JERSEY CITY | Projects and Construction thread

[C.]

We should be hearing news on Urby II and III in the next couple of days...

Urby reached stabilized occupancy with lightening speed. I would be interested to know how it ranks against other developments in North America. Leasing 750 units in under a year at the rents they are charging is no small accomplishment.

[C.]

Turns out Mack Cali is purchasing 25 Christopher Columbus Drive - plans remain the same (749 units and 52 floors) with groundbreaking planned for next year.
Mack Cali has also purchased 107 Morgan St, which is 1.38 acres currently being used as a parking lot. The plan is to develop into multi-family apartments.
Looks like Urby II and III groundbreakings are at least 5 months away. Attention may be shifting to other development sites...
What's most surprising is Harborside VIII & Harborside IX, located northeast of Urby is planned to breakground in 2018. Not much is known except it will be two towers: one with 675 units and the other 1,325. The total for both sites is about ~2.9 acres. I'm going to pay a lot of attention to what's planned at Harborside IX. To contain 1,325 units, it's going to have to be massive!

Other notes:
Journal Squared is over 80% leased (at least 430 of the 538 units)
Vantage is about 30% leased (135 out of 448 units)
Something called VYV is 7% leased (30 out of 420 units)

Jersey City's rental market is very healthy. Ubry II & III may be taking a backseat to 25 Christopher Columbus and the mysterious Harborside 8 & 9 towers.

[Oron Zchut]

Originally Posted by CIA

Turns out Mack Cali is purchasing 25 Christopher Columbus Drive - plans remain the same (749 units and 52 floors) with groundbreaking planned for next year.
Mack Cali has also purchased 107 Morgan St, which is 1.38 acres currently being used as a parking lot. The plan is to develop into multi-family apartments.
Looks like Urby II and III groundbreakings are at least 5 months away. Attention may be shifting to other development sites...
What's most surprising is Harborside VIII & Harborside IX, located northeast of Urby is planned to breakground in 2018. Not much is known except it will be two towers: one with 675 units and the other 1,325. The total for both sites is about ~2.9 acres. I'm going to pay a lot of attention to what's planned at Harborside IX. To contain 1,325 units, it's going to have to be massive!

Other notes:
Journal Squared is over 80% leased (at least 430 of the 538 units)
Vantage is about 30% leased (135 out of 448 units)
Something called VYV is 7% leased (30 out of 420 units)

Jersey City's rental market is very healthy. Ubry II & III may be taking a backseat to 25 Christopher Columbus and the mysterious Harborside 8 & 9 towers.

That's some pretty big news there. Seems like Mack-Cali is buying up a lot of Jersey City property. I don't know if that's good or bad - probably means development will be slower, with one developer holding a bunch of properties and not wanting to compete with himself.

107 Morgan is the huge lot across from 321 Warren right? That lot could probably hold 4 towers, although I'm not sure what the zoning allows.

And FYI - VYV is the first of the Metro Plaza/Hudson Exchange towers.

[Hamilton]

Originally Posted by Oron Zchut

107 Morgan is the huge lot across from 321 Warren right? That lot could probably hold 4 towers, although I'm not sure what the zoning allows.

The zoning for the site, in the High-Rise Zone of the Powerhouse Arts District Redevelopment Plan, allows for 600,000 square feet. (It's a 60,000 square foot site with an allowed FAR of 10). That's about 750 apartments at an average of 800 square feet each.

[Hamilton]

By the way, Councilman Boggiano says the city plans to keep fighting the court order to vacate West Street. Not sure how that's possible, considering the only court that the case could be appealed to now is the US Supreme Court, where this would have a snowball's chance in hell....

[citybooster]

Originally Posted by Hamilton

By the way, Councilman Boggiano says the city plans to keep fighting the court order to vacate West Street. Not sure how that's possible, considering the only court that the case could be appealed to now is the US Supreme Court, where this would have a snowball's chance in hell....

I'd just dismiss this if I were the HAP developer and get ready for groundbreaking asap. Boggiano can cackle all he wants for his NIMBY peeps but they lost, now get the hey out of the way and build!

[C.]

i'm gonna predict Harborside 9 will be a supertall. Someone bump this post if proved correct!

Call made 11/7/17 using publicly available financial information.

[Busy Bee]

What an ignorant old sad sack... "destroying the neighborhood"?... a run down old parking lot a block from JS station? People like this just need to fade away and be replaced by a younger generation that has some damn sense.

[C.]

I can see my house in that pic.

[Hamilton]

Originally Posted by CIA

I can see my house in that pic.

Me too. We must be neighbors! I think I might've run into you today? Check your PM's.

[C.]

I was doing more reading up on Mack Cali. There's some skepticism on the transition from the suburban areas to the Jersey City waterfront. I would categorize this as concerns regarding overbuilding. I also get the impression that the wall street guys are not impressed with the plan to acquire 25 Columbus and 107 Morgan. At least, there were seeking more info (as we are) on what the plan is. As some guy said, it's like they spent several million dollars on dirt, but didn't provide any details on the development rights or planned number of units for 107 Morgan.

There was also a question about why some of the construction start dates have been pushed back, which I believe was a reference to Urby II. Mack Cali responded generally saying it takes time for zoning, permitting, design, etc... but they are generally on track.

Harborside 8 did come up, but it was nothing specific. Just in a general comment that all the developments along the waterfront can have a positive influence on the existing buildings, making them more valuable.

The Mack Cali guys seem extremely confident on the Jersey City waterfront. The wall street guys want much more information. I bet future reporting from Mack Cali will be more detailed, on a site by site basis, to explain why they're so confident to alleviate concerns from wall street.

https://seekingalpha.com/article/412...all-transcript

[citybooster]

I would tend to bet on Mack Cali rather than the skeptics... they do have a good track record and it makes senses for them to emphasize Jersey City over their more spread out suburban projects. It's very ambitious grabbing that extra property and yes, a more detailed explanation of what they are planning would be helpful in judging if they are on the right track... I hope maybe URBY is getting a bit of a time out so it can go through revisions architecturally... the first one rented out spectacularly and I really think they want to do something transformative for the area. Wall Street may go from skeptical to downright jealous if my hopes for Mack Cali hold up.

[Hamilton]

Remember that 5-story building proposed for 17-23 Perrine Avenue that was rejected by the Planning Board due to NIMBY opposition, even though it was completely compliant with the zoning for the site?

Well, it looks like all of the NIMBYs' hard work was for nothing: the three families that own the three homes at 17-23 Perrine Avenue sued the city, and they won on July 26, 2017. A motion for reconsideration was recently denied by the judge. In the summary judgment, the judge said the city's denial of Planning Board approval for the building was "arbitrary and capricious." I don't know if the city will appeal, but the city's lawyers have a horrible track record, losing every single appeal and judgment on the Bright & Varick building and the HAP tower.

The Law Division docket number is L 000291-17 in case anyone is interested. Nicholas Babalis, Christian Bastidas, and Kevin & Julianne O'Connell vs Planning Board of the City of Jersey City.

[C.]

Originally Posted by Hamilton

Remember that 5-story building proposed for 17-19 Perrine Avenue that was rejected by the Planning Board due to NIMBY opposition, even though it was as-of-right?

Well, it looks like all of the NIMBYs' hard work was for nothing: the three families that own the three homes at 17-21 Perrine Avenue sued the city, and they won on July 26, 2017. A motion for reconsideration was recently denied by the judge. In the summary judgment, the judge said the city's denial of permits for the building was "arbitrary and capricious." Unknown if the city will appeal, but the city's lawyers have a horrible track record, losing every single appeal and judgment on the Bright & Varick building and the HAP tower.

The Law Division docket number is L 000291-17 in case anyone is interested. Nicholas Babalis, Christian Bastidas, and Kevin & Julianne O'Connell vs Planning Board of the City of Jersey City.

Bring out the champaign!

[C.]

This may be a slightly more refined rendering than we've seen in the past.




From jcra

[C.]

New development maps posted today (well, for downtown anyway)

http://data.jerseycitynj.gov/dataset...ps-10.5.17.pdf

Some small updates but nothing big from what I can see.

[C.]

Speaking of St. Peters...



From Jersey Digs - https://jerseydigs.com/construction-...ginley-square/

Construction Yet to Begin on Saint Peter’s University Tower in McGinley Square
By Jared Kofsky - November 15, 2017


More than three years after it was approved, little progress has been made on a massive mixed-use development that was expected to be the largest, by far, in the McGinley Square neighborhood of Jersey City.

It was revealed in early 2014 that Saint Peter’s University was planning to construct a 21-story tower at the site of a parking lot it owns at 688 Montgomery Street, at the corner of Tuers Avenue. The project, according to Together North Jersey, was slated to include a grocery store, a 13-screen movie theater, a landscaped promenade, an underground parking garage, the Jesuit Institute for Lifelong Learning and Living, a residence hall with 300 beds, and 450 residential rental units. According to the university, Saint Peter’s Tower at McGinley Square was set to be co-developed with Sora Development and KPN Architects.

A student at SPU, who asked to remain anonymous contacted, Jersey Digs, explaining that he was informed during his freshman year that the project was expected to be completed by 2016.

“Students here are still living in what we consider to be sub-par conditions on the university’s West Campus,” said the source, who added “failing infrastructure in these old buildings result[s] in no hot water being provided and electricity failures that can last for a whole day.”

According to the student, “when we saw its [the project’s] delay, we started asking questions, but the administration here danced around the questions, refusing to give us satisfactory answers.”

Jersey Digs reached out to SPU for an update on the development, but was unable to get any real information.

Sarah Malinowski Ferrary, the Executive Director of University Communications, initially responded to our questions by stating that “Saint Peter’s University remains committed to meeting the housing needs of its students and we are in the process of exploring viable options in the area,” but when we asked for more details about this project, she explained that “she can’t discuss any specifics about plans right now due to confidentiality reasons.”

We also contacted the project developers and the architect, and will keep you updated should additional information be released.

LoL at quoting an anonymous student.

[C.]

Interesting comment from Jersey Digs on St. Peters

Sal G November 15, 2017 at 12:09 pm
Asked a similar question out a community meeting where Mayor Fulop attended regarding the multiple empty lots that are fenced off and have been in approved status for years, and he looked at me like I insulted his mother. Not sure why it’s such a touchy subject but clearly something going on behind the scenes.

My completely uneducated guess is it's a financing issue leading to the delay. The developer is probably seeking more subsidy from the university to get this built, but the university believes it's already contributed enough, leading to the impasse. The developer looks somewhat on the smaller side based on the website. Not sure what kind of New Jersey work they've done. So I wonder what kind of experience they have to pull something tricky off like this.

The hint that tells me something is up is the underground parking. 717 units worth is a lot on such a small site like this! It's the right planning thing to do since it doesn't have as bad as a negative impact like an above grade garage, but underground parking is extremely expensive! No one does it due to the costs, which is close to $55,000 a space in a normal environment. North Jersey is anything but normal, so the costs are much higher. It's hard for a project to be financially feasible for low-income student housing, higher-end retail in an economically-distressed area, and to provide 717 parking spaces in multiple stories underground at $75k a pop.

My conclusion based on my completely uninformed opinion is this gets redesigned as it's currently unfeasible.

[citybooster]

Originally Posted by CIA

Interesting comment from Jersey Digs on St. Peters



My completely uneducated guess is it's a financing issue leading to the delay. The developer is probably seeking more subsidy from the university to get this built, but the university believes it's already contributed enough, leading to the impasse. The developer looks somewhat on the smaller side based on the website. Not sure what kind of New Jersey work they've done. So I wonder what kind of experience they have to pull something tricky off like this.

The hint that tells me something is up is the underground parking. 717 units worth is a lot on such a small site like this! It's the right planning thing to do since it doesn't have as bad as a negative impact like an above grade garage, but underground parking is extremely expensive! No one does it due to the costs, which is close to $55,000 a space in a normal environment. North Jersey is anything but normal, so the costs are much higher. It's hard for a project to be financially feasible for low-income student housing, higher-end retail in an economically-distressed area, and to provide 717 parking spaces in multiple stories underground at $75k a pop.

My conclusion based on my completely uninformed opinion is this gets redesigned as it's currently unfeasible.

It HAS to be redesigned... put in far fewer parking spaces and concentrate on amenities like the cinema and /or a small market that would be useful for the area. Students can take the bus and it's such a short walk to the main campus anyway. How many student apartments vs market rate housing were they talking about anyway? I hardly remember anything close to 700 overall..no need for all those cars in an area with a lot of potential congestion as a main thoroughfare.

[C.]

Plus there is no way you're going to get high market rate rents above a 300 bed dorm. The market rate units will attract mainly grad students on limited income. It'll probably be much more modest market rate rents.

The retailers are the ones probably lobbying for the additional parking, but I agree - less parking and whoever wants to walk away can walk away. It's the only thing gets built.