Columbus Plaza, Windows, Sidewalks

The Columbus Tower exterior work is wrapping up now workers are moving on to the mid-rise segment extending west from the base. Window framing is going now.





Glass goes in on the north east corner of the plaza:





Framing for the sidewalk and the curb is laid out in front of the main entrance to the tower:

154 Stueben Street

154 Steuben has quickly gone from an empty lot to an actual building. Or at least, the first floor of a building.

Grove Pointe

The eastern facade along Marin Blvd.

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The Morgan Street Parking Deck:





From the corner of Columbus Drive and Marin, Grove Pointe rises more than 30 stories



Windows have been installed on the retail level of Grove Pointe along Newark Avenue, facing the PATH entrance:

Schroeder Lofts

The north facing facade of the Schroeder Lofts are finally getting bricked over. For months the other sides of the building were nearly completed while the back of the building overlooking 12th Street remained insulation.



The large windows along the 10th Street facade seem to finally be installed property after a few weeks of having pieces of the windows installed and then removed and than installed again.







The Western side of the building which overlooks the Park Foundry.





The Embankment between 10th and 11th Streets practically kisses the building. The 11th Street overpass also won't give north facing units the nicest views.

Shore Club

Newport's Shore Club complex is quickly moving towards completion with South tower residents moving in and glass rapidly racing up the sides of the North Tower.





Eventually a plaza will be completed in front of the Shore Club.



Glass is being installed on the North Tower. This photo was outdated hours after it was taken; glass has been installed on several higher floors already.







Looking east from Washington Blvd.



The Parking deck of Shore Club will include parking for new, yet to be built towers including Aqua.

Hamilton Square

The redevelopment of Saint Francis Hospital adjacent to Hamilton Park and renamed as Hamilton Square continues in earnest.









The site along McWilliams Place. The street will become a one way road when construction is completed.



This, the northwest corner of the property, was once a receiving driveway. Urban infill includes a new low-rise tower on the corner.

Aqua

Pilings continue being drilled into the ground for Aqua. Or Aqua Blu. Or Blu. So many variations on the name Aqua are floating around the internet tubes its hard to keep track.



Aqua is going up directly in front of Shore Club.

Westin Hotel

Looking North along Washington Blvd with Newport Tower in the background:





The Westin at the corner of Sixth and Washington Blvd:



The eastern profile of the tower:





Washington Blvd looking west:



The northern facade of the Westin Hotel.



From the Metro Plaza parking lot, the Westin Tower peeks out around the existing buildings:

Jersey City Home Depot

We don't usually think too highly of big box stores, especially when they are entering an urban environment that is better served with pedestrian friendly business districts. But that being said, the Home Depot under construction at the mouth of the Holland Tunnel is featuring a moderately unique design for a big box store. Construction began a few months back, but more recently the construction has taken a much more visible position:



These photos were taken on a Saturday afternoon when traffic entering the Holland Tunnel was backed up onto the elevated segment of the Turnpike. Just imagine when this store is finished.



Here you can see that this Home Depot isn't just a box. Its a box with funny shapes:

Athena Tower

The Athena Tower, A, from Hudson Street looking West with the Portofino Tower to the right.



Looking west from Second Street it becomes apparent that the Athena Tower is quite unlike the previous residential buildings around it such as the Portofino, Mandalay, or the Marbella.





The southeast corner of the building at Washington Street



The parking garage dominates the base:





The profile looking north along Washington Street is a slender one.



The western facing facade:

Liberty Harbor North

The Liberty Harbor North Skyline:





Town homes in the brownstone style along Grand Street:





Liberty View Terrace:







There are also more modern looking buildings, attempting to make Liberty Harbor a bit like an organic city with mixed architectural styles.



The restored historic buildings sit in the middle of new development:







The eastern side of Phase I, and the Boys and Girls Club which will be integrated into the new street grid.



More brickwork has begun on the rowhouses on the eastern side the development, along grand street:

Trump Tower

Looking west at the Trump Tower from Hudson Street; the tower is a little more than halfway to its final height. Harborside Plaza 6 and 7 will eventually rise between the Trump building and the water.



The wires of the light rail line are visible looking west towards the Trump building, with Columbus Tower in the background on the left.





The Bay Street Facade is really beginning to take shape with the brickwork on the first elevation nearly complete:



On the Washington Street facade, the first windows are beginning to appear:











From Morgan Street, the southwest corner of the tower; also known as the view owners of the new Washington Commons tower have.

The Lofts at Liberty Harbor

The Lofts building at Liberty Harbor North is the second larger structure going in during the first phase, adjacent to the light rail line on the south, and The Sutton on the north.



From Marin Blvd., the Lofts rise above the weeds where the later phases of Liberty Harbor will eventually be built:

Hudson Exchange: Ground Resealed

Our earlier post declaring the Hudson Exchange had broken ground may have been inaccurate as more recently the tench that had been dug was recently recovered with soil:



More of the site, looking west from the water:



The views from Hudson Exchange will eventually be spectacular:

296 Grand Street

Foundations have gone on the small development across from Liberty Harbor at Barrow Street:





This new building is going in across from Liberty View Terrace, the new traffic light at Liberty Harbor.

111 First Street

The demolition continues at 111 First Street.



Looking west along First Street, there is still a whole lot of 111 First Street yet to come down.



Rem Koolhaus recently announced plans for the tower that is to replace 111 First Street. Now owners of the Butler Brothers warehouse, seen in the background, are looking to build a tower of their own.



Along Washington Street, the facade has been removed:





The western end of the building:



From Washington Street, the south east corner has been removed:

77 Hudson Street

77 Hudson Street will soon be a pair of residential towers rising in the middle of the Jersey City financial district.





Looking east down Grand Street:



The Goldman Sachs Tower and the Liberty Plaza Towers are south of 77 Hudson Street:



Foundations are being poured:



Looking east along Sussex Street:



101 Hudson Street looms in the background; looking north from the corner of Greene and Sussex Streets

Gulls Cove

Brickwork has started on the northern facade over looking Grand Street:





From Grand Street at Grove, looking south east towards Gulls Cove:



The foundations for the mid-rise section of the building is visible to the right of the main tower:



The northeast corner of the building along Marin Blvd:



Looking inside the main structure of Gulls Cove, from Marin Blvd:







The southern facade of Gulls Cove overlooks the Marin Blvd. Light Rail station providing easy access to the waterfront:





The eastern wing of Gulls Cove:

The Sutton at Liberty Harbor

The Sutton is getting another skin over the modular yellow walls. The Lofts at Liberty Harbor are to the right.



Below, the Sutton stands between the town homes of liberty harbor and the Lofts.





The West facing facade of the Sutton amidst the brownstone style town homes:

154 Stueben Street

Construction rapidly continues on this small project going up in the shadow of Columbus Plaza.

Morgan Street at Grove

Along Morgan Street directly behind the Grove Pointe Parking garage is the frame of a new addition to an old building. The historic structure fronts Manila (Grove) Street, but the extension coming from the back fronts Morgan.



Strictly speaking, this might be two separate construction projects, though they are both going up simultaneously, and since the buildings share a common wall, we lumped them both together.

Grove Pointe

A few remnants from last week:

Grove Pointe parking deck down Morgan Street





From Morgan Street looking west:

Westin Hotel Tower

The Jersey City Westin Hotel tower is rising on the corner of Washington Blvd. and Sixth Street, just east of the Newport Mall.

From Washington Blvd looking north, the Westin Hotel has grown tremendously for the past several months. Newport office towers stand in the background:



The north facing facade of the hotel; the lobby and retail will attach to the tower on this side facing Washington Blvd.



The rounded corner of the Westin Hotel:



From Washington Blvd, looking towards the west down Sixth Street:



From Sixth Street, the light rail line runs beside the Westin Tower.





The Sixth Street Facade of the new Tower:



From the corner of Sixth Street and Washington Blvd, the Westin Hotel has gotten so tall that soon it will no longer fit in the camera frame:

Athena Tower

Glass windows are quickly racing up the exterior of the Athena Tower on the corner of Washington and Second Street. Below, the northwest corner of the building clad in a glass curtain wall:



The northeast corner of Athena overlooking Washington Street.



A wider view:



The north side of the Athena Tower from Warren Street:



From Second street looking east:





From the Metro Plaza shopping mall parking lot, with the Trump tower in the background. For now, the north facade of the tower should have clear views to the Palisades, but eventually Metro Plaza will become eight high rise towers.





The parking garage dominates the street on Washington Blvd.



From Second Street looking West, the Athena rises like a giant bookend:

Hamilton Square

We reported earlier this week that the Saint Francis redevelopment project, now known as Hamilton Square, will begin offering the first units in April. Hamilton Square is well on its way with new framing being installed on the old concrete shell.



Below, the old ambulance reception area has been cleared. In its place will be a new mid-rise building.





Looking South along McWilliams Place, another old wing of the St. Francis Hospital will be converted to residences.



The main tower of Hamilton Square should have excellent views to the South and west for years to come as the higher floors all mostly overlook historic preservation neighborhoods.



Looking east from McWilliams Place, the old Pavonia Avenue will be restored when Hamilton Square is complete. The street will be a pedestrian way lined with retail stores.



The hole that is the former foundation of St. Francis Hospital.



Looking east from McWilliams place at one of the old hospital buildings that eventually will be converted to condominiums:

Trump Tower

The base at the corner of Washington and Morgan Streets:



Along Morgan Street, the Trump Tower base is beginning to get brickwork.



The tower's utility elevator:



Looking west from Greene Street, the Trump tower rises from the mid-rise base, a giant parking garage.



The tower from Morgan Street looking east:

Newport Skyline

The Newport Skyline from Second Street.

Inside Gulls Cove

Along Marin Blvd are holes in the privacy fence. Being 6'3" sometimes has its advantages.



Inside Gulls Cove near the north side of the building:



The south side of the building:



The south facade along the light rail tracks:





The utilities of the new street being laid just north of Gulls Cove have been installed. Liberty Harbor's Sutton building is in the background.



The north facade of Gulls Cove is being prepped for brickwork.





Gulls Cove from Grand Street, looming over the vacant lots that surround the building.





The south east side of Gulls Cove:



The interior of the "U"

Shore Club

The north tower is beginning to get glass installed around the lower floors. Below, the Shore club tower as seen from 14th Street. Soon two more towers will be rising between Washington Blvd and the Shore Club's north tower.



A close up of the North tower's windows:



The mid-rise section connecting the Shore Club towers will contain retail shops at street level:



The North Tower from River Drive:



Eventually the area in front of the Shore Club will be landscaped:



From the Hudson River Walk, the east facade of the Shore Club with the Aqua pilings poking up from the ground directly in front of the new condo building.



The nearly completed south tower from Newport Parkway:

Aqua

The newest Newport rental building broke ground a few weeks back, though with construction of the Shore Club still on going, getting a good vantage point is rather difficult. Here though, we see that pilings for the Aqua (or the Aqua Blu, depending on which name has been finalized), pounded in the ground:



Below, the pile driver sits idle on Sunday afternoon:

The Wilson at Newport: Site

Tomorrow night's planning board meeting agenda includes two applications from the Newport Associates, 45 and 75 Fourteenth Street. The seventeen story tower will probably be closer to the water, while the thirty story building is almost certainly the previously planned Wilson, because nothing moves rental apartments like dead Presidents.

Little has happened on the site just yet, though from Washington Blvd, its clearly evident that something is about to happen here. Looking south east, the base of the James Madison is visible in the background:



Looking due east, the sites of both 45 and 75 Fourteenth Street are visible:



The extension of 14th Street no doubt has some generic development name:

Liberty Harbor North

Liberty Harbor North continues to progress with rumors that buyers will begin closing on units at the end of June. Below, the skyline of the new development from Jersey Avenue.





The Lofts and the Sutton are the first of several larger buildings planned for the first phase of Liberty Harbor. The Sutton has most of its frame, the lofts still just expose steel.



Looking east down one of the developments new roads, the Sutton and the Lofts stand over the new street.



The row houses along Grand Street just before the cross streets of Barrow and Liberty View Terrace:



Currently, the western most units in the development. Across from these units (to the right in the picture) is a planed retail building.





Further east along Grand Street:



Historic buildings have been incorporated into the design of the new construction:



The backside of the Sutton and the Lofts are exposed looking south down another development street:



Looking west along Grand Street at the future sidewalk and gardens of the town homes on the eastern end of the development.



Below, Grand Street meets Liberty Harbor North:



The Liberty Harbor North Development as seen from Marin Blvd, looking West:

The Sutton at Liberty Harbor

The Sutton is the first of several mid-rise condominium buildings planned for the first phase of Liberty Harbor North. Progress on the exterior has been relatively slow for the last few weeks on the Sutton though we doubt this is the result of any slow down in construction in Liberty Harbor as a whole.



Below, visible from Grand Street, the Sutton is between the low-rise town homes of Liberty Harbor and the frame of the Liberty Harbor Lofts behind it.

109 Christopher Columbus Drive

We mentioned this little development a while back. Located just west of Grove Street on Columbus Drive, the 18 residential unit mixed use building will also have 10,000 square feet of retail space. Christopher Columbus Drive has been relatively dormant as far as redevelopment and investment in new construction goes. This building, a half block away from the proposed Columbus Corner, might very well be the beginning of a new era of Columbus Drive, assuming the Columbus Corner Project breaks ground this summer.

Meanwhile, as late as December last year, this site was a commuter parking lot by day, and a place that collected the homeless by night. Now there is a big hole in the ground:

Hudson Exchange Breaks Ground

We're assuming this the preliminary ground breaking for the Hudson Exchange, a 43 Story condo Tower at Two Second Street, approved last October. $135 million in financing was approved in November. The building will have 275 Parking spaces in a 60 foot high parking deck, 6,000 Square Feet of retail and 269 Residential units.

Columbus Plaza

Looking east down Columbus Drive, the Columbus Tower rises from its mid-rise base.





Shops should eventually fill the street side of the mid-rise level, with parking included behind.









At the corner of Columbus and Warren:



A single story juts out over the corner of Stueben and Warren Streets; an odd edition to the building, is it a housing unit or common area?







What we assume will be the main entrance:





Washington Commons is seen in the background:



Looking up at the tower where it connects to the mid-rise section:



Looking east down Stueben Street:

Grove Pointe

Grove Pointe is quickly nearing completion from the Corner of Marin and Christopher Columbus Drive.





What is presumably the entrance Grove Pointe residents will enter the building through:







Looking north from the corner of Marin and Columbus Drive. Grove Pointe's height is most evident along Marin Blvd, where the tower rises to its full height without setbacks.





From Stueben Street looking west:



The brickwork along Marin Blvd; someone tried to get fancy, and this was the result:



The parking garage facades along Morgan Street clearly makes this the backside of Grove Pointe, and really hurts the urban streetscape here.

Hamilton Square

The Hamilton Square redevelopment project is progressing quickly. The facade of the main tower has been removed entirely, and new walls are already being installed with large, open windows.



The southern building, remnants of the old hospital has gotten little attention so far.



The main tower from Erie Street:





The bathroom on the upper floor, visible from Erie Street for weeks, has finally been removed.



From 8th Street, looking across Hamilton Park:



The old entrance to the building on McWilliams Place and 9th Street:



The northern corner of the lot on Erie and 9th Street.

Schroeder Lofts Nearing Completion

The street facade of the Schroeder Lofts:



The large glass windows are signature of the design:





Looking east along Tenth Street:



The northern facade which faces the Holland Tunnel entrance still needs bricking.



The Erie Street facade of the Schroeder Lofts



The Schroeder Lofts from the corner of Erie and Tenth:

Shore Club at Newport

Above, the sea-green glass windows of the Shore Club's south tower. Below, The Shore Club towers may not be the tallest buildings at Newport, but they are the shiniest.





The mid-rise section connecting the Shore Club's North and South tower will have a "River Market," a fancy way of saying retail shops, including a gourmet grocery.





The South Tower from the Hudson River.



The entrance to the Shore Club South Tower along Newport Parkway:

Athena Tower

The western facade of the Athena tower with plenty of glass installed. The building maintains a number of geometric elements which contribute to an elegant look. Here, a close up of the glass windows:



A wider angle of the same shot from Second Street:



The profile of the tower from the south side on Washington Street reveals a slender profile.



From the corner of Washington and Second Street. The Light rail line runs close to the base of the Athena tower.



Parking levels of on the base of the tower:



Looking up at the tower from street level:



The north east corner of the tower:

Westin Tower

The frame of the Westin Hotel tower continues to rise, towering above Washington Blvd and gaining ground on the surrounding Newport Center offices.



The north facade of the building where a low-rise lobby of the hotel will be eventually be built:





Looking west from Washington Blvd, the Westin Hotel tower has a relatively thin profile.

Destruction of 111 First

With all the talk of the Koolhaas proposal, it almost seems as if folks have forgotten about the fact that 111 First street is still a building. Or at least half a building.



At the corner of Washington and First Streets:



Looking west from Washington Street



The powerhouse looms over what remains of the 111 First Street Warehouse.

Trump Tower

The western tower of the Jersey City Trump complex is about halfway to its final height but already dwarfing the nearby Athena.







In this detail shot, the tower attaches to the mid-rise base along Morgan Street:



A wider angle of the same shot:



The Trump facade along Washington Street with the Powerhouse behind:



Trump from the corner of Washington and Morgan; Washington Commons will have great views of the new tower.





Looking east down Bay Street:

77 Hudson

This behemoth is slowing rising on Hudson Street. Rumors have been circulating that the building will be seeking a ten story extension which will include a hotel. With a building this size, the final height probably does not need to determined for quite a while.

Gulls Cove

The hulking Gulls Cove development will soon have brick on its northern facade:





The foundation for a low rise portion of Gulls Cove:



More of the north facing facade:



The south east corner of the building:





The main facade in front of the light rail station:

215 Newark Avenue

We wrote a bit about this lot back a few months when the site was For Sale online. The plans for a set of residential apartments was supposedly included in the sale price, below:



209 - 215 Newark Avenue is not as yet scheduled for construction and instead remains an empty lot, another hole in the urban puzzle of Newark Avenue. However, recently, no parking signs citing an environmental study have raised the question as to whether the lot is about to be sold. Considering this is Newark Avenue, prime real estate just west of Jersey Avenue, we doubt the low-rise residential units seen above will satisfy any investors, so we're expecting that if this lot is being sold, that a larger proposal will soon be showing up, probably within the year.

Below, looking east towards Jersey Avenue down Newark Avenue.



Looking west towards the yet to be gentrified portion of Newark Avenue:

Aqua

Pilings everywhere! It seems that the Aqua will is quickly going to move to the erection phase. With the Shore Club wrapping up construction-- glass has started to be installed on the north west side of the North Tower, Lefrak is going to be concentrating efforts on the new rental building just in front of Shore Club. Below, the view from the Hudson River Walkway where a gate has kept us from getting any closer. Presumably when the Shore Club and Riverside Market open later this year, we'll be able to get a bit closer. In either case, it won't be long, we think, before the Aqua rises high enough off the ground that our current vantage point will provide a pretty clear view anyway.



?

Lot Cleared on Monmouth Street

What had been a small building a few weeks back is now an empty lot, presumably waiting for new construction. This is between Newark and First Street:

The Belfuse

The heavy equipment that had been used to suck up the pavement has finished its duties. The site has been cleared and graded.

Metropolis Towers

The Metropolis Towers construction has been on hiatus for the last few months. Ever since they quickly removed the low rise structure connecting the two towers, construction all but stopped.



Eventually, the center area between the buildings will likely be a mid-rise parking garage, and the property along Columbus Drive, where the camera is, will have two new 25 story towers.

The Hudson

Last year for a quick few weeks, ground was broken at this Powerhouse Arts District site for the Hudson, part of the Provost Square development. Then after a few pilings were pounded into the ground, construction stopped. This was back during the fifty degree days, so weather probably did not play a factor. Rumors have been circulating that the Toll Brother's planned 40 story towers for the Manoschevitz factory lead the developers of Provost Square to rethink their plans and seek height extensions. Perhaps that explains their construction delay. In either case, the dirt has shifted a bit since last we posted about the Hudson:



One of the few pilings hammered into the ground stands waiting its siblings.

16th Street Lot

Work continues on this lot at 16th Street between Jersey and Coles. A few weeks the structures on the property had all been razed. There is still some debris that needs clearing, but it certainly seems this site will be ready for some sort of construction soon.

Moving Dirt at 833 Jersey Avenue

Not much seems to be happening at the site for the future 833 Jersey Avenue. Below, looking west towards the Heights from Jersey Avenue. It seems there still needs to be some cleanup work to be done.

Jersey City Skyline

The Jersey City skyline from a Hoboken balcony.

154 Steuben Street

The pilings of 154 Steuben have been nailed into the ground. It won't be long before the lover floors of Morgan Lighthouse will be staring at a concrete skeleton.

296 Grand Street

This small project at the corner of Grand, Barrow, and Liberty View Drive has quickly gone from empty lot to framed foundation.

Liberty Harbor North

From Jersey Avenue looking East:



The Sutton and the Lofts are two larger buildings planned for the first phase of Liberty Harbor North.

The north west corner of development along Grand Street is nearly complete on the outside, with the exception of landscaping.



At the corner of Barrow Street, new street signs have been hung from the recently installed traffic lights.



Liberty View Drive connects Liberty Harbor North with Grand Street. Liberty View Drive is part of the existing city grid system and would otherwise be called Barrow Street:



A wider angle reveals the corner of Liberty View Drive from Grand Street looking east:



Looking south into Liberty Harbor down the future Liberty View Drive, the Sutton and the Lofts at the end of the street.



The corner of Barrow and Liberty View Drive



Liberty Harbor North also includes several historic structures built directly into the new construction and currently being refurbished.



Further down Grand Street, another Liberty Harbor road has cut the curb:







Looking West along Grand Street, the town homes of Liberty Harbor have insulation, waiting for their brick facades.