Quote:

Actually agree with that statement since if you picked up the print edition today you would see about 4 jersey city new development ads strategically placed on the same page as this article.

Its capitalism at its finest. If you got money they are in bed with you. You scratch my back i will scratch yours, easy to make more and more money when you got lots of cash.

"What you have $500,000 to spend in this weeks advertisement section, sure we will write an article about your town."

Although I still do get excited about the Jersey City of the future.

Articles like this (most likely planted by one or more of the developers' PR people) come out every month or so, and they always leave out what I've slowly discovered since moving here almost two years ago - our local government is almost picturesque in its old-school incompetence and cronyism (think 1930's Chicago or for that matter... 1930's Jersey City).

Meanwhile, we put up with the grab-your-ankles tax abatements behind these developments, and laugh off certain city official's alleged drinking problems, all the while crime rates rise.

Maybe between holes on the new course, Rudy can give Healy a few pointers on how to be a mayor.

But no, alas, those two are birds of different colors.

Yeah, yeah, yeah. So why does my tax bill keep going up? Huh?

http://www.nypost.com/realestate/63877.htm

JUST SAY JERSEY

HOLY HOUSING STOCK! JERSEY CITY IS A-BOOM WITH NEW HOMES


May 18, 2006 -- Jersey City is about more than office parks these days. The city across the Hudson from Manhattan is seeing a residential construction boom and soon might be known for its abundance of new condos and rental buildings.
According to the Jersey City mayor's office, 24 residential projects have recently been completed, another 21 are under construction and 23 more have been approved.

"We're riding a tremendous wave of investment," says Mayor Jerramiah Healy.

Think big towers with waterfront views, multi-use sprawling residential/commercial developments, historical renovations and one very exclusive golf course.

In the big - extremely big - category is Trump Plaza Jersey City, a two-tower, 860-unit development planned for 88 Morgan St. When completed in fall 2007, the two towers, clocking in at 50 and 55 stories, will be the tallest residential buildings in New Jersey. Prices will likely range from $400,000 to $4 million. The Trump Organization and Hoboken-based Metro Homes are the developers.

Metro Homes is also behind the 431-unit Gull's Cove condominium at 205 Luis Munoz Marin Blvd. in the Liberty Harbor North redevelopment area. Open for sales three weeks ago, prices start in the high-$200,000s for 500-square-foot studios.

Gull's Cove will eventually contain 30,000 square feet of ground-floor retail, including a Wachovia bank, coffee shop, restaurant and dry cleaners. A deal with childcare company Kindercare is also pending, according to Metro Homes managing partner Dean Geibel.



"The whole idea is that you're buying into a lifestyle, that you have an instant neighborhood," Geibel says.

Of course, the "instant neighborhood" idea in Jersey City was spearheaded by the Manhattan-based LeFrak Organization, the developer behind Newport, a sprawling, 600-acre development on the Hudson River. Known as a rental community, Newport is adding more sales buildings, including the 220-unit North Tower of the Shore Club at 580 Washington Blvd. Construction will begin this June.

The South Tower sold out - with little advertising - just six months after opening for sales last September, says Jamie LeFrak, managing director of the LeFrak Organization.

Part of Jersey City's draw is simply its small cost per square foot, believes LeFrak. Prices currently average about $600 a square foot, he says, compared to the $700 a square foot in some hot parts of Brooklyn.

Off the water, adjacent to the Grove Point PATH station, construction has begun on Grove Pointe, a 67-unit condominium and 458-unit residential building located at 102 Christopher Columbus Drive, which opened for sales three weeks ago and is 25 percent sold. Prices start at $495,000 for a 750-square-foot one-bedroom. The development will house 20,000 square feet of ground-floor retail space.

In Jersey City's historical Hamilton Park District, construction will begin this summer on the 225-unit Hamilton Square, a partial conversion of the St. Francis Hospital at 25 McWilliams Place. The condo building is being developed by Jersey City-based Exeter Property Company, which has restored many historical buildings in Jersey City.

Exeter is also behind Schroeder Lofts, a 60-unit loft building just outside of the Hamilton Park district, at 242 10th St. The building is 40 percent sold since opening for sales in February. Prices for 930-square-foot one-bedrooms start at $414,000.

In Jersey City's Powerhouse Arts District, an eight-block historical area, Hoboken-based developer Fields Development Group is planning to break ground on The Hudson, a 260-unit new construction/conversion loft building planned for 10 Provost St., in July. The sales office is expected to open in October.

Fields Development is also behind Waldo Lofts, an 82-condominium conversion located at 159 Second St. Half of the units have sold since the sales office opened in February - prices start at $390,000 for a 700-square-foot loft.

Another conversion - on a massive scale - is The Beacon, housed in the former Jersey City Medical Center, an Art Deco building located at 50 Baldwin Ave., in the heart of Jersey City. More than 70 percent of the 315 luxury residences - the first phase of the project - have sold since the building opened for sales last October. Prices start at $350,000 for a 760-square-foot one-bedroom.

Meanwhile, Jersey City is getting plenty of ink for Liberty National Golf Course, scheduled to open this spring on the Hudson River. The golf course, reportedly built at a cost of $150 million, will have an initiation fee of $500,000, with annual dues of $20,000.

Rudy Giuliani and New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft are already signed up as members. A high-speed private ferry will bring Wall Streeters to the first tee.