Sky's the limit in Jersey City
Monday, October 02, 2006
By JARRETT RENSHAW
JOURNAL STAFF WRITER

Jersey City is quickly becoming Vertical City.

Already home to the state's four tallest buildings, by decade's end it could have the 10 tallest, further transforming nearly everything Downtown east of Grove Street into Manhattan-style high-rises, supported by an extensive public transportation system.

The city's Planning Board is expected to consider a 775-foot residential tower, dubbed the Metropolitan, on land just south of the Newport Mall, at the site the Pep Boys Automotive store.

If completed, the $200 million Metropolitan would become the state's second tallest building, after the 781-foot Goldman Sachs building on Hudson Street. The tower is one of several that may be built in the 18-acre shopping area currently anchored by a Shop-Rite supermarket and a BJ's Wholesale Club.

The Shop-Rite is expected to stay, perhaps absorbed by one of the future buildings, officials said.

It was just months ago that Donald Trump made his splash on the Gold Coast, announcing plans for Trump Plaza Jersey City, boasting that its two towers would be the tallest residential buildings in the state.

But with the announcement of the Metropolitan, Trump can no longer make that claim.

Jersey City has the four tallest buildings and another, Harborside Plaza 5, that is tied with Borgota in Atlantic City as the fifth. A number of projects slated for construction during the next several years will move into the state's top 10 list.

They include 111 First St., Trump Towers, the Metropolitan and 77 Hudson St.

"It is really a reflection of the pressure put on Jersey City to become vertical," said Bob Antonicello, the executive director of the Jersey City Redevelopment Agency.

"The market is so great, the incentive is so great. Now, it becomes under-utilization of the land and there is no better example of that than the Pep Boys. Just to have retail there is under-under-utilization."

Ward E Councilman Steve Fulop, whose ward includes all of those skyscrapers, offered a mixed reaction.

"From an aesthetic point of view, it's a wonderful thing. We are going to have a wonderful skyline," he said. "From an infrastructure standpoint, we never planned for this much density. It's a possibility that we are growing faster than we expected.

"But that's a good thing," he added.