via Terrence T. McDonald/NJ.com
The rapidly changing Downtown Jersey City skyline will soon have a new addition, with officials ceremonially breaking ground today on a 38-story, 311-unit luxury apartment building known as M2.
Developed by Mack-Cali/Roseland and Garden State Development Inc., and adjacent to the 40-story Marbella tower on Washington Street, the $200 million high-rise will be “the most highly amenitized” residential building in Jersey City, according to its lead developer.
M2 will feature an enclosed terrace on the top floor that overlooks the Hudson River and Manhattan skyline; a 1,700-square-foot club room with a billiard table and lounge; a fitness center and yoga studio; and an on-site dog run. It will be located at 401 Washington St., between Fourth and Sixth streets.
The key to this kind of development is that it will create a lifestyle, said Carl Goldberg, co-president of Mack-Cali/Roseland.
“They’re about the amenities,” Goldberg said today on the 16,000-square-foot seventh floor terrace that will connect M2 to the 39-story Marbella, which opened in 2004 and was once the tallest residential tower in the area.
A small pile of dirt was carted onto the terrace so officials could pick up the requisite fancy shovels and “throw some dirt around,” Goldberg said. Actual construction started about a month ago.
Peter Mangin, president of Garden State Development, said when the Marbella was under construction 10 years ago, Downtown’s character was vastly different. Mangin said he had to get his car towed from the foot of Sixth Street because it was stuck in sand.
“It just shows you how things have changed around here dramatically,” he said.
The City Council in February granted M2’s developers a 10-year tax break, known as an abatement, that gives the city about $1.1 million annually in lieu of taxes, in addition to about $1 million for the city’s affordable housing trust fund.
Mayor Steve Fulop, then a councilman, voted against the deal, as did Councilman at large Rolando Lavarro. Today, Fulop said Jersey City is well on its way to being a “destination in the region” because of buildings like M2.
“What you are seeing here is a consistent remaking of the entire skyline,” he said.
Construction is expected to complete in the summer of 2015, with residents moving in at the start of 2016. Developers expect the project will create around 400 construction jobs and 18 permanent full-time jobs.
CAHN PR 