.ssf/2...by_libert.html

[tbal]

Mocco's problems are totally irrelevant to the rest of development in downtown JC; they stem from land acquisition payments on large parcels that have yet to be developed. The rest of downtown is about to boom.

As far as the Newport office building is concerned, that's a totally different pier than the one Ellipse was proposed for. This office building is being proposed for the equipment/materials storage area infront of Newport Office Center IV and next to Avalon Cove. The Ellipse has been proposed for the pier infront of the Laguna (and I wouldn't be surprised if they start building soon after Laguna is leased up - they want to market Laguna for unobstructed waterfront views, which they wouldn't be able to do if the Ellipse was already built; it will be relatively easy to sustain a high occupancy rate once the building is leased up even without the unobstructed waterfront views).

In other news, the JCEDC website has been updated and confirms that Toll Bros City Living will begin construction of the first tower (38 stories) at the former Manischewitz site near the Grove PATH station in July.

[Malcontent]

I was referring to LHN's development.

[Mrenjre]

This is a great before and after pic from the EPA Documerica of Liberty State Park off the Turnpike. There are a bunch of others from across the country at
http://photoblog.msnbc.msn.com/_news...-over-40-years

[66nexus]

^Man, you really gotta appreciate how far JC/Hudson waterfront has come over the years. That's a complete night/day difference. Good link.

[ianmac47]

There are a few interesting renderings of projects planned / proposed for Jersey City at Dean Marchetto and Associates's website: http://dmarchitect.com/planning_main.html

Unfortunately, the site is crappy flash, and linking to each project is difficult.

Of particular interest is the mixed use tower planned for 2 and 30 Montgomery Street. 380 Residential units, 300 room hotel, 96,000 square feet of retail.

Also worth looking at is a project plan for a small parcel west of LHN, East of the Turnpike, north of the morris canal and south of the hospital. It has a similar look and feel to Maxwell Place in Hoboken and would probably act as a continuation of the future development in LHN. 871 Residential units and 50,000 feet of retail.

Another interesting master plan is the area around 18th Street and Jersey. This plan looks a lot more theoretical, but includes a NJ TRansit light rail station and is also mentioned on the JC Development Map put out by the city last year. (Cast Iron Lofts is right in the middle of this area) 4,032 residential units, 940,000 square feet of retail.

[z22]

That Montgomery Plaza is very interesting. First time to see the rendering. Somehow I think this is just a pile in the sky. To take those two buildings down to make room for this?

[kljc]

Marbella II is going to have to be much thinner than the first one,so it might be taller than 32 stories,maybe match the height of the original?Hopefully it will look less clunky.Marbella has the feel of a giant 60's or 70's style residential building to me....something about it looks awkward,graceless though it's supposed to be a modern style luxury tower.Heard all sorts of things about how second rate it is...am I wrong about it being so much less than it was advertised to be?

Also,there was a plan presented for the Metro Plaza lot a week or two back I think....what is the intention behind that in terms of development of that humongous,badly underutilized lot?It will be awhile of course before development,but any ideas presented other than to create several streets?

https://www.cityofjerseycity.com/upl...ocument(6).pdf

[joshuaspellman]

Goldman transfers more Jersey City employees to Lower Manhattan

From left: 200 West Street and 30 Hudson Street

Goldman Sachs is reconfiguring its real estate footprint and, according to the New York Post, that could have a major impact on its 42-story Jersey City property that remains the tallest in the state. The firm plans to move some of its real estate, technology and administrative staff to its new headquarters at 200 West Street in Battery Park City from the 1.5 million-square-foot office it developed in 2004 at 30 Hudson Street in Jersey City.
Goldman has less reason to use the tower now that the 10-year, $164 million abatement program it received for the development is expiring the Post said. The firm has room for more people in Battery Park City, where employees of the banking giant famously prefer to work.
But it remains unclear whether the Jersey City property will be completely emptied, as conflicting sources shared different reports with the Post. Regardless, the paper said something the property is worth tracking as something must be in the works. [Post, 2nd item]

[Nexis4Jersey]

Why did they build two towers in the first place?