CNN Jumps on Sixth Borough Party

CNNMoney writes about the Jersey City residential construction boom. Having never come across this blog, the author writes "Jersey City sits on the cusp of becoming New York City's sixth borough."

More importantly, the article offers some insight on future plans. The second Trump Tower might "break ground in several months." The Toll Brothers Powerhouse District towers are "at least a year" away, and 77 Hudson will still be ready by spring.

Lights Mark World Trade Center

The twin beams of light marking the World Trade Center have returned for September 11th. The lights are not in the location of the former towers.

Crystal Point Loses Extra E, Ready to "Open"

The Real Deal notes that Crystal Point, the Second Street tower rapidly rising on the waterfront, is set to open next month. While progress has advanced a few more floors than depicted in the above photo, they are not actually anywhere near really opening. Also of note, the superfluous "e" at the end of Point seems to have been removed.

Pier Park Reopens Today

Owen Grundy Park reopens today after almost two years of renovations. The park overlooks the Manhattan skyline, jutting out into the Hudson River. Parts of the pier were rebuilt, new benches and lighting were installed, and a performance stage was added.

Still present in the park are the odd awning things:




The renovation was funded with state Green Acres grants and money provided by the City of Jersey City.

Westin Hotel Victim of Arson

A fire was set in the tenth floor of the Westin Hotel yesterday. The Westin, originally scheduled to open early this fall, is a 22 story tower on Washington Blvd and Sixth Street. Based on evidence at the scene, arson was immediately suspected in the two alarm fire.

The 429 room hotel is near completion; a South City Steak, a steakhouse restaurant from the owners of South City Grill in Newport, will occupy retail space in the hotel.

City Waterfalls Visible from Waterfront

Waterfalls installed in New York City's East River were turned on last week, just in time to compliment the Independence Day Fireworks Show. The Governor's Island installation is visible from Jersey City's waterfront. The waterfalls, the brainchild of artist Olafur Eliasson cost more than $15 million and will be on display through the middle of October.

Below, the distant waterfall is highlighted off the tip of lower Manhattan. The picture was taken from the waterfront walkway at the base of the Goldman Sachs Tower.






Another viewing location in Jersey City is from the Hyatt Pier.

Philipine American Festival in Exchange Place

Sunday Afternoon in Exchange Place in downtown Jersey City was the Philipine-American Festival hosted on the waterfront. Sunday afternoon's severe thunderstorms eventually rained out events like Philipine Idol and several people were injured by tents blowing in the wind. Sunday morning though, the sky was sunny and the organizers were preparing for the event.

Bear Stearns Loss May Be Jersey City's Gain

Over the weekend, investment bank Bear Stearns collapsed and sold itself to JP Morgan Chase. On the whole, the melt down at Bear Stearns may signal more trouble ahead for investment banks, a major industry in New York and in Jersey City's waterfront business district. But at the same, the sale to JP Morgan may ultimately benefit Jersey City.

Bear Stearns considered relocating some offices to Jersey City waterfront in 2001. Later, under Governor Jim McGreevey, tax incentives for business relocation were withdrawn, and Stearns took offices in Brooklyn instead. JP Morgan on the other hand, has a larger presence in Jersey City with several office locations. With the absorption of Bear Stearns, there will no doubt be layoffs as the businesses consolidate. But with a large footprint in Jersey City already, JP Morgan may ultimately add some former Stearns employees to the Gold Coast.

Tightening Office Markets Could Spur New Towers

The Real Deal reports that Manhattan's Downtown office market is tighter than Midtown's for the first time since September 11th. This could be good news for Jersey City's commercial real estate market, a mere five minute subway ride from the downtown.

While midtown office rents steadily rose over the last few years, Jersey City benefits less directly from a shortage in midtown office space; downtown Manhattan is a mere five minutes from the Jersey City waterfront, but midtown nearly twenty.

In August, Jersey City's office market tightened to 90% occupancy. Office tower construction took a backseat in the last few years to residential towers such as 77 Hudson Street. The original plan for 77 Hudson Street included two large office towers before developers realized more money in building residential units. But with the residential market cooling, commercial space may be a more attractive investment.

Low vacancy rates in lower Manhattan and Jersey City could accelerate construction of the long planned Harborside Plaza 4, an office tower that resurfaced before the city planning board last spring. The site currently is a parking lot.

Less likely to begin anytime soon is a remodel of 2 and 30 Montgomery Streets, two midrise towers bought out last year for $106 million. The new owners intended then to demolish the existing towers and rebuild two new, modern high rises similar to midtown's Time Warner Center. The status of this project is still unknown.

Also worth noting, Goldman Sachs has long planned a tower adjacent to their existing skyline centerpiece. Unlike other investment banks, Goldman has maintained relatively steady earnings as credit markets collapsed. Anecdotally, the upper floors of the existing towers, long left dark, have increasingly been lit, perhaps indicating the tower continues to fill.

Still, despite shrinking availability in the short term, plenty of office space is planned for lower Manhattan over the next few years. The World Trade Center reconstruction will bring another 2.5 million square feet of space to the market as well as drive up construction costs throughout the region. Developers also are probably weary of creating a glut of new space as happened in the late 1980's.

2008 To Be "Year of the Coffee House"

For some, the arrival of a Starbucks on Grove Street means Jersey City has finally arrived. Or, Jersey City is officially over. Either way, another Starbucks is also set to open near exchange place. So is Cosi. And Van Houtte Cafe.

Cosi's arrival was announced last March, but only recently have signs gone up in the windows of the space it will occupy adjacent to the light rail station. The new Cosi location is directly across the street from an existing Au Bon Pain, which is only a block from the rumored location of Van Houtte Cafe.

Hudson Street is about to become saturated with coffee shops. In addition to the three that are about to open, Amazon Cafe opened late last year in the base of 3 Second Street, and City Beans and Cafe Ritazza are still serving up coffee too.

Of course, if the Starbucks mantra is to be believed, you can always sell more coffee.

Bits & Briefs

Arson to Blame
It seems the fire at 77 Hudson Street might in fact have been suspicious.

The big clock by the river
Colgate Clock gets some love from the Jersey City Reporter.

Cook hit 40 bags of Cocaine
If you've been wondering why downtown bar Lucky 7's hasn't been as fun lately, it might have something to do with the fact that they aren't dealing drugs there anymore.

High Rise Construction Burning

Bloomberg radio reports York Street is closed between Warren and Hudson due to a fire at a highrise construction project-- 77 Hudson most likely candidate.

UPDATE: MASSIVE FIRE AT 77 HUDSON STREET

AWESOME PHOTOS

Video, News Story

More Photos

JCLIst Thread

More Photos on Wired Forums

News Coverage
Fire Not Suspicious
Update on the status of 77 Hudson
High-rise fire was at 70 Greene St. portion
Towering Inferno
Major Jersey City Fire breaks out on waterfront
Jersey City rental tower burns

Trouble in Paradise Montgomery Greene

Montgomery-Greene, a recently completed condominium tower on the corner of, where else, Montgomery and Greene seems to be having some issues, or so claims one angry resident. MGProblems.com has launched by a reported resident alleging serious problems with a leaky roof and the refusal by the tower's management to fix the problem.

Back in February, before the building had even opened, we noticed part of the facade was already crumbling -- evidenced here, so we wouldn't be surprised if the allegations are true. As was pointed out on JCList, new home buyers have some protections thanks to The State of New Jersey.

Merrill Considers Jersey City

According to the NYPost, Merrill Lynch may expand facilities in Jersey City. This might very well be a bit of blustering to convince New York officials they deserve the same tax subsidies handed out to Goldman Sachs. On the other hand, Merrill already has offices on this side of the Hudson River, and building in Jersey City is faster and cheaper than Manhattan.

Merrill's interest in Jersey City along with last month's news that Jersey City's Office Market has tightened will likely mean new office buildings sprouting up next year. In recent years, the booming residential market meant most of Jersey City's new construction focused on residential towers; sites like 77 Hudson Street, originally planned as an office tower, is now under construction as luxury condos. Rumors have been circulating that several large residential projects may be on hold while the financial world sorts out the credit problems; hopefully renewed interest in Jersey City's office market will keep the city growing.

Final Proposal for Waterfront Views Released

Larry Silverstein released the final designs for World Trade 2,3, and 4, important to Jersey City waterfront residents since that will be their view in another 2 to 5 years. Curbed has the renderings, including Tower 2, Tower 3, and Tower 4.

Jersey City Office Market Tightens

Rising rents in Lower Manhattan has driven Jersey City's office market, 14 million square feet of it, to 90 percent occupancy rate reports the New York Times. The shortage of space in Brooklyn and New Jersey's easier permitting process means Jersey City is likely to see more office towers in the future. The sale earlier this summer of 2 and 30 Montgomery Streets indicated as much, with the buyers promising a "Time Warner Center Like" building to replace the two aging office towers.

In addition, plans for the long awaited Harborside 4 began moving forward at the beginning of the summer. However, that tower may still be several years away with with Mack-Cali President Mitchell Hersh saying "he had no plans to build anything that size until he was able to prelease about 350,000 square feet. “I have been reluctant to build on spec,” he said."

Meanwhile, the upper floors of the existing Goldman Sachs tower finally seem to have life in them, indicating the building is well on its way to full occupancy. One poster on the Wired New York Forums noted the crown and upper floors were lit up this week. Goldman plans a second tower, reportedly by renowned architect I.M. Pei, but will not break ground until the current tower is filled.

Bits & Briefs

$106M vote of confidence for Downtown
The Journal reports that 30 and 2 Montgomery Street have sold for $106 Million dollars and will be replaced with a massive office, retail, and residential complex similar in scope to the Time Warner Center. (via Wired Forum)

30 Montgomery Street(right side of below photo), a 15 Story tower built in the early 1970s houses professional and city offices. 2 Montgomery Street (left) is across the street from the Exchange Place light rail station and a half block from the PATH.



Agency Might Replace Bridge and Tunnel Tollbooths With Cashless System
The Times reports that the Port Authority may switch their toll collection system to all EZPass. Such a move should reduce Holland Tunnel Congestion that blocks north-south traffic between Jersey City and Hoboken as well as allow an easier transition to congestion pricing.

Second Cosi Location Coming to Exchange Place

One Exchange Place will soon be home to Jersey City's second Cosi, reports GlobeSt.com. The Cosi location will be essentially across the street from competitor Au Bon Pain. Both chains feature deli-style dining with a selection of gourmet panini sandwiches, salads, and pastries. Cosi is prolific throughout Manhattan though rare in New Jersey.

Building Proposals

The March 13 Planning Board Meeting agenda (PDF) went online and has revealed plans for a few new (and older) projects.

First on the list is the long awaited Harborside Plaza 4. Harborside 4A, went up in 2000 as essentially a giant parking garage in anticipation of Harborside 4. But with the saturation of new office space over the last few years, the project was put on hold for a bit. More recently though, vacancy rates have dropped, which is probably why Harborside 4 is back on the table. Emporis has an older rendering of building.

From the Planning Board Agenda:

"Address: Hudson Street & Columbus Drive
Block: 10 Lot: 20
Zone: Exchange Place North Redevelopment Plan
Description: Plaza 4, Harborside Financial Center, 1,067,000sf office tower with 600 parking spaces and ground floor retail."


Next up are two more proposals from the Lefrak Organization on the northward expansion of Newport. Lefrak sought an extension a few months back of a 2003 approval for 45 14th Street. The address in online mapping services puts both 45 and the new proposal, 75 14th St, west of Washington Blvd, in the Target parking lot. However, its more likely that the mapping services are confused by two addresses that don't exist. More likely is that these two proposals are planned for lots east of Washington. One of these is probably the Wilson, part of the Presidential towers complex. This theory matches the Newport Masterplan (PDF).

From the Planning Board Agenda:
"Applicant: Newport Associates Development Company
Address: 75 Fourteenth Street
Block: 20 Lot: 3.10
Zone: Newport Redevelopment Plan
Description: New mixed-use building with 341 dwelling units and 16,261sf of retail space. 29 stories tall atop a 1-story retail base.

Applicant: Newport Associates Development Company
Address: 45 Fourteenth Street
Block: 20 Lot: 3.15, 3.16
Zone: Newport Redevelopment Plan
Description: New 17-story mixed-use multi-family building with 146 residential units and 5,833sf of ground floor retail."

Finally, it seems that the Millennium Towers proposal has resurfaced. This was a tower complex planned for 18th Street to built over the light rail line with the addition of a new station. The Millennium Towers renderings had existed for a number of years, but seemed like the project was going nowhere. Also, its seems there is an explanation for the recent razing of buildings on 16th Street between Coles and Jersey. The Millennium Towers it seems will be using the space as a parking lot-- presumably only for the duration of construction.

From the Planning Board Agenda:

"Case: P07-009 Preliminary Major Site Plan Interim Parking Lot
Applicant: Millenium Towers, LLC
Address: 677 Grove Street
Block: 294.5 Lot: PL-A
Zone: Jersey Avenue Redevelopment Plan
Description: 436 space parking lot

Case: P07-006 Preliminary Major Site Plan Interim Parking Lot
Applicant: Millenium Towers, LLC
Address: 803 Jersey Avenue
Block: 328 Lot: 1-6, 9-12, 29-32, PL-A
Zone: Jersey Avenue Redevelopment Plan
Description: 289 space parking lot"

Star-chitects Flock To Jersey City

Rem Koolhaas apparently isn't the only celebrity architect with buildings that will soon grace the Jersey City Skyline. According to the an AP story on Newsday.com, world renowned architect I.M. Pei has designed a building for Goldman Sachs. The new tower has been approved but won't be built until the current Goldman building is filled.

Land Values Could Close Icon

The Jersey Journal is reporting
that the Flamingo Bar and Diner is being sold, and listed at $4 Million, suspects the four story building will soon be replaced with something newer, and taller, to justify the sale price.

No doubt the neighborhood that the Flamingo once served is changing. Montgomery-Greene, a new condominium tower across the street is set to open in a few months. And a block south, 77 Hudson Street is under construction, the soon to be tallest residential building in the state. While these buildings, and the fact that many empty lots around the area that support large scale development are quickly disappearing, are certainly driving up property values, the new influx of residents probably need a place to eat.

The neighborhood is one that for the last few years has largely consisted of office towers, and come 5 o'clock, or on the weekends, has been particularly quiet. As an example, the Au Bon Pain further east on the same block doesn't even open on the weekend. The new residential units under construction will transform the once business oriented district into a 24-hour city, but this may have come too late for the Flamingo.

Meanwhile, despite the high price tag, the sliver of property bound by 101 Hudson and Greene Streets, may not give way to a large building considering the size of the property and proximity to the tower.

Below, the Flamingo Bar at the Corner of Greene and Montgomery:

Bits & Briefs

Hoboken University Medical Center
City taking over money losing operations at St. Mary's hospital, hoping for federal aid, arrival of McDreamy, McSteamy by becoming a teaching hospital.

City officials face challenges over clock, fate in city's hands, time running out
Goldman Sachs, Colgate and the City are fighting over the position of the historic clock and a million dollar payment owed to the city.

Victory Hall Defeated
The non-profit special events and arts venue loses its lease in the fall. The building, owned by Our Lady of Czestochowa Church is preparing to open a pre-school.

Metropolis Towers: 3 Times The Fun?

The Metropolis Towers' complex has had some recent demolition of the low rise section connecting the two existing towers. We came across a few bits and peices about two new towers going in along Christopher Columbus Blvd. But it seems that Emporis has listed four new towers for the complex.



The first two towers are listed as Expansion Phase 1 East and Expansion Phase 1 West-- we assumed this would mean a western tower at the corner of Marin and Christopher Columbus and an eastern tower at the corner of Warren and Christopher Columbus. There would be plenty of room along Montgomery Street for the proposed phase II and III towers.

More Photos

Twin Towers of Light

Over the weekend, the towering pair of spotlights returned to the former World Trade Center site, producing a powerful reminder of events four years ago.

Dojo-Mojo
Genius Lessons

Montgomery-Greene: A Second Look

A few months back we told you about a new building, Montgomery Greene, to be built, yes, you guessed it, on the corner of Montgomery and Greene Streets. Jersey City Vibe has got ahold of a few new pictures and has details on the apartments to be offered in the building.