Complete Sale of Ivy House For Fields Development Group

SEPTEMBER 30, 2009

JMWeichertGroup, an affiliate of Weichert Realtors, continues to get communities sold for developers despite a challenging real estate market. Most recently, the company worked with Fields Development Group to sell out all of the boutique condo units at their chic Ivy House community in the heart of the Powerhouse Arts district in Jersey City.

Fields Development Group, a third-generation real estate developer and a leader in the state's urban marketplace, brought in JMWeichertGroup to manage sales of the one- and two-bedroom condos at Ivy House. Utilizing the resources of one of the nation's largest real estate companies, the JMWeichertGroup executed a marketing and sales program tailored to the specific needs of Fields Development Group that included sales training, events and promotions, customer relationship management, Web site development and Internet marketing.

Within two months, JMWeichertGroup sold more than half of the available units. Within a year, the company had completely sold out the project.

"We were very pleased with the results the JMWeichertGroup achieved for us despite the surplus of inventory and competition on New Jersey's Gold Coast," said James Caulfield, Jr., principle of Fields Development Group. "The company's efforts to understand and meet our business objectives, along with the access they were able to provide to the local real estate community, made them a welcomed extension of our team."

Fascinating and informative post Ianmac. you sound very, very knowledgeable.

personally i'm a big fan of Ivy House. I like the grey concrete, the big open windows, and the fact that it sorta blends in due to it not being a overly huge tower (just a couple floors). Will be interested to see how my perception may change over next few years.

All architectural styles date quickly. Some building materials don't age quite as gracefully as others, but in the end architectural choices very much represent the zeitgeist of the era in which they were made. Even revival architecture indicates the aesthetic values of a period; the choices of which styles to replicate show a distinct preference over one or another.

Modernist and International style architecture of the post war period suffers mostly because the maintenance on the building materials requires a great deal of upkeep. New, white concrete, a favorite of the Modernist architects, fades quickly to gray and collects soot and dirt. When new, many of these buildings were beautiful, but the materials, without constant repair and cleaning, simply begin to appear old.

Brutalist architecture, for instance, seemed appealing during its height for several factors. The structures seemed like impenetrable fortresses at a time of civil unrest and a constant fear of the bomb. The style also provided energy efficient structures in part because of the heavy reliance on concrete and small windows. Ultimately though we look back on this style and call it dated architecture for these very same reasons. The smaller windows, while energy efficient, allow less light to penetrate interior spaces. The concrete exteriors proved vulnerable to graffiti vandals and the labyrinthine interiors lost their appeal under practical conditions.

All of this to say that even contemporary architectural aesthetics will change. Current building materials might be more durable, but only time will tell. Glass panels today probably will last longer with less maintenance than exposed concrete, but will look no less dated in the near future. New styles will supplant what is built today, especially if the price of glass continues to remain higher than other traditional materials. In the last 18 months, glass costs began creeping up and many buildings under construction substituted glass; the rise in glass prices stemmed from construction demands largely in Dubai, though that market is softening too. But with the high price of glass, many of the glass towers began appearing "dated" almost immediately. All this is to say that the all glass clad tower rose very quickly at the beginning of this decade as a symbol of contemporary aesthetics and is already beginning to fade because of economic limitations.

I can't help but think that buildings in this style are going to date quickly-- they're reminiscent of 60s architecture.

I hope they don't date, though, and that they're well built. Obviously it's in everyone's best interests.

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Yeah, and all those people who live in high-rise apartments without views on the UWS are just clamoring to get away from their sunless, viewless, shadowy hovels.


Disclaimer: Grove Street PATH/PAD is in no danger of becoming the UWS, but still.

It would be schadenfreude for the folks whose view from the Morgan Lighthouse is now the back of the Ivy House.

That's a good point. Plus, it's not really very nice looking.

This building looks nice on the outside and probably is nice on the inside also. But it's too bad these people didn't think long term - when it comes time to sell, it will likely be very difficult because directly across the street, (eventually) will be the other half of the Columbus towers. It may not be built next year or in two or three years, but eventually it will be built and they'll have no view (not that they have a great view now), no sunlight and a constant shadow. It's unfortunate that a nice looking building like this will eventually and literally be overshadowed.

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I was buoyed by my purchase of new shoes.

Smaller Building, Safer Bet?

New York Times
By ANTOINETTE MARTIN
Published: February 20, 2009


BOUTIQUE BUILDING Mike Reuter and Cassandra McDonald inside their new two-bedroom apartment at the Ivy House, a Jersey City condominium with 18 units.


Ivy House

In a time of big economic trouble around this region, Mike Reuter of Jersey City said he only felt comfortable buying small.

Mr. Reuter, 36, who was in the market for a condominium, said the apartment itself did not necessarily have to be small ? although for eight long years he did live in a 650-square-foot basement condo in Hoboken.

It was the building that had to be small. Mr. Reuter said he made that decision even before laying eyes on the 1,090-square-foot two-bedroom condo at the Ivy House that he happily bought in October.

?I started out looking at all the new construction in this area, anything that was near the PATH,? he said, explaining that he commutes to work at an advertising job in Manhattan and puts in long hours, so he wanted his train time to be short.

?All the big new towers were really large, and really pricey,? he said. ?I would look up at these buildings, and think ?What happens if they don?t fill up?? ?

Would unit owners then get stuck paying a bigger share of common charges? Would the hallways seem empty all the time? Would the fitness center?s hours get reduced, and the doorman?s uniform buttons start to get tarnished? (?Actually, I don?t really care how a doorman dresses,? Mr. Reuter said.)

Surfing the Web for tips on New Jersey condos last fall even as crises began unfolding almost daily on Wall Street, Mr. Reuter gleaned hints of buildings hard pressed to secure signed contracts on 50 percent of units. That threshold must be reached, he soon found out, before a certificate of occupancy is issued and closings can begin.

That is when it hit him: ?If it?s small,? he said, there is at least a better chance ?it won?t take that long to sell.? He visited the 18-unit Ivy while it was still under construction, gained an immediate sense of the ?intimacy? that might develop among dwellers of such a modest-size structure ? and swiftly committed to buy a fifth-floor unit for $580,000.

?These are exactly the points about boutique buildings that we emphasize to buyers,? said Marsha La Tessa, an owner of the Vesta Group, which opened sales recently for the Vesta Hoboken, a 16-unit condominium intended to evoke the Vesta 24 and Vesta 17 in Manhattan?s Chelsea neighborhood.

?Quicker construction, quicker sell-out, more attention to detail in the construction process ? and a more intimate lifestyle,? Ms. La Tessa said. The Vesta Hoboken, where the penthouse apartment sold within two weeks of the start of marketing, will have only two units on some floors and four on others.

Several buyers at other boutique projects ? including one of the five so far at the 12-unit Ardan House in Union City, and one of the eight at the 22-unit m650 Flats in Jersey City ? made similar points about why small is beautiful for them.

One buyer, Andrew Story, who works on Wall Street at Merrill Lynch and currently rents in Manhattan, added that he worried about a situation that he fears might develop in New York. Developers who are pressed for cash might resort to selling blocks of available units to investors, he said, ?in order to get needed cash to pay off long-term debt.?

At the Ardan, where he is buying a one-bedroom on the second floor for $290,000, that scenario could be less likely to occur, he said.

?The style and the personal touch? at the Italian-inspired converted warehouse called m650 Flats roped in Sergio Silva, who with his fianc?e, Anjoli Bido, is a buying a one-bedroom unit.

?Also, because it?s small we figured we would get to know everybody, and we liked that,? Mr. Silva said, adding that he and Ms. Bido had toured several towering condos, as well as the sprawling Dixon Mills complex in Jersey City.

?I walked into Dixon Mills and got lost walking around,? Mr. Silva recalled.

On his way home at night, Mr. Reuter said, he walks past the 455-unit Trump Plaza, Jersey City. Although sales have closed on more than half the units there, according to the developer, Dean Geibel of Metro Homes, Mr. Reuter said he sees very few apartments lit up at night. ?It looks kind of isolated,? he said, ?not so homey and secure.?

Ivy House, by contrast, has a ?potluck-dinner kind of feel to it.?

?Everyone seems to be within 10 years of the same age,? Mr. Reuter said. ?Everyone is friends. There are parties back and forth. Right away, there was a sense of community that made me buoyed by my purchase.?