Jersey City Rising

[JCMAN320]

I agree with Ian. My uncle is a contractor on the Beacon and from what heard that they plan on being torn down.

[ianmac47]

I think the mushroom development building too is going to start adding pressure to the west of the downtown to build. Once the land under the projects becomes valuable enough for a private developer to see an opportunity, I think they will want to do something-- I mean, the real test is, will the value of the land increase enough to remove the old housing, replace the low income units and still build something that can turn a profit?

Essentially in New Brunswick, the city knocked down the projects, rebuilt some of the units, and now are in the process of redeveloping the land underneath the projects.

[macmini]

North Jersey gains from tight N.Y. office market

Tuesday, February 13, 2007
By KEVIN G. DeMARRAIS -- The Record

As goes New York, so goes North Jersey's commercial real estate market.

And that's good news west of the Hudson River because demand for office space in Manhattan is exceeding the supply, and the overflow is ending up in Bergen and Hudson counties.

"I'm not saying that we won't perform well unless New York does, but our performance benefits when New York tightens," said Matt Dolly, director of research and marketing at GVA Williams New Jersey in Parsippany.

Thanks to a strong fourth quarter, after nine months of reduced activity, the outlook was positive for the office market heading into 2007, Dolly said. "It seems like some of the spillover from New York City is starting to happen."

That is expected to start showing up in rental rates, said William Hanson, president of NAI James E. Hanson in Hackensack.

"Leasing prices in North Jersey haven't changed dramatically," Hanson said. "But prices have been going up in New York only the last six months, and that should help the market over here. It's not a great market, but if you want office space, it's not a bad market."

The retail market is strong as well, said Andrew Merin, vice chairman of Cushman & Wakefield Inc.'s Metropolitan Area Capital Markets Group.

Retail properties are "among the most sought-after in the Garden State," Merin said. "Vacancies remain in the low single digits, and consumer spending has helped retailer performance."

Last year produced mixed results in the region.

In Bergen County, the commercial vacancy rate rose to 18.93 percent by the fourth quarter from 17.01 percent 12 months earlier, according to the GVA Williams market report.

Even so, the asking rent for Class A space -- the most modern, technologically advanced facilities -- also rose, to $25.60 per square foot from $24.57 in the fourth quarter of 2005.

The vacancy rate also climbed in Passaic County, to 23.14 percent from 20.25, but the average rental slipped to $21.21 from $21.76.

But those prices are bargains compared with rates in Manhattan, where prime space is going for more than $60 a foot in midtown and around $40 in lower Manhattan.

That's basically a matter of supply and demand, as well as pressure from Real Estate Investment Trusts, or REITs, industry insiders say.

"The market is being largely driven by investments," Hanson said. "It's still a good place to invest money."

REITs are buying "everything in sight," said Ron Bar-Nadav, associate director of Studley Inc. in Rochelle Park. "Hedge funds are pushing REITs to buy more. They're sitting on too much money, buying product for more than it would be worth."

They can do so knowing the tight market means they can charge premium rents.

Even without the REITS, "the New York commercial real estate market is very robust, and that is going to define our economy in 2007," said Gil Medina, executive managing director at Cushman & Wakefield's New Jersey office.

"The New Jersey economy is being influenced by two different forces, pushing in different directions," Medina said. "Job growth has not been very robust; in fact it's been pretty weak. So on one hand, the state economy has been sluggish."

What growth the state has had has been in such fields as leisure, hospitality, arts and entertainment, accommodations and food, health and education, he said. "That growth is not in areas that would populate commercial buildings," and that hurts the real estate market.

"On the other hand, the economy of New York City, operating under a whole different set of rules, has really been robust. Because northern New Jersey is so much integrated into the regional economy, impacted so much by New York City's economy, it, more than any other part of the state, is in the throes of these conflicting forces."

The first beneficiary is the New Jersey waterfront, especially Jersey City, which is often called the sixth borough of New York City, Dolly said. "It's just another stop of the PATH."

With Manhattan vacancy rates at their lowest in five years, Merrill Lynch and Citigroup led the movement across the river.

Of the six leases for more than 100,000 square feet signed in New Jersey in the fourth quarter of 2006, four were along the Hudson, including Citigroup's subleasing of 365,000 square feet at Newport Office Center in Jersey City.

In addition, Deutsche Bank decided to consolidate operations from locations throughout the metropolitan area, renewing for 90,000 square feet and expanding by another 191,920 square feet there, Cushman & Wakefield reported.

But there was also movement elsewhere in North Jersey, including Newark. Overall vacancy rates there have dropped below 11 percent, helped by the law firm Gibbons, Del Deo, Dolan, Griffinger & Vecchione taking over 111,828 square feet previously occupied by the FBI.

Among other big transactions was Travelport -- formerly Cendant Travel Distribution Services -- moving within the Parsippany market by leasing 120,000 square feet at Morris Corporate Center III. And Passaic County got a boost when Hoffmann-La Roche expanded its presence in Clifton by leasing 72,838 square feet on Broad Street.

E-mail: demarrais@northjersey.com

[macmini]

Revaluation coming? Just to quiet cries of abatement holders?

Jersey Journal -- Jarrett Renshaw -- Feb 14

The city may soon be forced to do a dreaded property tax revaluation, or hopelessly watch as developers snub tax abatements, which have become a financial addiction for every mayor that's occupied City Hall in the past two decades.

City Hall sources tell me that a number of developers have threatened to repeal - or reject - tax abatements for their rental properties, arguing they would pay less under conventional taxes.

Officials at City Hall don't disagree.

In fact, they say the difference between their tax abatements - which require developers to shell out roughly 17 percent of rental income - and conventional taxes would be dramatic.

The developers could increase rents to cover the costs, but that means they also increase their contribution to the city and make the units harder to market, so don't expect that to happen.

City Hall depends so heavily on the PILOT payments that the administration will come up with a way to accommodate developers in order to keep the cash flowing, such as decreasing the payments or reducing the length of the tax abatements.

But it also might conduct a property tax revaluation in order to remove the developers' incentive to reject a tax abatement. The revaluations are dreaded by property owners because they fear that their taxes will skyrocket. For elected officials, the backlash from residents could make it akin to political suicide.

Currently, homes in Jersey City are assessed at roughly 28 percent of their true value.

That means a rental property worth $10 million would be assessed at just $2.8 million, resulting in the disparity between tax abatements and conventional taxes.

Recipients of tax abatements pay a fixed annual payment, which shields them from tax increases, such as the city's recent 18 percent hike.

That means, regardless of the outcome, the revaluation would not apply to those fortunate enough to receive tax abatements, exposing the rest of the city to possible tax hikes.

The city should be more concerned about accommodating the majority of the residents, not just a fraction of developers.

But don't get your hopes up.

[macmini]

Hudson Square/ Metropolitan

There are new renderings of the Hudson Square/ Metropolitan the third one is amazing. The website says it's the first tower of the Hudson Square (The Metropolitan) a residential and retail development. An a total of eight residential buildings are planned which surround a newly developed park. The park act as a "Town Square" of the project.

You can see the renderings @ http://www.arquitectonica.com just go to projects then go to residential. Dose any one when The Metropolitan will break ground.

[nafco]

Thats awesome! Good Find. I really hope they get rid of all those box stores and that town square really brings a community feel to the neighborhood. Even if they integrate a box store on the ground level of a larger building, thats fine, as long as they remove the parking lots and make for a place where people can actually feel comfortable to walk and hang out.

Looking foward to that building and square

[nafco]

by the way, im sure this is old and obsolete now, but Ive never seen this addition to JSQ before. Wondering where it went?

http://www.hartzmountain.com/graphic.../journalII.pdf

[JCMAN320]

That addition to JSQ has been on the board for a long time and I have no idea if it will happen. Also on the website check out the Ellipse. The have a rendering of what it will look like and it will be a welcomed additon to our skyline I just wish it was a tad bit taller.

The Metropolitan/Hudson Square rendeings look great and I'll I can say is WWWWWWOOOOOOOOOOWWWWWWWWWWW. I can't wait for that to happen, it looks like it is going to create a whole new neighborhood in that area with the Power House Art District right next door and with this they can open up Avalon Cove and also extend 4th St throught to development right to the waterfront. Jersey City is coming along great, I LOVE JERSEY CITY!!

[tbal]

Absolutely amazing renderings!

I guess G&S is indeed going forward with the construction of JC's second 700+ ft tower this Spring/Summer...

I can't believe how many new developments are going to be under construction in the coming months....I can't wait! It's going to be so exciting to see that tower go up.

[JCMAN320]

HIRE THE LOCALS

Wednesday, February 14, 2007
By JARRETT RENSHAW
JOURNAL STAFF WRITER

Healy: Tighten rules for builders

Jersey City Mayor Jerramiah Healy yesterday unveiled a new proposal aimed at including more residents in the city's booming construction market.

The proposal would require developers who receive tax abatements to use union labor for private projects over $15 million, and public projects over $5 million; and establish an apprentice program aimed at getting more Jersey City residents, particularly minorities, onto local work sites.

The proposal - which must get City Council approval - would require 20 percent of the work to be conducted by union apprentices, a program that teaches workers the techniques of the trade and is considered the first step into a well-paying union job.

"I think it only fitting that the bulk of the workforce in the building and construction field, that has been the source of our city's renaissance, be directed at Jersey City residents," Healy yesterday told a crowd of more than 200 union members of various trades at a news conference at City Hall.

The proposal is widely seen as an answer to critics of the city's tax abatement policy, which also has job creation as one of its goals but by most people's estimates has largely been unsuccessful.

The current tax abatement contracts include language that calls for developers to show their "best-faith efforts" at hiring local residents and minorities.

However, developers are only required to disclose to the city the race, sex and hometown of the workers on site, and doesn't include any penalties for not meeting the stated goals.

This new proposal includes a much stronger bridge between residents and development projects. But city officials admit that if developers show they have made the required attempts, they will not be held accountable for not meeting the 20 percent goal.

Some of the requirements included in the proposal are:

Developers and union officials meet with city officials 90 days prior to the start of construction in order to lay out how they plan to fulfill the requirements of the ordinance.

That the city notify the Jersey City Board of Education, the Jersey City Employment and Training Program and the Jersey City Housing Authority of the availability of apprenticeships prior to construction.

That the developer advertise the apprenticeship jobs in two local newspapers.

That the developer and the union hold at least two job fairs at a location to be provided by the city.

Union representatives' attendance yesterday was noteworthy since it was the unions that fought and defeated Jersey City's previous attempt at instituting a quota system.

[LincolnParkResident]

Jersey City Mayor Jerramiah Healy yesterday unveiled a new proposal aimed at including more residents in the city's booming construction market.

The proposal would require developers who receive tax abatements to use union labor for private projects over $15 million, and public projects over $5 million; and establish an apprentice program aimed at getting more Jersey City residents, particularly minorities, onto local work sites.

The proposal - which must get City Council approval - would require 20 percent of the work to be conducted by union apprentices, a program that teaches workers the techniques of the trade and is considered the first step into a well-paying union job.

Some of the requirements included in the proposal are:

Developers and union officials meet with city officials 90 days prior to the start of construction in order to lay out how they plan to fulfill the requirements of the ordinance.

That the city notify the Jersey City Board of Education, the Jersey City Employment and Training Program and the Jersey City Housing Authority of the availability of apprenticeships prior to construction.

That the developer advertise the apprenticeship jobs in two local newspapers.

That the developer and the union hold at least two job fairs at a location to be provided by the city.

Union representatives' attendance yesterday was noteworthy since it was the unions that fought and defeated Jersey City's previous attempt at instituting a quota system.

Peter Mocco and Liberty Harbor North are just going to be loving this, with all his non Union Labor he uses. According to an architect or assistant connected to the site he just let 15 people go and now it is a ghost town there which didn't sound like anything will open close to what the sales office is saying.

Not sure on how many other sites, are non-union as well, but sure after that stint of "Peter's" and the rest, finally they are going to reign in him, and the things he gets away with. He owns more than that piece of Land and the rentals at A-1, but as he is including to the "future residents" free local telephone services, since he owns the local telephone exchange or lines or something feeding into everyone's homes. Nothing like a monopoly which can politically control so much, and manipulate so much. And there are like 4 or 5 other things, which were not on the up and up put together.

[JCMAN320]

This will be a unique park the likes that no one has ever seen!!! Check it out!!!http://www.jcreservoir.org/

Reservoir No. 3 will be preserved as open space

Ending years of debate, Jersey City Mayor Jerramiah Healy declared today that Reservoir No.3 will be preserved for passive recreation.

"This thing has been debated for a long time, an issue that has endured through many administrations. But now the time is right to decide its future," said Healy.

The conceptual plan for the reservoir, on Summit Avenue in the Heights, includes a fishing pier, canoe dock and an elevated jogging path that hugs the inside of the massive stone walls that surround the site.

"This is a great day," said Steve Latham, president of the Jersey City Reservoir Preservation Alliance, a group that has fought for passive recreation at the site for years.

However, the news wasn't great for everybody.

Joseph Napolitano, executive director of the Babe Ruth League at Pershing Field, said he will wait and see if kids use the site before passing judgment.

"I don't know if kids will use it, but I will be watching," said Napolitano. "But what I do know is I turned down 500 kids last year for the league, and who knows where these kids went, maybe the streets."

Jarrett Renshaw

[ianmac47]

Is the reservoir grade level with a wall around it, or is the wall around the reservoir literally holding back the water?

[nafco]

very cool, i hope they supply fishing supplies and canoes for rent or better yet, just let people borrow like they do at Chelsea Piers in the summer

[Lafayette]

Does anyone know what is going on with Whitlock Mills (www.whitlockmills.com) ? I pass by their site frequently and it seems to be on a complete halt for months. I hope they finish this beautiful industrial restoration.