The Star Ledger recently published its fall Gold Coast Living section highlighting signature properties in Hudson County, NJ. We were proud to have nine buildings featured in the section, including 7 Seventy House in Hoboken, 99 Hudson, 235 Grand, BeLa, and The Enclave in Jersey City, Skye Lofts South and Harbor Station South in Bayonne, Henley on Hudson in Weehwaken and One Park in Cliffside Park.
Forbes’ Keith Flamer beautifully captures Rutherford, NJ’s small-town charm and robust downtown which now features a new modern living option, The Parker, from our client Vango Development.
The Parker is Rutherford’s newest luxury rental.
Built by Vango Development and designed by The Childs Dreyfus Group (CDG), the building offers 52 contemporary units—10 studios ($1,700s), 33 one-bedrooms ($2,300s), and nine two-bedroom units ($3,000s). Just six weeks on the market, The Parker is already 75% leased.
The Parker offers 52 residences from studios to two-bedroom apartments.
The Parker features brand new contemporary apartments with oversized windows.
Spacious apartments boast high ceilings, oversized windows, in-home washer-dryers, custom closets, and gourmet kitchens with stainless steel appliances and quartz countertops. The Parker also includes a modern lobby, gym, and a resident lounge (with shuffleboard, pool table and big screen TV)–no amenity fees.
The Parker apartments range from the $1700s for studios to the $3000s for two-bedrooms.
The Parker amenities include a fitness center and a resident lounge with bar.
The pet-friendly property occupies a former dormant space the width of a city block, with a main Park Avenue entrance, back exit private parking garage, bike storage, and future health-fitness street-level retail (likely a juice bar, coffee shop, yoga studio). Phase 2 of The Parker begins in 2020.
The generation that’s been plugged into iphones and internet their entire life is turning the apartment market on its head with their socially conscious and community-oriented lifestyle.
Live-work-play, the buzz words of the latest cycle, are being overtaken by something as old-fashioned as bricks and mortar – community.
“Community is really important,” said Lesley Lisser, senior director, asset management at Invesco, which manages a multi-billion dollar portfolio of multifamily properties across the US.
Speaking at the 4th annual Women in CRE Symposium hosted by New York University Schack Institute, Lisser said, “We’re finding it’s old fashioned things that work. Our teams are focused on developing relationships with local vendors and making sure tenants get old fashioned things like discounts and coupons and making the community a part of where they live. We create events where they can make friends. This is stuff that’s been going on in multifamily for as long as I’ve been in the space and these old-fashioned things do work and you find that all of the residents appreciate it.”
The fusion of home, work and leisure space has been picking up steam as more and more developers attempt to read a market that has been undergoing dramatic changes as the biggest segment of the population moves into the home market – millennials.
Today, those born between the years 1981 and 2000 make up America’s largest generation, bigger even than the Baby Boomers. Where and how they choose to live is driving what experts believe will have a lasting impact on which cities rise and which recede.
As they work to attract and retain these residents, developers have deployed a range of amenity-driven strategies with a manifest that has been visited by everything from private jet service (111 Murray) to indoor skateparks (Waterline Square), bowling alleys (555TEN) to doggy daycare (MiMa) all while the size of apartments has shrunk to the smallest ever.
In the past 10 years, the average size of a new American apartment has shrunk by five percent to 914 s/f. According to internet listing service, RentCafe, the smallest apartments are in Chicago and Manhattan where they measure on average 733 s/f. This while rising construction costs and dwindling land supply has pushed rents up 28 percent.
But rather than driving everyone to the suburbs, research shows that millennials in particular are driving urban development to new heights, swelling city populations and pushing affordability to crisis point in many major cities.
In a first-of-its-kind study released earlier this year, researchers from Georgia Institute of Technology and the University of Illinois analyzed the net migration of young adults across the US and found that their hankering for city living doesn’t appear to be a passing phase as they place a premium on “consumption amenities,” like entertainment and culture, as well as transit access.
Over three quarters of all millennials would also rather spend money on an experience or event than hard goods, according to a 2018 study by Harris Poll. Most (69 percent) believe attending live experiences helps them “connect better with their friends, their community and people around the world.” In the coming year, 72 percent said they would like to increase their expenditures on experiences.
At 235 Grand in Jersey City, developers KRE Group and Ironstate Development introduced the most community-focused of their three-building partnership on June. With more than two thirds of its 549 apartments already leased and with half the property now occupied, the community building is well underway.
Luxury apartments have opened in downtown Stamford, replacing a giant hole in the ground after 20 years.
The Urby Stamford took two years of construction and building owners are hoping to make it a new home for some city residents.
The ground was an eyesore in the downtown area for 20 years until the land was purchased by the developer.
General manager, Jason Pennypacker says Urby Stamford is all about communal living.
“We wanted to give residents obviously a place to come and enjoy their living space but also so many communal spaces,” Pennypacker says.
Cafe Roost is a Darien-based restaurant opening a leased space in the Urby building. There are 465 rooms available for rent starting Nov. 1. This is the fourth Urby development in the country and first in the state.
Like the other apartment buildings that rose 40-plus stories into the downtown Jersey City skyline before it, 235 Grand has developers boasting about views of neighboring New York.
What’s different this time is that, for nearly half of the residents in the new upscale development in Jersey City’s Liberty Harbor neighborhood, they’ll be looking at what used to be home.
“Almost 40% of our tenants so far have come from the five boroughs of New York,” said Jeremy Kaplan of the KRE Group, one of two developers on the project. “That’s considerably higher than we’ve had in the past. We usually average around 25%.”
Jeremy Kaplan
Alongside the resurgence that many recognize as already underway in Jersey City, developers are finding that renters have a new interest in living in the area that doesn’t begin and end with the question of price.
For that reason, luxury apartment developments like 235 Grand aren’t counting on underselling Manhattan rents — they’re counting on people wanting to be in Jersey City more than the once-greener pastures across the Hudson.
“It’s to the point now where I don’t think if there was suddenly a change in pricing in Manhattan, with the price of every apartment falling 20%, that everyone in Jersey City would pick up and leave,” Kaplan said. “People here love living here.”
And 235 Grand, which KRE Group developed in partnership with Ironstate Development, is just one of many apartments that have been delivered in Jersey City recently. In fact, the city’s breakneck development pace has put it neck and neck with Manhattan in the race to add apartments to the tri-state area.
About 2,100 new units are estimated to come online in Jersey City this year, while Manhattan has 2,143 units entering the market, according to apartment search website RENTCafé. That’s at a time when, also according to RENTCafé, nationwide apartment construction is slowing significantly from the highs of 2017.
Jackie Urgo, president of The Marketing Directors, leasing and marketing agent at 235 Grand, said her company alone has been involved in the introduction of more than 1,000 units in Jersey City this year alone, including The Enclave, which has leased 85 percent of its 260 luxury residents since its May debut.
She’s been active in the Jersey City real estate market for 30 years. So, needless to say, Urgo has watched it mature over the years; she’s ecstatic about its current booming moment.
Jackie Urgo
“Thirty years ago, there wasn’t a supermarket or any residential conveniences,” she said. “In terms of lifestyle, the city is now on par with many fashionable districts around Manhattan. It has earned a reputation as a destination that is comparable in terms of dining, nightlife and arts. There’s a real downtown pulse. And it’s very attractive right now to renters.”
The commuting options continue to be a primary draw, but Kaplan and other developers are hearing from renters that it’s not the only thing attracting them to Jersey City. The hub it’s becoming for restaurants and its art scene is noted just as often.
Over the past few years in particular, Jersey City’s building stock has developed into a first-class level of offerings for renters, Urgo said. New York’s new apartments and those in Jersey City often provide many of the same amenities to renters.
“When you see developers being so meticulous and bringing in higher-end interior designers than they were in the past, that escalation is a sign that the housing stock is increasingly getting better and better,” she said.
Urgo added that Jersey City also now has the advantage of an financial sector-dominant employment base and a growing creative class, which has brought residents of Long Island, Manhattan and Brooklyn around to the idea that living in Jersey City made sense.
While the Jersey City waterfront hasn’t been able to meet this new demand, facing a lack of available parcels of land, nearby neighborhoods such as Journal Square have welcomed the influx of apartment developers.
Some emboldened developers have even ventured into Jersey City neighborhoods where builders have rarely looked, such as Bergen-Lafayette.
When demand for apartment development along Jersey City’s waterfront was still a cresting wave, William Rosato rode it. But, now, Rosato, CEO and president of Alpine Real Estate Group, is more interested in bringing the tide to the Bergen-Lafayette neighborhood.
William Rosato
“I won’t say I was the first developer in this area, but I was among the first,” he said. “I like finding neighborhoods that are going to sprout up and bloom relatively soon. Given the hot market along the waterfront and in Journal Square, I thought there’s going to be some pressure for people to want to look for the same product at a lower cost.”
Rosato’s company is the designated developer on the first phase of what’s planned to be a 400-unit apartment development there. Construction is expected to be completed on the first 104-unit building, BeLa, later this year.
Rosato is expecting Bergen-Lafayette will appeal to renters in the same way other Jersey City neighborhoods have started to.
“It’s situated very well from an access to transportation standpoint,” he said. “Not only does it have a light rail that will take you to downtown Jersey City and Manhattan, but Bergen-Lafayette is right at an entrance to (Interstate) 78 and can take you to the Turnpike.”
As far as who is moving into this changing city’s neighborhoods, single young professional appears to be the demographic New York appears to be losing to Jersey City. But veterans of the local market have noticed that more families, particularly those with young children, are moving to the city at a higher rate today.
The best part? They’re staying.
“Whether they’re single, young couples or empty nesters, once people move to the city, we’re seeing that they often remain there for a significant period of time,” Urgo said. “That’s a good sign.”
Conversation Starters
Reach Jeremy Kaplan of the KRE Group at: jbk@thekregroup.com or 908-725-8100.
Reach The Marketing Directors at: themarketingdirectorsinc.comor 212-826-8822.
Fields Development Group
A rendering of BeLa, a 400-unit apartment development in Bergen-Lafayette
We were thrilled to have eight clients highlighted in the section, including 99 Hudson, 235 Grand and BeLa in Jersey City, 7 Seventy House in Hoboken, Henley on Hudson in Weehawken, One Harrison in Harrison, Skye Lofts South in Bayonne, and 365 Ocean in Long Branch.
The Lakewood Industrial Park in Lakewood
Construction is underway on three new warehouse and distribution buildings in Lakewood, the latest additions to a sprawling, master-planned industrial park that goes back decades.
The buildings, which are being developed by The Sudler Cos., include a 74,000-square-foot property at 1719 Oak St., in what will be the largest among the new projects. The other two include a 40,000-square-foot building at 825 Towbin Ave. and a 31,200-square-foot project at 1220 Paco Way off Route 70 and the Garden State Parkway.
Sudler is the largest property owner within the complex. When complete, the projects will join the Lakewood Industrial Park, which is the state’s second-largest industrial park and spans more than 2,000 acres.
Public officials on Monday hailed the new construction as an example of how a professionally planned and managed, large-scale commercial hub can serve as an economic engine and drive investment into a township without taxing the school system. The Lakewood Industrial Park, which is overseen by the Lakewood Industrial Commission, dates back to the 1960s and is now home to a diverse roster of companies.
Those include e-commerce tenants, service providers and technology companies, including many that are coming to Lakewood and Ocean County from outside the area.
“Companies are attracted to Lakewood because rental rates are half the cost found at facilities closer to New York City,” Ocean County Freeholder Joseph Vicari said. “As an example, we have brought research companies into the park that create high-paying jobs for our highly motivated and educated workforce.”
County officials also touted the fiscal impact of the Lakewood Industrial Park and its impact on the Ocean County labor market. The park generates substantial property tax revenue for the township, but is also tied to more than 10,000 local jobs and $2 billion in business each year.
They also noted that the complex provides key funding for public projects and services to keep pace with what is New Jersey’s fastest-growing municipality, while helping offset the many tax-exempt properties in Lakewood.
“There’s no question the Lakewood Industrial Park has played a pivotal role in growth of the township since it first debuted nearly six decades ago and its value to local government and residents can’t be overstated,” said Peter Sudler, CEO and president of Sudler, which is based in Chatham. “First and foremost, as the township’s largest commercial tax contributor, it’s been an economic powerhouse that’s enabled Lakewood to fund and invest in municipal programs and improvements to support an expanding population — all with minimal burden on local homeowners.
“Maintaining the integrity of the park as a commercial center is vital to continuing to drive growth in this community moving forward.”
Vicari added that 60 percent of Ocean County residents currently travel outside Ocean County for work, but that public officials now hope to attract more business entities to the region so that more people can work closer to home. The Lakewood Industrial Park will likely help that effort as its tenant base continues to evolve.
“As the region’s economic engine moved from manufacturing to e-commerce, the Lakewood Industrial Park has become a magnet for the ‘last mile’ e-commerce centers for online retailers,” said Glen Jaffe, a real estate agent with Sheldon Gross Realty. “In addition, we have had an influx of technology companies and other commercial entities.”
This company has thousands of pinball machines in New Jersey
I’m no pinball wizard. But I did help put the magic into a Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory pinball machine made by Jersey Jack Pinball, a company founded in 2011 that has already become an industry leader in the use of LCD screens, LED lighting and other technologies in the world-renowned, high-tech arcade games it manufacturers in an industrial park in Lakewood.
“We’re building fun, that’s what we’re doing,” said the company’s namesake, Jack Gaurnieri, a 62-year-old Brooklyn native who lives in Jackson.
Jersey Jack is one of the 450 manufacturers, distributors, and other companies doing business at the 2,000-acre Lakewood Industrial Park, a commercial complex that includes 4 million square feet of industrial space, where the occupancy rate is so high that three new buildings with a total of 146,000 square feet of warehouse/industrial space are now under construction.
“The good news is, it was 100% leased. The bad news is, it was 100% leased. People were calling me up for space and I had none,” said Peter Sudler, CEO of the Sudler Companies, the family development firm that owns about a quarter of the Lakewood Industrial Park and is constructing the new space.
NJ Advance Media staff writer Steve Strunsky works on the assembly line at Jersey Jack Pinball in Lakewood, October, 10, 2019
So when I was asked if I’d be interested in visiting the park, where 10,000 people quietly crank out everything from dental spurs to blintzes, I said that I just might be — especially since the news out of Lakewood these days tends to focus on growing pains of its Orthodox Jewish community or the public school system’s perennial budget woes. What would really interest me, I told them, would be to try my hand at some of the work his tenants do.
And not long after that, I found myself rolling up my sleeves and standing on the assembly line at Jersey Jack, and donning rubber gloves and a hair net at Trinity Seafood, which processes and distributes some of the porgy, bluefish and other commercial catch along the Jersey Shore, not to mention a share of the salmon, swordfish, lobster, clams, oysters and countless varieties of marine fare that’s reeled in around the world.
Jersey Jack was founded by industry veteran Guarnieri 36 years after he answered Heinz Magdalinski’s want ad for an electromechanical pinball repairman in Union. Guarnieri’s vision for his own creations was to advance the level of pinball machine technology, and his first model, a Wizard of Oz-themed machine unveiled in 2013, was a hit with pinball’s first LCD monitor, not to mention a spinning farmhouse and glittery red shoes for flippers. The company now employs 60 people who manufacture what Guarnieri would only say were “thousands” of pinball machines a year.
Derek DeFeo performs a final check on the Willy Wonka pinball machine at Jersey Jack Pinball in Lakewood, October, 10, 2019 Factory floor at Jersey Jack Pinball in Lakewood, October, 10, 2019
Jersey Jack machines — which also include the The Hobbit, Dialed-In and Pirates of the Caribbean — range in price from $7,500 for the Willy Wonka standard edition to $12,500 the special edition of the Wonka game, which is based on the 1971 Gene Wilder film, adapted from Roald Dahl’s novel Charlie and the Chocolate Factory.
The Willy Wonka is Jersey Jack’s fifth and latest creation, having debuted this past summer, when the game blog Roarbots.com called it “A world of pure imagination,” and the Silverball Museum Arcade in Asbury Park assured visitors to its home page, “We’ve got your golden ticket!” I worked briefly on one new machine under the watchful eye of Jersey Jack veteran assembly worker Dave Johnson, 47, of Long Branch, former custodian.
“It’s awesome,” Johnson said of his job. “When I build these things, I want the customer to be able to enjoy the game. That’s the main thing.”
I stood with Johnson on an assembly line for the “play field,” or main surface of the game, a wooden board with a computer-guided paint job and pre-cuts for component inserts. The play field progressed through a series of assembly stations, where the components are screwed to the back of the board in accordance with instructions laid out on a sample play field hanging over each station, like a template, with its components already in place. There are more than 3,000 pieces to each machine.
Fresh Red Snapper at Trinity Seafood in Lakewood, October, 10, 2019
To give me a first-hand feel for the process, Johnson had me install a pair of so-called pop bumper leaf switches, which control the response of the bumpers — the mushroom-like bobs that light up, ring out, and snap back at the touch of the heavy silver balls.
I picked two of the metal switches out of a bin, grabbed a pair of #8 half-inch wood screws from another bin, aligned the two holes on the switch frame with two partially drilled holes on the underside of the wooden play field, and screwed each one down using a hand-held power drill hanging chest-high over the station. Then I repeated the steps for a second bumper switch. All in a day’s work.
Dave would repeat those same steps and others hundreds of times that day, and every day. But I was done, relieved that I didn’t screw up — Jack’s pun, not mine.
A few blocks from Jersey Jack, still in the industrial park, I smelled fish as soon as I stepped into the lobby of Trinity Seafood’s 13,000-square-foot processing and distribution center. That said, it was a fresh-fish smell, at a plant that prides itself on its cleanliness, strict temperature controls and rules against non-employees entering the production or storage areas without scrubbing down, donning gloves and hairnets, and having a Trinity representative accompany them.
In my case, and NJ Advance Media photographer Ed Murray’s, our guide was Trinity’s president, Mike Carson, a 49-year-old former long-line fisherman and father of two from Little Egg Harbor. Carson moved the business to the industrial park from Asbury Park in 2016, after it was bought by Sysco Meat Group, and since then has increased Trinity’s annual sales volume from $28 million to $44 million, while boosting its workforce from 50 employees to 64, plus six temps.
Fish processing production at Trinity Seafood in Lakewood, October, 10, 2019
Trinity took in close to 9 million pounds of raw fish and seafood from as far away as New Zealand and as close as Belford, and after filleting it or simply inspecting and repackaging it, shipped out 6.3 million pounds to Sysco warehouses around the country, for delivery to supermarkets or other retailers or to restaurants. The rest is sold for pet food, fertilizer or other uses, Carson said, but none of it is thrown away.
After a brief introduction in the lobby, and a peek at the fully functional kitchen where vendors occasionally cook up samples of their product, Carson took me, Ed and Sudler Vice President Jeff Hale to wash up and suit up before leading us inside to see the seafood. In the main processing room, the air was 35 degrees, and hoses were constantly spraying surfaces and fish with cleansing ozonated water, while a dozen workers bundled up under waterproof gear filleted Canadian farm-raised Atlantic Salmon that was then boxed with crushed ice to be shipped out that afternoon.
In a short-term storage and inspection room, I got a lesson in what to look for when inspecting fish for freshness: eyes that were not sunken or had lost their moist membrane; flesh that was firm and sprung back when squeezed; gills that were still purplish.
Then I got handed several varieties of the chilled, scaly recent arrivals to have a look for myself, and I took care, knowing they would end up on somebody’s plate — maybe mine.
All of them passed, as far as I could tell. But don’t worry, the Trinity folks double-checked my work.
Factory floor at Jersey Jack Pinball in Lakewood, October, 10, 2019
Construction has been completed on the JMF Properties’ Quin Sleepy Hollow multifamily project here—the largest residential development in the history of Plainfield.
JMF Properties recently staged a ribbon cutting for the 212-unit development at 1400 South Ave., located between the Netherwood and Fanwood train stations on the Raritan Valley train line.
Plainfield Mayor Adrian O. Mapp and other municipal officials joined JMF Properties at the ceremonial ribbon cutting. In addition to the high-end rentals, the property also features more than 10,000 square feet of indoor and outdoor amenities.
“It’s a pleasure to see this vision become a reality” said Mayor Adrian O. Mapp at the event. “Plainfield has waited a long time for the resurgence we see taking place all across our city, and we are ready to move on to the next chapter. I’d like to thank JMF properties and Joe Forgione for being responsible partners, and for recognizing the tremendous potential that we have in the Queen City. They have created a modern, luxurious, high quality offering that will become home for many and I am eager to see all the apartments filled.”
One-bedroom layouts are available starting from the low $1,800s and two-bedroom layouts start from the low $2,200s and ranging to the high $2,900s for the most spacious corner layouts at the property.
“We are proud to introduce an exciting new residential option to the City of Plainfield and the beautiful Sleepy Hollow neighborhood,” said Joseph M. Forgione, founder and principal of JMF Properties. “We designed Quin Sleepy Hollow to offer renters not only an attractive place to live, but an entire lifestyle experience. This community combines modern, city-style living with upscale amenities and an appealing suburban location. We had a vision for this property from day one and we’d like to thank Mayor Mapp and the City of Plainfield for working alongside us and helping us turn that vision into a reality.”
The apartments include nine-foot high ceilings with floor-to-ceiling windows, plank flooring throughout the living areas, chef-inspired kitchens with white quartz countertops, luxury baths with subway tiled wet walls, central heating and air conditioning, and an oversized, front-loading washer/dryer combo. A variety of one- and two-bedroom layouts are available, including den options and private outdoor space in some residences.
The property also features an outdoor lounge with double-sided fireplace, courtyard seating area, barbecue grills, and a bicycle library. The pet-friendly community will also feature a bark park. In addition, a newly-constructed park just next to the community on South Avenue will be home to future cultural events, local artist performances, and outdoor concerts. Additional conveniences and services include package concierge lockers and car charging stations.
In a city that keeps growing and bringing in millennials, it’s obvious as to whom the new luxury apartments at 1 Greyrock Place are appealing.
“If you don’t have a phone, we’re going to get you a phone,” Alexandra Novoa, Stamford Urby leasing manager,joked on a tour of the edifice.
This week, 464 units will become available for lease as part of the first of two phases to bring a total of 648 units at the intersection of Greyrock Place and Tresser Boulevard.
For Ironstate Development Co. President and Urby creator David Barry, who partnered with Brookfield Property Group for this project, this type of residential complex is about customizing the needs of the modern young professional.”
For one, you need less space, you need smart storage and if you think of this on-demand and on-convenience (economy) … right now it’s a demand world and I think people need less space and at the same time, with all the digital trends, there is also this need to create moments where people can socialize or be with others,” Barry said.
Downtown locations close to mass transit stations are key for Urby sites, Barry noted, pointing to the Stamford Train Station that is about a 10-minute walk from the apartments.
For the New Jersey native, who has been in development since the 1990s and is working on bringing the Urby concept to other parts of the country, designing a space that relies on technology and community engagement is a trademark.
Attesting to that mindset, the Stamford Urby includes services like Amazon Locker — a self-service kiosk where one can pick up their packages — and Uber, with which the apartment complex has partnered to provide rides to the city train station.
The pool, located in the center part of the courtyard that also boasts firepits and barbeque grills, is expected to open around Memorial Day next year. Around 10 to 15 community events are expected to be scheduled once residents start moving in, according to Stamford Urby General Manager Jason Pennypacker.
The new complex also brings in local talent like Greenwich native Chef Mike Pietrafeso, whose Darien eatery
The second phase of the development will see the construction of 184 more units; shovels are expected to hit the ground by January. Stamford-based developer F.D. Rich, who had been part of the groundbreaking ceremony in October 2017 as a co-developer, is no longer part of the project per George Cahn, a public relations agent hired by Ironstate.
A representative for F.D. Rich did not respond to multiple requests for comment. October will be an important month for the new luxury apartments as incoming residents dot their Is and cross their T’s on new leases with move-in dates expected as early as November.
Rooms come in three sizes: studios, one-bedroom and two-bedroom units that range from $2,090 to nearly $3,000 a month for rent.
With leases now available, Urby offers a batch of incentives like a free month rent on a 13-month lease, 1.5months on an 18-month lease or two free months on a 26-month lease.
