City Sleeker

Big Apple-style buildings grow in Jersey City

 

10/26/07

 

By Adam Bonislawski

 

 

 

“To build a Manhattan-style building is to attract a Manhattan-style buyer.” That, says K. Hovnanian project director Tom Graham, was the idea behind 77 Hudson, the developer’s Jersey City new-construction high-rise.

What, exactly, is it that makes a building “Manhattan-style?” Well, for starters, how about a Richard Meier-style glass curtain wall? According to Graham, when complete, 77 Hudson will be the first residential building in Jersey City to have one.

High-end apartment design finishes are part of the package as well – touches that Graham says sets 77 Hudson apart from the more “suburban appeal” he sees as prevalent throughout many of the area’s condos.

Then, of course, there are the amenities, which in the case of 77 Hudson include offerings like a pool, fitness center, a roof deck and a FreshDirect cold-storage room.

And, finally, don’t forget the prices. With units in the building selling for an average of $800 a square foot and topping out around $1,500, some buyers’ mortgages will probably look pretty “Manhattan-style,” too.

Which marks something of a change. Traditionally, Jersey City had positioned itself as a lower-priced alternative to New York – a close-in local for those unable or unwilling to come up with the cash to buy on the island. Sure, this is still the case for many, but with prices buildings like 77 Hudson and Trump Plaza Jersey City topping $1,000 a square foot, the city clearly isn’t competing on cost alone anymore.

“Luxury offerings are becoming acceptable in Jersey City,” says Jackie Urgo, president of real-estate form The Marketing Directors, which is selling a number of projects in the area. “That’s because all of the infrastructure, the conveniences, have come into their own.”

In large part, this infrastructure has grown out of the city’s Newport area – the 600-acre mixed-use riverfront community that’s been developed over the last 21 years by real-estate firm the LeFrak Organization. Bars, restaurants and merchants like Macy’s at Newport Centre Mall and an 180,000-square-foot Target Greatland have sprung up to serve the community’s large rental population.

Luxury condos are rising here too, with the first phase of LeFrak’s Shore Condominium project having sold out in early 2006 after six months on the market. The second phase, consisting of 221 one-, two- and three-bedroom units, now has less than 20 apartments left. Shore one-bedrooms are in the $500,000 range.

“The pieces are all there,” says Shore resident Robert Hurley (yes, Duke fans, he’s that Robert Hurley – father of former Blue Devil point guard Bobby Hurley), explaining the project’s appeal. “The penthouse floor has a health club. We have parking right in the building. We have a nice deck. There are rooms if you want to throw a nice party.”

“It’s definitely a higher amenity level for Newport,” says Christopher Hussar, who, with his wife, Amy, recently moved into a one-bedroom apartment at the Shore after renting in the neighborhood for close to four years.

High-end is moving inland as well. At the Grove Street PATH station, two new rental developments – Grove Pointe (which also includes 67 condo units) and 50 Columbus – offer amenities like 24-hour doormen, screening rooms, fitness centers and rooftop decks with pools. Apartments at the Costas Kondylis-designed 50 Columbus come decked out with features like Carrera marble vanities. Rents in Grove Pointe and 50 Columbus start at $1,995 and $2,050, respectively, for one-bedrooms, and $2,950 and $3,300 for two-bedrooms.

And then there is The Beacon, Metrovest Equities’ new luxury development atop the Palisades Ridge, where, in early 2007, a two-story penthouse unit sold for $2.3 million – then a record for Jersey City, which has since been eclipsed by a two-penthouse, $6 million sale at 77 Hudson.

Asked whether he was surprised at such a sale in Jersey City, Metrovest principal George Filopoulos allows that while he wasn’t shocked, he was “happy that someone would feel comfortable spending that kind of money.”

Featuring perks like a 25,000-square-foot health club, common areas with floor-to-ceiling marble and a restored Art Deco movie theatre, the development – which Filopoulos says was modeled after condo living in Manhattan – is drawing considerably more interest from New York buyers than originally expected.

“We’re really seeing that close to half the buyers coming through our doors are coming from New York,” he says “which is significantly higher than we thought would be the case.”

Among them are new Beacon residents James Keating and Verena Schenk. Until recently renters at 99 John St. in the Financial District, the couple moved to Jersey City after learning of plans to convert their Manhattan building to condos.

“They basically wanted $920,000 for about 800 square feet.” Schenk says. “We knew we wanted more space, and we looked over here [at The Beacon] and were just floored.”

With prices at the development as low as $500 per square foot, the pair was able to snag a two-bedroom for around half the price of one-bedrooms they’d looked at on the other side of the Hudson.

As for what they miss living across the river, there are “the restaurants, we’ll be perfectly honest about that,” says Keating.

Their new building’s amenity package, though, is actually more substantial than anything they saw apartment hunting in Manhattan.

“That was a huge factor for us,” Schenk says.

And, of course, the couple haven’t left New York entirely behind. Though they’re now comfortably ensconced in the Garden State, their phone company has let them keep their 212 number. Now that’s living “Manhattan-style.”