Hottendorf noted that sales have already gone up in Hudson County by 8 percent during the last two months, as compared with the same period last year. Hottendorf's organization is based in Secaucus and provides buyers and sellers with information about properties throughout the state.
Hottendorf, like others in his industry, predicted the local market would continue on the current trend, with an increase of between 5 and 10 percent over the coming year.
"Hudson County has never been down when any other market in the state has been up," said Hottendorf. "It's all supply and demand, with more property available to be sold now than in 2005 and 2006. The fair market inventory will keep prices from being exorbitant, while because [the] demand is so high there will be an increase in value."
Tom McGurk, a senior loan officer for Wall Street Financial Corporation who provides mortgages for local investors, said last week, "Interest rates are staying low, stimulating a higher demand and bringing about an increase in sales over the next year." McGurk agreed with Hottendorf's assessments, but would not offer a prediction as to the percentage increase, saying instead that the volume increase would be slight.
Residential boom in Jersey City
New projects throughout Hudson County in the last 12 months have not just risen on the waterfront, where many luxury developments already sprung up in prior years during the real estate boom. Instead, former factories and neglected areas deep inside cities have seen renewal, causing a gradual residential change in some areas and drastically redefining the demographics of others.
Nowhere has that been more evident than in parts of Jersey City, where entire districts, such as Journal Square and downtown Jersey City, have been altered through massive development projects in recent years.
"The market is on fire," said Eric Siegel of Weichert Realty on Grove Street in downtown Jersey City.
One massive former factory that is being converted into condominiums is the former American Can Company on Dey Street near the city's Journal Square area. The building which can be seen from Routes 1 & 9, is being renovated by New York City-based Coalco Construction Services, and will be completed in two phases over several years.
The first phase involves the conversion of two of the five buildings formerly occupied by American Can, yielding 202 luxury condos and 1,200 square feet of retail space. According to Coalco Director of Marketing Edward Yorukoff, the units are expected to be occupied by this summer.
An additional 398 units may be added at a later date with the renovation of the remaining three buildings of the complex, bringing the total number of condos to 600.
And over in the Hamilton Park area of the city, the former St. Francis Hospital is currently being converted into a residential development by Jersey City-based Exeter Properties.
The project, which began in October of 2006 and is expected to continue through 2009, will yield 316 residential units and 62,057 square feet of retail.
One of Jersey City's new residential complexes is a three-tower complex consisting of the San Remo, Monaco I and Monaco II buildings, located between Fourth and Sixth streets. The massive 674-unit plus condominium complex will be situated in the former parking lots of the Double Tree Hotel and will take at least two years to complete the first phase of construction, which will consist of the 46-story Monaco I and Monaco II towers. The construction date of the San Remo is not yet available.
A few blocks away at Sixth and Washington streets, where the current Pep Boys Automotive store stands, a 67-story residential tower called "The Metropolitan" was approved by the Jersey City Planning Board late in 2006. When complete, the building will be the second largest building in Jersey City, containing some 809 condominium units, 817 parking spaces and 12,445 square feet of retail space.
Other high-rise projects in Jersey City include the Gull's Cove complex at 205 Luis Munoz Marin Blvd, which will also consist of three towers of varying size. The 16, 15 and 9-story attached buildings will house some 431 residential units and be completed by Metro Homes LLC in August.
On the Jersey City waterfront, a 436-foot, 269-unit condominium at Second Street and Washington Blvd. called the Hudson Exchange, is scheduled to break ground this spring. The project, which should take two years to complete, is being constructed by the Jersey City-based Fisher Development, and will include 6,000 square feet for retail and restaurants, 275 parking spaces, a marina and a walkway along the Hudson.
And...what's in a name? A lot, if you're "Trump Plaza: Jersey City." Donald Trump's $415 million North Jersey venue is currently under construction on Washington Blvd. The first tower, which will have 55 stories and 445 residential units, is expected to be ready for occupancy in March, 2008.
When completed, "Trump Plaza: Jersey City" will consist of two residential buildings, 55 and 50 stories, with a combined total of 862 condos.
Not only are tall buildings rising, but the city is seeing entire new neighborhoods.
Along Jersey City's waterfront is the 80-acre, 10,000 residential unit neighborhood-in-progress called Liberty Harbor. The mixed-use community will also include five million square feet of retail and office space and take 20 years to complete.
Liberty Harbor is situated between Grand Street and Morris Canal overlooking Liberty State Park from Jersey Avenue to Marin Boulevard. Lori Mocco, the development's purchasing associate, expects initial occupancy to begin this spring, and says over 50 percent of the first 667 units being built in phase one have been sold.
The Weehawken waterfront
There are a few Hudson County towns whose interior is so full of multi-family homes and apartments that the only large plots for construction are the waterfront. In Weehawken, Roseland Properties' $1.7 billion Port Imperial Community, which sits on a two-mile stretch of land shared by Guttenberg, West New York and Weehawken, will be completing construction on an eight-building complex this summer. Comprised of 94 condominiums and 64 waterfront townhouses, the project will also include a Weehawken Waterfront Park containing a football/soccer field, baseball diamond, tennis courts and running track along the waterfront, and open grass for other passive recreational pursuits.
Another Weehawken waterfront development seeing continued construction in 2007 is Riva Point, a 237 unit condominium complex at 600 Harbor Blvd that juts out approximately 1,000 feet on a pier into the Hudson. The development will be completing its last 65 units by this spring, with plans of finishing a passive waterfront park at the tip of the development as well.
Development continues across Hoboken
Between the Weehawken and Jersey City waterfronts is the prized (and pricey) mile-square city of Hoboken, directly across the Hudson River from midtown Manhattan.
In historic Hoboken, the multi-billion dollar national real estate development company Toll Brothers continues two massive construction projects this year that once completed, will add some 1,580 condos to the Northern Hoboken waterfront.
The first development is the old series of factories at 1500 Garden St., which formerly housed Lipton Tea/General Foods and other companies. A 10-story building called Harborside Lofts will consist of 748 residential units and contain a 1,250 car garage. It is scheduled to be completed by this summer.
Toll Brothers' other major development currently underway along the waterfront is the 12-story, 832-unit Maxwell Place condominium complex at 11th and Sinatra Drive. Although the entire project is expected to be completed by mid to late 2008, residents have already begun moving into the first of four buildings, completed in November of 2006. In addition to the residential units, the 24-acre property will include 206,000 square feet of commercial space, 1,500 parking spaces and a 6-acre waterfront park containing a sand beach.
Hoboken's waterfront is not the only part of town that is seeing new construction. There are three new developments infusing a new demographic into the city's southwest region, which was once dominated by the federal Housing Authority projects. Across from the projects, luxury condominiums will be offered in the coming year through two new developments: the Emsee and Ariel Square Condominiums. Separated by a few buildings on Jackson street, both projects are being built by New York-based TreeTop Development.
Ariel Square is a four-story, 21 unit residential building with 20 enclosed parking spaces. The Emsee is a five-story building with 12 condos and 11 parking spaces. Residents are expected to move in as early as May.
On the corner of Sixth and Jackson, the site of what was once the city's only towing yard, locally-based Remi Companies has transformed the land into a high-end, four-story 128-unit Condominium called Velocity. The condominium has already sold 75 percent of it units and is expecting to complete construction this spring.
Another part of Hoboken's west side that is being developed is Monroe Street between Seveth and Ninth Streets, where several condominiums will be constructed on a 5.5-acre parcel of property. The complex will consist of four newly constructed residential towers ranging from 10 to 13 stories each.
The residential towers will join the existing Monroe Center for the Arts at 720 Monroe St., which consists of a community of artists and small business owners, to create a mixed-use transit village in close proximity to the Hudson-Bergen Light Rail. Monroe Center Development, LLC plans to break ground on the first of four buildings within the next 60 to 90 days, according to spokesman Michael Turner, and will take 12 to 18 months to complete.
The entire project, which will consist of another condominium at 700 Monroe St. and two buildings between Seventh and Eighth streets along the light rail, will be finished by fall of 2010 and will add some 435 residential units to the area.
"This is definitely a buyers' market with a tremendous amount of properties for people to pick and choose from," said Dino Bogdanos of Corporate realty in Hoboken. "More and more people are buyers not for speculative reasons, but to live, which stabilizes the market."
Bogdanos predicts a modest increase in value and a steady increase in sales over the next year in the mile-square city. New residential in Union City
In Union City, which does not border the waterfront, old factories are being converted, and new luxury condo developments are luring New York commuters.
The Park Hudson Group will be completing an eight-story development this summer that they began in January of 2006 at 4301 Park Ave. The 70-unit structure will consist of one to three bedroom luxury condominiums with two floors of parking.
Park Hudson Group will also begin construction this summer on the Cablevision building at 4007 Park Ave., with a demolition of the existing building scheduled for this coming July. The future condominium building, will be 10 stories high and consist of 88 units, according to Park Hudson's director Michael Chetrit.
"Union City is attracting a lot of newcomers to the area with properties being offered at a fair price," said Chetrit, who predicts a steady growth in 2007 followed by a strong growth in 2008. "More and more, you are seeing young professionals who have been priced out of Hoboken and parts of Jersey City."
Also going up in Union City during 2007 will be a 108-unit high-rise at 3125-3129 Summit Ave. The 10-story building is being constructed by Carlos Crespo Developers and will include a four-floor sublevel garage.
North Bergen
In North Bergen, K. Hovnanian home builders is continuing construction on "Views at Hudson Pointe," a 146-unit, four-story building located at 7200 River Road. The project is scheduled for completion this summer and will also include amenities such as an outdoor pool, fitness center, theatre room, two rooftop gardens and two parking spaces per unit.
Also in North Bergen, a 206-unit luxury condominium called Watermark on the Hudson at 8100 River Road is scheduled for completion in August/September of this year. The 12-story building will feature an indoor and outdoor swimming pool, 10,000 sq. floot health club, a movie theatre and billiards room with a two story garage attached to the building. Over 85 percent of the units have already been sold.
Secaucus
In Secaucus, where the current population stands at approximately 15,000 residents, the town is expecting to see a massive surge over the next few years, with 5,000 to 6,000 new residents coming as a result of the 237-acre, Secaucus Transit Village, currently being built. The development, which is centered around the town's train station, hopes to have the first few hundred units available by this summer with construction continuing for the next 10 to 15 years, according to Fraternity Meadows' President David Halpern, who is developing the site.
The transit village will be separated into four zones: the Riverfront Landing, Station Square, Transition and Passive Recreation zones.
The residential complex will consist of 2,035 units, of which 230 will be set aside for affordable housing, and 735 for "active adult use" for residents age 55 or older.
Bayonne
In Bayonne, two major residential projects are being planned which will revitalize former industrial areas - the massive former military terminal on the waterfront, and a former Texaco site. Both projects are being done in phases and have been the subject of much discussion, planning, and political debate in that city over the last few years.
The U.S. Congress closed the Bayonne Army base in 1996 and deeded the land to the City of Bayonne in 2001 for redevelopment. Developers will build in six distinct districts: Harbor Station, Bayonne Bay, the Landing, the Loft District, Bayonne Point, and the Maritime Industrial District. According to the plan, there could be as many as 6,700 housing units, 1.5 million sq. feet. of office space, 345,000 sq. feet. of retail space, 750 hotel rooms, 465,000 sq. feet. of entertainment and cultural space, and up to 245,000 sq. feet. of civic space. The project is now called the "Peninsula."
Michael Mullins can be reached at mmullins@hudsonreporter.com.
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