Jones Lang LaSalle
After Decades, New High-End Rentals
By ANTOINETTE MARTIN
NEWARK
IT took five years of struggling to convince financiers that a high-end rental building in Newark made any sense at all. It also took a total gut rehab of a high-rise building that had stood empty for 20 years.
In short, it took a jolt of entrepreneurial drive to counter the destructive force of the race riots that nearly four decades ago severely damaged not only Newark's downtown, but also its reputation as a decent place to live.
Now, Cogswell Realty Group is opening the doors of a leasing office for 317 amenity-laden apartments at 1180 Raymond Boulevard, a block from Military Park and two from the New Jersey Performing Arts Center beside the Passaic River.
The project, Eleven80, is to open for occupancy in July. It will be the city's first upscale rental development in 45 years, according to Newark officials. Real estate professionals say its success, or lack of success, may determine the fate of perhaps a dozen residential and mixed-use projects on the drawing boards for the downtown area.
"This building will answer three questions," asserted Arthur Stern, chief executive of Cogswell, which is based in Manhattan. "No. 1: Who's going to live in downtown Newark? No. 2: What price will they pay? And No. 3: How quickly will a quality building lease up?"
Mr. Stern said that despite the initial skepticism of banks and federal housing officials, 650 potential renters have put their names on a waiting list since construction began a year ago. There is a wide age range in that group, but most are "younger professionals," he said.
As for rental rates, Mr. Stern said they are high for Newark, but they are calculated to be half of what a renter would pay for similar space in Manhattan and one-third less than along the waterfront in Hoboken or Jersey City. Studios are available from $1,395 a month, one-bedroom units from $1,490, and two-bedroom units from $2,215.
"We wanted the apartments to be cheaper than what you could find in Manhattan and the Gold Coast, but still possessing the 'wow factor' of high-quality finishes and amenities," Mr. Stern said. "The goal is to have a tenant walk in and be compelled to rent, because it's too affordable, too new, too fun, not to."
The 35-story building, which last served as a post office, offers panoramic views in all directions from its upper floors. On two sides, the New York City skyline is visible. Each apartment is prewired for telephone, cable TV and high-speed Internet, and features black granite counters in the kitchen, a marble bath, hardwood floors, washer and dryer, and individually controlled heat and air-conditioning.
The building will have a 24-hour concierge, a security system with TV monitors and valet parking. Amenities will include an 8,000-square-foot health club with steam room and sauna, a private no-fee four-lane bowling alley, a multimedia entertainment room with a flat screen television set and video games, a lounge with a billiard table, a small indoor basketball court and a bicycle storage room.
Negotiations are under way with a chain restaurant for part of the first-floor retail area, Mr. Stern said. Right now, there are at least two very nice restaurants within walking distance and the ever-popular Portuguese fare of the Ironbound neighborhood nearby.
Newark's Penn Station, which provides PATH, New Jersey Transit and Amtrak train service to Manhattan, New Jersey and the region, is two blocks away. The trip to Manhattan is only about 20 minutes.
The leasing office for Eleven80 is opening this week at 744 Broad Street, just across Commerce Street from the new apartment building. The Broad Street building, a prewar office structure, was also rescued from obsolescence and turned into a desirable office address by Cogswell some years ago. Cogswell has hired the Marketing Directors agency to handle the apartment leasing.
Each day at Eleven80, Mr. Stern said, a swarm of 280 workers is busy on the building inside and out, facing a deadline only three months away. Last week, some stood on gondolas in a high wind, making repairs to decorative concrete detailing on the facade. Others were installing flooring on upper-level apartments. On the second floor, interior designers were at work arranging furniture, lamps and live plants in the model units that open for viewing on Sunday.
Mr. Stern said by far the biggest hurdle to getting the project done was the "cynicism" of lenders who refused to subscribe to the notion of Newark's comeback. While the market for commercial office space has remained relatively strong, he said, residential development has been an infinitely harder sell.
"The city has done a wonderful job on getting affordable housing built," Mr. Stern said, "but it's tough to be a pioneer with market-rate housing."
The Cogswell chief said his company had eventually won the faith of lenders by simply refusing to give up and, despite rejections, coming back repeatedly with their proposal. Loans for the $110 million project were provided through a syndicate led by Bank of America that also included City National Bank, Commerce Bank and Banco Popular.
The project was granted tax credits through the federally sponsored Fannie Mae Foundation, and other financing assistance through two private foundations that promote housing availability. "We are going to reward their faith," Mr. Stern said.
Cogswell intends to proceed with plans for extensive redevelopment on properties it owns on nearby Halsey Street; they lie within a 28-acre redevelopment area immediately north of Newark's commercial core.
Cogswell plans 10 more mixed-use projects that would each provide 300 to 350 residential units. The next one involves the former Hahne & Company department store building and the adjacent Griffith Building occupying two blocks of downtown's main north-south artery, Broad Street.
Elsewhere in the downtown, the Newark campus of Rutgers University is building new student housing, and several smaller condominium projects are under way. In a renovated prewar building overlooking Weequahic Park, there are 44 one-, two- and three-bedroom condos that have just come on the market at prices of $99,000 to $279,819. That project, called Parc West, was developed by the GLC Group, based in Irvington.
After Decades, New High-End Rentals
By ANTOINETTE MARTIN
NEWARK
IT took five years of struggling to convince financiers that a high-end rental building in Newark made any sense at all. It also took a total gut rehab of a high-rise building that had stood empty for 20 years.
In short, it took a jolt of entrepreneurial drive to counter the destructive force of the race riots that nearly four decades ago severely damaged not only Newark's downtown, but also its reputation as a decent place to live.
Now, Cogswell Realty Group is opening the doors of a leasing office for 317 amenity-laden apartments at 1180 Raymond Boulevard, a block from Military Park and two from the New Jersey Performing Arts Center beside the Passaic River.
The project, Eleven80, is to open for occupancy in July. It will be the city's first upscale rental development in 45 years, according to Newark officials. Real estate professionals say its success, or lack of success, may determine the fate of perhaps a dozen residential and mixed-use projects on the drawing boards for the downtown area.
"This building will answer three questions," asserted Arthur Stern, chief executive of Cogswell, which is based in Manhattan. "No. 1: Who's going to live in downtown Newark? No. 2: What price will they pay? And No. 3: How quickly will a quality building lease up?"
Mr. Stern said that despite the initial skepticism of banks and federal housing officials, 650 potential renters have put their names on a waiting list since construction began a year ago. There is a wide age range in that group, but most are "younger professionals," he said.
As for rental rates, Mr. Stern said they are high for Newark, but they are calculated to be half of what a renter would pay for similar space in Manhattan and one-third less than along the waterfront in Hoboken or Jersey City. Studios are available from $1,395 a month, one-bedroom units from $1,490, and two-bedroom units from $2,215.
"We wanted the apartments to be cheaper than what you could find in Manhattan and the Gold Coast, but still possessing the 'wow factor' of high-quality finishes and amenities," Mr. Stern said. "The goal is to have a tenant walk in and be compelled to rent, because it's too affordable, too new, too fun, not to."
The 35-story building, which last served as a post office, offers panoramic views in all directions from its upper floors. On two sides, the New York City skyline is visible. Each apartment is prewired for telephone, cable TV and high-speed Internet, and features black granite counters in the kitchen, a marble bath, hardwood floors, washer and dryer, and individually controlled heat and air-conditioning.
The building will have a 24-hour concierge, a security system with TV monitors and valet parking. Amenities will include an 8,000-square-foot health club with steam room and sauna, a private no-fee four-lane bowling alley, a multimedia entertainment room with a flat screen television set and video games, a lounge with a billiard table, a small indoor basketball court and a bicycle storage room.
Negotiations are under way with a chain restaurant for part of the first-floor retail area, Mr. Stern said. Right now, there are at least two very nice restaurants within walking distance and the ever-popular Portuguese fare of the Ironbound neighborhood nearby.
Newark's Penn Station, which provides PATH, New Jersey Transit and Amtrak train service to Manhattan, New Jersey and the region, is two blocks away. The trip to Manhattan is only about 20 minutes.
The leasing office for Eleven80 is opening this week at 744 Broad Street, just across Commerce Street from the new apartment building. The Broad Street building, a prewar office structure, was also rescued from obsolescence and turned into a desirable office address by Cogswell some years ago. Cogswell has hired the Marketing Directors agency to handle the apartment leasing.
Each day at Eleven80, Mr. Stern said, a swarm of 280 workers is busy on the building inside and out, facing a deadline only three months away. Last week, some stood on gondolas in a high wind, making repairs to decorative concrete detailing on the facade. Others were installing flooring on upper-level apartments. On the second floor, interior designers were at work arranging furniture, lamps and live plants in the model units that open for viewing on Sunday.
Mr. Stern said by far the biggest hurdle to getting the project done was the "cynicism" of lenders who refused to subscribe to the notion of Newark's comeback. While the market for commercial office space has remained relatively strong, he said, residential development has been an infinitely harder sell.
"The city has done a wonderful job on getting affordable housing built," Mr. Stern said, "but it's tough to be a pioneer with market-rate housing."
The Cogswell chief said his company had eventually won the faith of lenders by simply refusing to give up and, despite rejections, coming back repeatedly with their proposal. Loans for the $110 million project were provided through a syndicate led by Bank of America that also included City National Bank, Commerce Bank and Banco Popular.
The project was granted tax credits through the federally sponsored Fannie Mae Foundation, and other financing assistance through two private foundations that promote housing availability. "We are going to reward their faith," Mr. Stern said.
Cogswell intends to proceed with plans for extensive redevelopment on properties it owns on nearby Halsey Street; they lie within a 28-acre redevelopment area immediately north of Newark's commercial core.
Cogswell plans 10 more mixed-use projects that would each provide 300 to 350 residential units. The next one involves the former Hahne & Company department store building and the adjacent Griffith Building occupying two blocks of downtown's main north-south artery, Broad Street.
Elsewhere in the downtown, the Newark campus of Rutgers University is building new student housing, and several smaller condominium projects are under way. In a renovated prewar building overlooking Weequahic Park, there are 44 one-, two- and three-bedroom condos that have just come on the market at prices of $99,000 to $279,819. That project, called Parc West, was developed by the GLC Group, based in Irvington.
posted by Jones Lang LaSalle NJ News Blog at 10:05 AM
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