That chromium document is really interesting--it looks like Gull's Cove is on top of a large former chromium site, although some of Libarty Harbor (except for the block closest to Gull's Cove) seems not to be a former site.

Interesting it wasn't in the deed notice.

I buried it somewhere in my post, but from looking at their deed notice when I visited, there was an underground gasoline storage tank on the site at some point. They obviously removed the tank, and apparently also capped the area with a foot of concrete replaced all of the soil around it, and are required to have an environmental site survey done every year.

Other properties in JC have similar situations--a number in Paulus Hook in particular have had chromium in the soil. Heck, even in Hoboken the Maxwell Place development has a deed notice for benzene in the soil. That said, obviously everyone has a different comfort level with these things.

(BTW, just about any former drycleaners, gas station, car service shop, etc is considered a brownfield--what matters is not the designation but of course what toxic substances were on the site and how they have been remediated.)

I visited the other week. I totally agree that the sales pitches were on the crude side--the salespeople totally turned me off. And it's a personal decision whether to buy in a former brownfield site (although there are plenty of former industrial, brownfield properties in Paulus Hook that have sold fine). (I asked to see the brownfield deed notice for Liberty Harbor, and from reading it, apparently the brownfield status is due to an underground gasoline storage tank that was on the site.)

I wouldn't say that the units are expensive--unless they have hiked prices a lot in the past week or two, it seemed like a fair deal at anout $425 per square foot, considering the better-than-average finishes.

$500K-$550K for a 1250 sq-ft 2 bedroom with Viking appliances, a 5-fixture travertine bathroom, and all the technology stuff they give you (home automation, in-ceiling speaker system, etc.) seemed pretty fair to me. I mean, I looked at the Pulte units at Essex and Van Vorst, and they were quite a bit more expensive, especially considering the finishes were only ok (and Pulte had window AC/heat units--why developers use heat pumps for cooling AND heating in new buildings is beyond me).

i think the main downside is that the development is going to take a while to complete, so you will be living in an area with a lot of construction dust and noise. That, and a lot of the units are on Grand St, which is pretty busy.

But if you want a new unit that looks like an old brownstone, I can see how it would be appealing.