BUSTIN' OUT ALL OVER THE PLACE

JERSEY JOURNAL
Wednesday, January 03, 2007

With Donald Trump and the CEO of Reebok making a splash in Hudson County's real estate market, 2006 was the year of the heavy hitter. The star power brought notoriety to Hudson County - even if Trump's television apprentice Randal Pinkett snubbed Jersey City when he chose to work in Atlantic City instead.

But 2007 likely will be remembered as the year of the innovator, as a number of nontraditional projects are built, some far away from the Hudson County waterfront.

Here's a list of what to watch in the local real estate market.

The Powerhouse Arts District

10 The historic Manischewitz factory on Bay Street in Jersey City is set to move its matzo-making operations to Newark early this year, setting the stage for a battle between preservationists and Toll Brothers, the new owner of the factory, which wants to follow Lloyd Goldman's lead and build to the sky.

Jersey City Mayor Jerramiah Healy and the members of the City Council sit right in the middle of the action, so watch their public comments closely to see which direction the wind is blowing.

Toll Brothers, which bought the factory for $36.4 million, is expected to lay out plans sometime this year for a 40-story building, equipped with 400 housing units and 70,000 square feet of retail.

As for the Powerhouse itself, city officials are awaiting a Port Authority study that should clean up all the legal, logistical and financial questions standing in the way of its renovation. Watch for the Baltimore-based Cordish Company to take a lead role.

Big boxes on Tonnelle Avenue

9 For decades, trucks ruled the road on Tonnelle Avenue in North Bergen, but they are soon to be replaced by consumers in much smaller vehicles. As one of the central pieces of his administration, Mayor Nicholas Sacco pledged to transform this thoroughfare into a commercial powerhouse - and look for a lot of progress this year.

From 69th to 91st streets, Tonnelle Avenue will be filled with big-box stores like Costco, Lowe's and Wal-Mart. Thanks to millions of dollars in state funding, Tonnelle Avenue will also be widened throughout North Bergen and equipped with traffic lights with left-hand-turn signals to move traffic along.

The Hub

8 With new leadership in place, the city hopes to bring housing to support the commercial district along Martin Luther King Jr. Drive. Don't expect to see construction, but residents should at least see some plans.

Though the path has been cleared, don't expect everything to go smoothly. Neighborhood groups are still trying to wrestle some control of the district away from the Jersey Redevelopment Agency and its executive director, Bob Antonicello.

Union City High School

7 Construction of the new, modern Union City High School at the old site of Roosevelt Stadium on Kennedy Boulevard has been slowed by the unexpected presence of large rocks beneath the soil.

City officials, already hinting that the expected September 2008 opening will be pushed back, are now crossing their fingers that everything will go smooth in 2007.

It is slated to become a unified 10th-through-12th grade high school, turning Emerson and Union Hill high schools into schools for eighth- and ninth-graders and sending a ripple effect down the line that promises to reduce class size across the board.

Hoboken redevelopment

6 Outsiders may laugh at the idea of redevelopment in red-hot Hoboken, but the truth is - despite all of its residential growth - there are still large pockets of the Mile Square City that need a facelift.

The city's planners will draw up redevelopment plans to transform these industrial areas into residential projects. These areas include the southwest redevelopment plan, western edge redevelopment plan, the renovation of the Hoboken Terminal and the Neumann Leather building.

These redevelopment plans are political documents, so expect a fight between the city and residents who want to see more open space.

Harrison waterfront

5 The new Red Bulls soccer stadium, scheduled to open in July 2008, will be the centerpiece of a $1 billion redevelopment plan that will convert Harrison's industrial waterfront into a modern, live-work-and-play transit village anchored by 800 apartments and dozens of stores and restaurants.

American Can Co.

4 Dubbed the CANCO Lofts, this onetime industrial complex is quickly becoming one of the more interesting residential spaces in Jersey City - and perhaps one of the more affordable ones.

Expect the developer, New York-based Coalco, to open sales offices in the first quarter of 2007 for the first round of roughly 200 units. The units will feature large bay windows, ceilings as high as 27 feet, and price tags starting in the high $200,000 range.

"We are very concerned about pricing, but also with providing a good product," said Edward Worukyoff, director of marketing.

Many analysts are watching the success - or failure - of the project to gauge consumer interest in redevelopment projects in residential neighborhoods like the Marion section. Officials with the company say they are already getting feedback from an introductory Web site and a billboard.

The Peninsula at Bayonne Harbor

3 The highly anticipated project is expected to launch this summer when shovels hit the ground, marking the start of construction for the first 500 or so civilian units at the old Military Ocean Terminal.

The city has staked much of its financial future in the massive redevelopment project, and residents should expect to see more development plans as the year goes by.

The first round of approvals included 600 housing units, a 150-room hotel and some commercial/retail space, along with the right to convert two existing six-story Army warehouses into mixed-use facilities and put up a 22-story residential tower on 14 acres.

Journal Square

2 For perhaps the first time, a large swath of Journal Square is now in the hands of one developer - opening the door for one of the most highly anticipated projects in the city's history and promising to transform the face of the historic square for decades to come.

Jersey City-based developer Harwood Properties plans to break ground this year on two towers - one 52 stories, the other 46 - containing 1,034 apartments, 150,000 square feet of retail, and three levels of parking.

The 350-million project comes after years of legal wrangling as the city attempted to spark action in the onetime commercial hub.

The Beacon

1 Widely considered as the thermometer of everything not Downtown in Jersey City, the multimillion-dollar restoration of the historic Jersey City Medical Center will begin to take shape this year.

George Filopoulos, president of Metrovest Equities, said he has sold 85 percent of the Beacon's first 315 available units for a price range of $320,000 to $750,000. Owners are expected to move in this spring, and the company plans to begin offering its next phase of units by the end of the year.

The success - or failure - of this project will go a long way to setting the bar for the rest of the inner-city's market. If the pace begins to slow, or there is downward price pressure on the units, it could impact developments throughout the city.