Jones Lang LaSalle
Hovnanian, partner buying Hartz land, plan to build two residential towers
Tuesday, April 11, 2006
By MATTHEW FUTTERMAN
NEWHOUSE NEWS SERVICE
K. Hovnanian and Equity Residential will pay more than $65 million to buy land on the Jersey City waterfront for two residential towers, two officials with knowledge of the deal said yesterday.
The deal to buy the land at 77 Hudson St. from Secaucus-based Hartz Mountain Industries and build two 48-story buildings is the latest in a series of major residential projects for the Jersey City waterfront.
It marks a major shift for Hovnanian, which has built thousands of houses and smaller, multifamily developments but never a major tower like the ones planned for Jersey City.
Red Bank-based K. Hovnanian, a unit of Hovnanian Enterprises, is one of the most successful home builders in the country, while Equity Residential is a top developer of rental apartments.
Doug Fenichel, a spokesman for Hovnanian, confirmed the plans for the project but declined to discuss the cost.
"It represents how K. Hovnanian remains young by taking on new markets," said Doug Fenichel, a company spokesman. "This is the largest thing we've done in the Northeast."
Officials from Equity Residential in Chicago did not return phone calls.
Carl Goldberg, principal of Roseland Property, a residential real estate firm, said Jersey City merited the intense competition.
"Its proximity to mass transit facilities, coupled with an adjacency to some of the most important employment centers gives Jersey City all the quality-of-life components you look for in urban redevelopment," he said.
On the other hand, Hartz Mountain's decision to sell yet another prime location shows the office market, even on the waterfront, has dropped substantially since the late 1990s when Hartz built three major office towers that have been nearly 100 percent leased since they opened.
Hartz owns nearly 40 million square feet of property in New Jersey and New York, including the Mill Creek Mall in Secaucus and Soho Grand and Tribeca Grand hotels in New York.
But the company specializes in industrial, commercial and hotel space, and views the office market as too soft to absorb what it had once planned for the site - a 32-story office tower.
Also, most successful developers make a habit of sticking to the parts of the business they know best, rather than venturing into a new market.
Hartz President Emanuel Stern declined to comment.
Planning documents show the towers proposed by Hovnanian and Equity would total 925,000 square feet and have 901 units.
An East Tower would have 420 condominiums, including studios and one-, two-and three-bedroom apartments. A West Tower would have 481 rental apartments, including studios and one-and two-bedroom apartments.
There will also be a parking garage with 896 spaces and about 20,000 square feet of retail space.
© 2006 The Jersey Journal
© 2006 NJ.com All Rights Reserved.
Hovnanian, partner buying Hartz land, plan to build two residential towers
Tuesday, April 11, 2006
By MATTHEW FUTTERMAN
NEWHOUSE NEWS SERVICE
K. Hovnanian and Equity Residential will pay more than $65 million to buy land on the Jersey City waterfront for two residential towers, two officials with knowledge of the deal said yesterday.
The deal to buy the land at 77 Hudson St. from Secaucus-based Hartz Mountain Industries and build two 48-story buildings is the latest in a series of major residential projects for the Jersey City waterfront.
It marks a major shift for Hovnanian, which has built thousands of houses and smaller, multifamily developments but never a major tower like the ones planned for Jersey City.
Red Bank-based K. Hovnanian, a unit of Hovnanian Enterprises, is one of the most successful home builders in the country, while Equity Residential is a top developer of rental apartments.
Doug Fenichel, a spokesman for Hovnanian, confirmed the plans for the project but declined to discuss the cost.
"It represents how K. Hovnanian remains young by taking on new markets," said Doug Fenichel, a company spokesman. "This is the largest thing we've done in the Northeast."
Officials from Equity Residential in Chicago did not return phone calls.
Carl Goldberg, principal of Roseland Property, a residential real estate firm, said Jersey City merited the intense competition.
"Its proximity to mass transit facilities, coupled with an adjacency to some of the most important employment centers gives Jersey City all the quality-of-life components you look for in urban redevelopment," he said.
On the other hand, Hartz Mountain's decision to sell yet another prime location shows the office market, even on the waterfront, has dropped substantially since the late 1990s when Hartz built three major office towers that have been nearly 100 percent leased since they opened.
Hartz owns nearly 40 million square feet of property in New Jersey and New York, including the Mill Creek Mall in Secaucus and Soho Grand and Tribeca Grand hotels in New York.
But the company specializes in industrial, commercial and hotel space, and views the office market as too soft to absorb what it had once planned for the site - a 32-story office tower.
Also, most successful developers make a habit of sticking to the parts of the business they know best, rather than venturing into a new market.
Hartz President Emanuel Stern declined to comment.
Planning documents show the towers proposed by Hovnanian and Equity would total 925,000 square feet and have 901 units.
An East Tower would have 420 condominiums, including studios and one-, two-and three-bedroom apartments. A West Tower would have 481 rental apartments, including studios and one-and two-bedroom apartments.
There will also be a parking garage with 896 spaces and about 20,000 square feet of retail space.
© 2006 The Jersey Journal
© 2006 NJ.com All Rights Reserved.
posted by Jones Lang LaSalle NJ News Blog at 12:32 PM
<< Home