JERSEY CITY | One Journal Square | 710 FT×2 | 64 + 64 FLOORS (1,723 Units)

[Hamilton]

Frankly I'm surprised that they would even try to submit a request for a tax abatement to the City Council. The writing on the wall was pretty clear they wouldn't get this abatement, especially given the vehement opposition to the Trump administration in the city and the fact that there's a municipal election happening in 6 months.

I wonder why they would do this when it's clear to any outside observer that it would be futile. I'd really like to know what's going on inside the heads of executives at Kushner Cos.

All I know is that I don't want this to be a hole in the ground for another 10 years, but the curse continues...

[C.]

Here's Fulop's statement on the matter, from his Facebook page.

I want to be clear with residents on where the city stands here. Last week, the developer of this project submitted an application to Jersey City for a tax subsidy and abatement on this property. The administration made clear to the applicant that the city is not supportive of their request and while the law requires a first reading ordinance vote if they submit an application, I don't foresee the council voting in favor. I know for certain I have made my feelings clear here on this project and what I feel works best for Jersey City. This tax abatement application doesn't work for us.

https://mobile.nytimes.com/2017/05/06/wo...ors.html?referer=https://www.google.com/

[C.]

Now Forbes

It's dead.

https://www.forbes.com/sites/troymcmulle...-pushes-a-new-jersey-luxury-development/

[chris08876]

Damn, and I thought Shvo was bad. Shame on Kusher for messing this up. Well look, let's be patient. Something will rise here. With 37k + in the pipeline, and 9k+ units rising in JC, something will come to this site. Jut have to wait thats all. JC is experiencing the biggest boom in decades, and a parcel like this, so close to the PATH, will not be left as a dirt parcel in time.

[C.]

Another BOMBSHELL just reported in Bloomberg. The project is in financial trouble. WeWork, the anchor tenant, has bailed and a slew of other problems. It also implies the lost of state tax credits. This may be why they were begging for cash from small Chinese investors. An incredible amount of negative press and revalations in a 72 hour period. It's like the site has been nuked. No one wants to be associated with it now that it's toxic.

https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/...by-sister-in-china-is-in-trouble-at-home

[Hamilton]

One Journal Square got its interim approval from the FAA at 777 feet today. LOL great timing.

https://oeaaa.faa.gov/oeaaa/external/searchAction.jsp?action=displayOECase&oeCaseID=322462826&row=9

[chris08876]

They need to increase the amount of visas allowed from 10k to 30k per year for citizens from China. EB-5 is good for cities. Good for development.

This will rise, like I've said in the past, just got to be patient. Chinese and Japanese buyers have gone rambo on picking up units in Jersey City. Especially along the waterfront and when it comes to investment.

While the Chinese government is not fond of capital leaving the mainland, the U.S. can take advantage of it. Chinese capital has played a nice role in the NY boom. The U.S. for the most part is a less risky investment given the slowdown in China.

[Hamilton]

Chinese media warning potential investors in One JSQ to proceed with caution:

http://www.ecns.cn/business/2017/05-11/256918.shtml

Can we get an explanation for why the other thread was closed? Lots of info is coming out in the news right now that will affect the future viability and timeline for this project.

[NYguy]

Any further political posts will be deleted.

[Submariner]

Originally Posted by Hamilton

Chinese media urging caution for potential investors in One JSQ:

http://www.ecns.cn/business/2017/05-11/256918.shtml

Can we get an explanation for why the other thread was closed? Lots of critical info that will affect the future viability and timeline for this project is being revealed.

Probably because it turned into an anti-Trump auto-felicitating cesspool.

There are plenty of reasons to dislike Trump, but a million forums for discussion that are designed for political banter. A site for building nerds isn't one of them.

[Crawford]

Agreed. I hate Trump with a passion, but it isn't really directly relevant to this development.

The Kushners have always been Dems, BTW.

[C.]

I agree there are other forums and threads for political discussions, but this is one of the rare cases where national politics is directly interwoven into a skyscraper development, unfortunately.

[NYguy]

Originally Posted by CIA

I agree there are other forums and threads for political discussions, but this is one of the rare cases where national politics is directly interwoven into a skyscraper development, unfortunately.

Only when people make it that way. This tower will either get built or not, like any other tower. We don't have to engage in politics, that never goes well, which is why its banned.

[Crawford]

Originally Posted by CIA

I agree there are other forums and threads for political discussions, but this is one of the rare cases where national politics is directly interwoven into a skyscraper development, unfortunately.

Not really. People are trying to inject politics, but the project will proceed based on financing, not politics.

The Kushners are the wealthiest and most powerful development family in NJ and will get this done, no question.

[Hamilton]

^^ if it were that simple, they wouldn't go begging Chinese investors for $$ in the first place.

https://therealdeal.com/2017/05/12/kushner-execs-pull-out-of-eb-5-roadshow-amid-ethics-fracas/

Amid backlash over its pitch to Chinese EB-5 investors, Kushner Companies executives won’t take part in a roadshow to promote the company’s One Journal Square project this weekend.

Executives from the company, including Nicole Kushner Meyer — whose comments set off a firestorm and raised conflict-of-interest questions — will not take part in sales pitches to investors, reported the Washington Post.

They were expected to appear in the southern cities of Shenzhen and Guangzhou to promote the Jersey City development, according to ads for the events. Kushner Companies is seeking $150 million from EB-5 investors for One Journal Square, a 1,467-apartment luxury tower in Jersey City with a projected cost upwards of $1 billion.

“No one from Kushner Companies will be in China this weekend,” spokesperson Risa Heller said in a statement to the New York Times.

The roadshow, which already made stops in Beijing and Shanghai, is continuing without representatives from Kushner Companies, according to Qiaowai, a Chinese immigration agency that’s working with the developer. The roadshow was advertised as a five-city tour ending in Wuhan in central China.

Meyer grabbed headlines last week when she said One Journal Square “means a lot to me and my entire family.” She also mentioned her brother by name, raising further conflict-of-interest questions.

Chinese state-run media also published reports questioning whether Kushner Companies was benefitting from its White House connection. “Caution urged on Kushner project,” read one headline, in the state-sponsored Global Times newspaper.

Kushner Companies later apologized and said Meyer’s invocation of Jared wasn’t meant to lure investors. White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer said Jared is complying with ethics rules and had “nothing to do” with Kushner Companies’ work in China.

[chris08876]

They wouldn't play around with their own personal capital. Too much risk in that. Better to leave the risk on the lender. Of course if the project tanks, both sides lose, but its the same reason why you don't see a billionaire like Roth invest his own personal capital. 500 million, even for a multi-billionaire, is a lot of risk.

Now in terms of the power factor, sure, being powerful with connections helps. Wealthy for that matter as well. Much better chance than joe-shit-the-ragman applying for a construction loan.

[Busy Bee]

It doesn't seem all that risky to me that a 1000 unit development sitting on top of a transit hub 5 minutes from Lower Manhattan would fail to be a smashing success. I'm not sure where the skepticism is here. It seems like a no brainer this project would kill in sales.

[Hamilton]

Originally Posted by Busy Bee

It doesn't seem all that risky to me that a 1000 unit development sitting on top of a transit hub 5 minutes from Lower Manhattan would fail to be a smashing success. I'm not sure where the skepticism is here. It seems like a no brainer this project would kill in sales.

A poster on another forum who's familiar with real estate development in Hudson County is skeptical of the project in the short term. His reasoning is that there's a glut of new high-end apartments in JC, Brooklyn, and Manhattan, and landlords are offering huge concessions right now. And he says the construction costs per unit for a project of this height and level of design don't really pencil out at lower rents.

I hope he's wrong. Ideally I wish they could lower their cost basis through value-engineering to make the project viable at a lower rents. There's plenty of demand for mid-market rentals, and I think Journal Sq is much better situated for mid-market rentals rather than high-end rentals in the first place.

[chris08876]

^^^^

I agree with the mid-rentals. Problem with a lot of these new developments are that they price people out. Potential clients and buyers. Why I'm a fan of 421a over in NY, subsidizing and tax plans for cheaper units to be included. Also mandatory affordable housing; 20-25%. In JC's case, mid range units are ideal. You can have so many high priced units sold before that market share of willing buyers declines and starts to slow down city wide.

Given the cost of development, I get that a higher price per sq ft needs to be done for feasibility purposes, but I would like rentals in the range of $1500-2500. Slightly below average for studios/1 bedrooms.

1 bedrooms are in demand. Catering more to mid income clientele would be nice. Improving the soft cost process, and reducing delays can help lower costs. Overall, the cheaper the overall cost of the project is, the more likely we are to see mid-rental developments given the land price. Of course based on location.

Realistically, we will see higher rents or prices. Unless things like tax plans or better perks for developers are offered. Anything to help reduce the risk in the first place and make it become reality.

[chris08876]

Large Rendering:


Credit: daliy2