good point, that would be an excellent temporary home for the farmers market!

They should put that huge empty lot to work! There is enough room there for all sorts of activities and functions. First, make part of it a revenue generating municipal parking lot (duh). Sure it would look ugly, but it would be functional. Right now all it is is ugly. Also, you could shift the Farmers Market into that space- more customers could drive in and buy produce. An ongoing problem at Journal Square are the cars illegally parked while their occupants pick up and drop off loved ones. Nobody ever put a plan in place to accommodate them so they just park and double park all over. Why not form a loop through the gravel area just for those guys? Urban planers designing a future for the Square MUST accept the reality of these cars, they are here every hour of every day and they are not going to go away, so why not make them legit and give them a loop through the vacant lot? Pedestrian safety would improve. The hateful scourge of the cab stand would be less chaotic.
When that golden day arrives and they build the giant towers, its not like you would have to bulldoze infrastructure to begin breaking ground since the gravel lot would still remain just a gravel lot.

They had control for quite a while, but they kept changing the plans to allow for more and more units and asking for better incentives. It is probably true that construction has been put off because of the economy, but it seems to me that an massive empty lot collecting trash for years on end is going to hurt property values for everyone in the neighborhood. Worse than unrented units? Who knows. But during the approval process the developers enlisted the support of hudson county unions who came out to encourage the project on grounds of it providing jobs, those jobs are sorely needed now. Maybe instead of allowing Healey's buddies to sit on property until they feel like developing it, the city should find someone who is willing to start construction, and who knows, maybe it would be a more appropriate plan than these behemoths. And lets not forget that the later the project is started, the later the city will be getting any tax money.

I think the JSQ tower construction / no construction is really more a product of timing. Had they gotten control of the land 18 months sooner, the tower would probably have been too far along when the market crashed for them to stop construction.

Forget sweeping change, any change would be surprising to me considering nothing has really changed at city hall. The same people who gave out the contract for the JSQ towers are still there, if my memory serves me it was a no-bid contract and one hell of a deal with millions in tax abatements. The best part is that right before the mayoral election a bunch of construction equipment moved into the site and appeared to be doing something. Immediately after the election it disappeared and has not returned since. They really must think we are idiots.

I hope something happens to the plaza surrounding Journal Square PATH station soon. Whoever was maintaining the stone paving that covers the entire area has apparently given up on doing any more maintenance as of last summer. I had assumed it was the Port Authority that handled that and they used to do a great job. I particularly appreciate the plantings they go out of their way to maintain. But the paving stones are breaking up pretty bad lately and the entire area is going downhill fast. Numerous paving stones are loose, they pop up and trip pedestrians. The inlaid mosaic has been completely abandoned to its fate and is now disintegrating into an unrecognizable scar. As to the giant buildings proposed to go up on the footprint of the old shopping plaza, it never seamed doable to me (see above) and seams even less likely now in light of the corruption scandal and the tanked economy. Meanwhile the temporary fence surrounding the gravel covered field is now a trap for drifting debris that is never cleaned. The 911 Memorial fountain didn?t get it?s annual ?just get it working for September? maintenance and has been dry all year, and is also a trap for drifting debris. Which is depressing. Cause for hope would be that maybe they stopped maintaining the area since immanent sweeping change is coming?

Contact the JC's economic development office

does anyone know what the hell is going on with the JSQ towers project? Its pathetic that construction hasn't even started. Despite the fact that the whole thing is incredibly oversized and out of character with the surrounding neighborhood, anything is better than a vacant lot sitting for years in what should be prime real estate.

That article is a crude cut-and-paste job from this Daily News article from June

They didn't even change the part about the Beacon auction, even though it happened 5 months ago:
"On June 27, the remaining Beacon units will be auctioned off"
Way to go guys :)

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Likewise, this stat was hopelessly out of date. M650 has sold 17 of 22 units.

I'm a local for 55 yrs. Do not feel safe. Don't be a dope.
Last week a guy got carjacked and pistol whipped on Sip and Garrison.

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I suspect you're much more likely to get mugged with a few blocks of JSQ than within a few blocks of the Beacon. I'd think most of the projects-related crime (such as drug dealing, and the violence that can go along with that) largely stays within the projects. But it's impossible to say without pulling the actual crime stats for both areas.

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I'll believe it when I see it. Nothing has happened since demo, which was months ago.


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Really? I thought there were still vacancies. Does anyone have more info about this?


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I like this building a lot, but it's only fair to mention that a good number of those 9 sold units were bought by family members of the developers.

Hey JC old-timer?s remember some of the places that were torn down to make way for the NEW Path tower/plaza?

- Robinson?s restaurant on the corner over by the Stanley.
- Orange Julius over by the Concourse. Yummy!!!
- Woolworths. (5 and 10?)
- Universal Supermarket...I can still smell and see those chickens roasting and it was directly across from the drunks stewing on their bar stools in the Tube Bar. My mother use to make us cover our eyes (and ears) when we walked past the Tube Bar.

Also over by the back of PATH there was a whole neighborhood of beautiful 2 family homes that were demolished. Progress!!(??)

Talk of a "new" JS had been going on for the last 40 years. When I was a kid they did start and took people's properties to build some of the buidlings you see today. People didn't have a voice back then the city just came in and took your property. Another plan was to cover over the JS railroad cut and build on it. Also to extend Broadway Ave. all the way up to JS. Never happened but scared a lot of oldtimers worrying if their house would be taken next.

Here is a good link to the "new" JS ...I hope they can put it off!!

Just think it took them forever to work out a deal to get the Hotel On The Square property comdemed. A family
The Tawils owned roughly 80 percent of the properties on the block adjacent to the PATH Transportation Center. They were not going without a fight.

http://www.thenewjournalsquare.com/ht ... evelopment_Plans-2004.htm

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I have to agree. There were so many JC naysayers back in the seventies and eighties who never had vision and poo-pooed the whole thing. The smart ones were the people who bought up brownstones for $50,000. And also, Jr. Square and the Beacon are very different. Not only is the Beacon next to a project, but it's a big compound set away from neighborhoods. Jr Square is the transportion hub of JC, giving people easy access to the PATH, buses and taxis. Just use your imagination and think of how great Jr. Square could be with all of that commercial space, the Loew's theater, and all of those gorgeous homes located close by on Kennedy Blvd and Bergen Avenue. As a native uptown JC person, I am very excited by and hopeful about this new development. It's about time.

Wow, Jersey City Frankie. You really are an old school thinking waste of breath! If you haven't noticed, Jersey City is changing for the better and Journal Square is absolutely changing.

Look at Newark Ave, near Grove St Path, that is one of the most sought after neighborhoods in NJ. It was a shit hole 10 years ago!

Wow. Who says they don?t write good Science Fiction anymore? All thats missing is a monorail and people flying jetpacks. And on side note I will say: Never again assume New York Daily News is a real newspaper. Apparently it?s a place where journalism has taken a second seat to some sort of weird political/real estate hybrid propaganda that nobody that lives within ten miles of Journal Square could ever believe.

Journal Squared: A Jersey City neighborhood's housing multiplies

BY Karen Angel
NEW YORK DAILY NEWS
Friday, November 13th 2009

Developer Lowell Harwood at the site in Journal Square, Jersey City, where he is building two residential towers with 70,000 square feet of retail space.

From the 1920s through the 1960s, Journal Square was Jersey City's crown jewel, a glowing commercial, entertainment and transportation hub.

But the arrival of local malls and the Port Authority bus terminal's move to inside the PATH station in the 1960s decreased foot traffic and increased the area's deterioration.

The result is a hodgepodge of downscale franchises, bodegas and, as Mayor Jerramiah Healy puts it, a housing stock of "ugly old eyesores." Most residents live in single- or multifamily houses, brownstones and prewar apartment buildings.

More recently, though, the word "potential" comes up when people speak of Journal Square. Looking to continue a decade of city growth by pushing west, Healy has made it his mission to restore Journal Square to its original glory.

Last fall, he unveiled his vision for the district: up to 15,000 new units of housing, millions of square feet of retail and commercial space, a revamped PATH station and 9 acres of parkland. Completely realizing this plan could take "10, 20, 30 years," Healy admits.

But the plan's keystone - two residential towers of 61 and 43 stories, with 70,000 square feet of retail space - is underway. Demolition of the three buildings on the site has been completed, and construction is expected to begin on 1 Journal Square, the project's working name, by the end of the year, with occupancy set for 2013.

The privately financed, $400 million project, adjacent to the PATH station, is considered the test case for Journal Square investment: Depending on how much demand there is for its 1,615 units and how well its retailers do, other developers and businesses will either follow suit or stay away.

"I always wanted to see something happen," says Jersey City native Lowell Harwood, 79, the developer. "In 40 years, no one had built an apartment building here."

His experience five years ago redeveloping the State Theater, a 130-unit rental building across the street from the towers' site, convinced him there was a strong market in Journal Square.

"It filled up within 30 days," Harwood says. "Being from Jersey City and seeing how fast we rented the State Theater, I thought it was important to bring something even better to Jersey City."

Before The Beacon, "there hadn't been a project in Jersey City with that full-scale amenity package," says Desi Daniels, a sales associate with Weichert Realtors. "It's resort living in the city."

The 10-building development, to be completed by 2014, boasts 40,000 square feet of amenities and 80,000 square feet of retail space. A one-bedroom apartment can be had for as little as $225,000, Daniels says.

On June 27, the remaining Beacon units will be auctioned off at prices starting at $150,000. (Go to www.thebeaconjc.com.)

Several other conversion projects have followed.

Set on 31/2 acres on Journal Square's western edge, Canco Lofts used to be the American Can Co. factory. It now consists of 202 lofts, with 112 more on the way. Modern floor-to-ceiling windows have been combined with original details like the fa?ade's sawtooth design, enormous concrete mushroom columns and 14-foot ceilings with gashes from conveyer-belt machinery. Amenities include half a basketball court, a 300-square-foot fitness center, a dog park and a movie theater. Prices range from $300,000 for a 750-square-foot one-bedroom to $675,000 for a 1,260-square-foot penthouse with 27-foot ceilings and a Manhattan view.

"We're incredibly busy," says Jodi Stasse, Canco's director of marketing and sales. "We do eight to 10 sales a month in a market like this. That's amazing!"

In response to critics who say Canco is too far from the Journal Square PATH station, managment has arranged a free shuttle to take residents back and forth.
Diagonally across the street from The Beacon is M650 Flats, formerly the Calco Chemical Co. factory. Despite having entered the market last November, M650 has found buyers for nine of its 22 luxury lofts, which range from $375,000 to $705,000.

Each has an individual design and elements from the original structure, like bluestone mantels and recycled brick - "character," as new buyer Eric Margelefsky, 27, puts it. These homes also have Bosch appliances, iPod docks and heated bathroom floors and towel racks.

Most units have a terrace, and there's a common roof deck where the developers throw parties for buyers, apartment hunters, friends and locals. Among the many green features are bamboo floors and energy-saving tankless hot-water heaters. M650 also contains New Jersey's first robotic garage, which parks cars itself.

"In the McGinley Square-Journal Square area, there are a lot of brick buildings that go back 100-plus years, and a lot of developers choose to knock down these gems of architecture," says M650 developer Alfonso Carrino, who put his money where his mouth is and lives in the building. "We wanted to conserve the story of Jersey City and add some uniqueness to the building."

Drawn by both design and low-cost living, Brooklynites have been flocking to Journal Square. Broker Desi Daniels says over the past six years, she has moved 75 New Yorkers to the area, with at least half of them Brooklynites looking to double their living space.

Developer Billy Santomauro had no trouble filling the 19-unit Basilico in 2007, after renovating the McGinley Square, pre-Civil War building. A lifelong Jersey City resident, Santomauro lives around the corner from the building.

"I have a very strong belief in that section of Jersey City," says Santomauro, who also owns three rental buildings in the area.

"There's a huge exodus from Brooklyn," says John Fio Rito, principal with Point Capital. He tapped into that demand with two large prewar buildings, where one-bedrooms go for $170,000 and three-bedrooms for $295,000. Of 29 units sold so far between the two buildings, about half have gone to young professionals from Brooklyn, he says.

NYU golf coach Todd Kolean, 45, moved to the Basilico from Brooklyn Heights, paying $1,495 a month for a 900-square-foot two-bedroom with a big backyard. "I couldn't afford Brooklyn anymore," he says. "This is the up-and-coming place."

http://www.nydailynews.com/ny_local/y ... 3_journal_squared_a_.html