As members of Congress return home for the August congressional recess, NAHB’s more than 200,000 members are being urged to contact their lawmakers and ask them to help create jobs and set the stage for a strong recovery by extending the $8,000 first-time home buyer tax credit for an additional year and making it available to all eligible buyers of a principal residence.
“If Congress acts to extend the tax credit program, it would spur 383,000 additional home sales, including 80,000 housing starts, creating nearly 350,000 jobs over the coming year,” said NAHB Chairman Joe Robson. “That’s good for the economy and good for America.”
Although there have been some signs of economic stabilization in recent weeks, the unemployment rate is rapidly approaching double-digits. Without a concerted focus on the housing sector, which comprises more than 15% of the GDP, any hope for a recovery could fade.
“At best, it looks like a jobless recovery once it gets underway,” said Robson. “This is why Congress needs to take bold, meaningful action now.”
The NAHB Executive Board on Aug. 4 unanimously agreed to launch a major grassroots campaign to focus congressional attention on housing “in order to ensure that the first flickerings of recovery in the housing market and economy aren’t extinguished.”
In addition to extending the tax credit, which is set to expire on Dec. 1, Robson said home builders will be meeting with their lawmakers in their home districts within the next few weeks and urging them to:
Correct a faulty appraisal process. The inappropriate use of distressed and foreclosed sales as comps in determining home values is hurting home values and killing home sales. The situation is so bad that a recent NAHB survey of more than 500 builders found that one out of every four new-home sales are lost because appraisals are coming in below the contract sales price.
NAHB is urging Congress to work with housing and federal regulators to adopt and enforce clear, concise regulatory guidance that will allow appraisers to develop realistic valuations based on sales that are truly comparable. Lawmakers should also call on the Federal Housing Administration, the Federal Housing Finance Agency, Fannie Mae, and Freddie Mac to establish an appeals process similar to the one used by the Veterans Affairs Loan Guaranty program. Under the VA program, the appraiser is required to seek more information when it appears the appraised value will fall short of the sales price.
Improve housing credit conditions. Since there can be no meaningful economic recovery until the flow of credit is restored to housing, NAHB is calling on Congress to urge regulators and the banking industry to end the stranglehold on acquisition, development and construction (AD&C) loans that has emerged as a major impediment to the housing recovery. Lenders are refusing loans for viable new housing projects and cutting off funding or calling performing outstanding loans, producing unnecessary foreclosures and losses on AD&C loans. Congress needs to urge regulators to allow and encourage lenders to give leeway to residential AD&C borrowers who have loans in good standing by providing flexibility on re-appraisals, loan modifications and perhaps forbearance to give builders time to complete and sell their lots and homes.
Co-sponsor Net Operating Loss (NOL) relief legislation in the House and Senate. NOL bills H.R. 2452 in the House and S. 823 in the Senate would prevent further layoffs in building and other industries hit hard by the recession. The legislation would help all businesses by eliminating the current $15 million cap on average annual gross receipts and allowing 2009 losses to be eligible for the expanded carryback. In addition, the bills would also help taxpayers who have been hit by the Alternative Minimum Tax to fully benefit from any NOL carryback. Both bills enjoy bipartisan support. Currently, H.R. 2452 and S. 823 have 92 and 37 co-sponsors, respectively.
Taken together, these four issues — extending the $8,000 home buyer tax credit for one year and making it eligible for all home buyers; bringing common sense to the appraisal process; urging banking regulators to ease AD&C credit; and passing the NOL carryback legislation — will not only create needed jobs for American workers quickly, but also stimulate demand for goods and services throughout Main Street America, Robson said.
-- Post From My iPhone
Wednesday, August 19, 2009
Wednesday, July 22, 2009
Great Article on Design
This is a great article by John King of the San Francisco Chronicle...
In defense of inspired design
Tuesday, July 21, 2009
"Usefulness is inversely proportional to status," Deyan Sudjic writes in his new book "The Language of Things: Understanding the World of Desirable Objects." "The more useless an object is, the more highly valued it will be."
The author is referring to the relative value of art versus industrial design - but the observation can be applied equally well to cities such as San Francisco.
Think about it: The physical need to occupy a specific patch of earth has never been less important to one's success. Everything we might acquire can be tracked down online; most culture we seek can be procured through a handheld device.
Our 21st century equivalent of an office tower turns out to be a cafe with free Wi-Fi.
All this should signal a death knell to the traditional core. Instead - recession aside - marquee hubs such as San Francisco stand more desirable than ever. It's not that we need to be here. But the center serves as a stage set, the spotlit focus for people who use urbanity to define themselves and their tribe.
Cities aren't the focus of Sudjic's book, a well-tailored provocation that both explores why the best design work is timeless and decries how it can be debased for status or show. Thomas Chippendale and his 18th century furniture are explored as a precursor to Ikea - "a pioneer in brand creation" - and the ever-shinier line of Apple products is contrasted with the demise of the fountain pen as status symbol ("the basic concept has lost its relevance").
The underlying theme: the quest among designers and clients for "emotional resonance," the design of a watch or a laptop computer that connotes something beyond what it does: "to provide us with a reminder of the world beyond utility."
Which brings us back to downtown San Francisco, where so much of the terrain is fine-tuned to make you feel like something is happening - and that you belong in/to the scene.
Certainly that's the case at the Clift Hotel, the storied landmark two blocks off Union Square that in 2001 was reborn as an outpost of the globe-trotting cultural elite. ("Elite" being defined as a place where "American Idol" runner-up Adam Lambert was mobbed earlier this month.) The 1913 exterior still exudes staid pomp; step inside and it's a dark wonderland of affectation, with theatrically scaled furniture and thick silk drapes and techno rhythms in the background.
As for the Redwood Room, favored haunt of generations, the wooden bar of yore has been replaced with one of backlit glass. But when I had drinks there last week, the room was alive, cloaked in shadowy decadence amid chilled bottles of Champagne and $29 crab cakes.
The interiors are by Philippe Starck, a self-styled cage-rattler who described his aim to The Chronicle in 2001 as "a place that makes the actors sexier, smarter than they are" - and whom Sudjic describes in "The Language of Things" as "constantly seeking to amuse the grown-ups with his daringly naughty tricks."
The ambiance is profoundly different a few blocks to the south, at Blue Bottle Cafe on Jessie Street behind the Old Mint.
Here, light streams through the bare windows of a 17-foot-high corner retail space. The stools are utilitarian, the walls dull white.
Yet everything here is arranged as deliberately as at the Clift, including the coffee beans in grainy paper bags with the blend names stamped by hand. It's all very DIY - and you can grind the beans at home with the $700 grinder on sale a few feet away.
As different as the two spots might be, design helps cue the mood of each - the Clift's cosmopolitan cocoon, Blue Bottle's studied lack of pretense.
"In objects we value the 'authentic,' the hand-pressed. It's often the same thing with cities," Sudjic said in a telephone interview last week. "A (successful) city is about how it feels to be in a particular place, at a particular time."
Before assuming his post as director of London's Design Museum in 2006, Sudjic was architecture critic for the Observer, a British daily where he provided uncommonly lucid takes on how the "art" of architecture is imbued by what he described in his final column as "the hard stuff of power, politics and city building."
It's a mix that's never static - just as designers seek out new emotional cues, and as neighborhoods are redefined again and again. As long as that's the case, the appeal of high design and urban centers is likely to endure. Whether they're "needed" or not.
The Language of Things: Understanding the World of Desirable Objects: By Deyan Sudjic. W.W. Norton, 208 pages, $24.95
Place appears on Tuesdays. E-mail John King at jking@sfchronicle.com.
http://sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2009/07/21/DDBC18Q9TT.DTL
This article appeared on page E - 2 of the San Francisco Chronicle
Tuesday, June 30, 2009
Jersey City Reporter Article
Free car! Great prizes!
Condo builders offer gimmicks to lure buyers
by Ricardo Kaulessar
Reporter Staff Writer
06.27.09
A car with every condo, auctioning units at a discount price, and an open house to rival all open houses.
Those gimmicks have been offered lately by Jersey City developers who want to sell high-priced condos in a tough economy. Those who haven’t turned to offering rentals instead are trying harder to get buyers.
More than just an open house
The 22-unit development m650 Flats, located at 650 Mongomery St., held an unusual open house in downtown Jersey City on June 13.
The multi-tiered open house at the building was a celebration of the fact that the developers won an award for historic preservation. It was also a charity event to raise funds for rebuild the region of Abruzzo, Italy that was devastated by an earthquake in April, and an exhibition of the works of local famed artist Duda Penteado.
Anthony Carrino of Brunelleschi Construction, the developers of m650 Flats, said during the event that the open house was a “meaningful” way to do more than just throw a party.
Carrino said his building has gotten great attention in the community, but that it has been a tough economy, with only seven of the 22 units sold so far.
City Council President Mariano Vega said he didn’t see the open house as a “gimmick” but that the economy “caused them to be creative.”
A car with every penthouse
Since May, Canco Lofts, the 500-unit condo complex on Dey Street near Journal Square, has offered a car with every penthouse sold.
The cars offered are Passion Coupe Smart Cars, with a retail price of $15,000. The offer runs until the end of July.
Calls to Canco’s sales office were not returned to comment on the offer.
_____________
“I honestly believe this abatement is very helpful not just to the new buyers but also for Jersey City residents.” – Brian Fisher
________
Canco has had problems selling the first 202 units put on the market almost two years ago, with about 100 sold so far. The converted can company building overlooks the beginning of Routes 1 & 9 in Jersey City. The units sell in the range of $350,000 to $850,000.
A crystal clear reason
Brian Fisher was adamant last week that Jersey City’s City Council approve the revised abatement for his Crystal Point development. An abatement deal allows developers to pay a different tax rate to the city than regular property owners do.
Only 24 of the 269 units on Second Street have sold in the past seven months, and Fisher reduced prices by 30 percent while pursuing the revised abatement so that he could continue to offer deals.
“I honestly believe this abatement is very helpful not just to the new buyers but also for Jersey City residents,” Fisher said last week.
The building, still under construction, will have prices starting in the mid-$400,000 range.
Did someone say ‘Auction’?
The developer of the Beacon condos in Jersey City announced recently that 25 one- and two-bedroom luxury condominiums would be auctioned off Saturday, June 27.
Metrovest Equities, the developer of the Beacon, retained the services of Sheldon Good & Co. Auctions N.E., LLC to carry out the auction at the Hyatt Jersey City hotel.
Twelve of the homes were to be sold “Absolute” regardless of price. That means any bid price during the auction or a minimum acceptable price set by the developer will be accepted.
Suggested opening bids ranged from $150,000 to $250,000 for residences originally priced from $380,000 to $700,000.
At the auction, the winning bidders have to provide a certified check for $15,000 (for a one-bedroom unit) or $25,000 (for a two-bedroom).
Before the auction, all bidders had to attend an open house at the Beacon and pay for a $20 bid package.
George Filopoulos, President of Metrovest Equities, said in a recent press release that the auction is a "proactive approach" to closing out the community's first phase of 315 homes, and allow Metrovest to accelerate the opening of The Beacon's second phase.
Filopoulos stated that it was not done as “a distress sale” but will “cut months off of our current marketing program, resulting in considerable savings that will be passed on to the buying public through discounted pricing."
The Beacon, located at the site of the old Jersey City Medical Center, will ultimately include 10 buildings containing 1,200 luxury residences and 80,000 square feet of retail space.
Ricardo Kaulessar can be reached at rkaulessar@hudsonrreporter.com.
Link to Article
Condo builders offer gimmicks to lure buyers
by Ricardo Kaulessar
Reporter Staff Writer
06.27.09
A car with every condo, auctioning units at a discount price, and an open house to rival all open houses.
Those gimmicks have been offered lately by Jersey City developers who want to sell high-priced condos in a tough economy. Those who haven’t turned to offering rentals instead are trying harder to get buyers.
More than just an open house
The 22-unit development m650 Flats, located at 650 Mongomery St., held an unusual open house in downtown Jersey City on June 13.
The multi-tiered open house at the building was a celebration of the fact that the developers won an award for historic preservation. It was also a charity event to raise funds for rebuild the region of Abruzzo, Italy that was devastated by an earthquake in April, and an exhibition of the works of local famed artist Duda Penteado.
Anthony Carrino of Brunelleschi Construction, the developers of m650 Flats, said during the event that the open house was a “meaningful” way to do more than just throw a party.
Carrino said his building has gotten great attention in the community, but that it has been a tough economy, with only seven of the 22 units sold so far.
City Council President Mariano Vega said he didn’t see the open house as a “gimmick” but that the economy “caused them to be creative.”
A car with every penthouse
Since May, Canco Lofts, the 500-unit condo complex on Dey Street near Journal Square, has offered a car with every penthouse sold.
The cars offered are Passion Coupe Smart Cars, with a retail price of $15,000. The offer runs until the end of July.
Calls to Canco’s sales office were not returned to comment on the offer.
_____________
“I honestly believe this abatement is very helpful not just to the new buyers but also for Jersey City residents.” – Brian Fisher
________
Canco has had problems selling the first 202 units put on the market almost two years ago, with about 100 sold so far. The converted can company building overlooks the beginning of Routes 1 & 9 in Jersey City. The units sell in the range of $350,000 to $850,000.
A crystal clear reason
Brian Fisher was adamant last week that Jersey City’s City Council approve the revised abatement for his Crystal Point development. An abatement deal allows developers to pay a different tax rate to the city than regular property owners do.
Only 24 of the 269 units on Second Street have sold in the past seven months, and Fisher reduced prices by 30 percent while pursuing the revised abatement so that he could continue to offer deals.
“I honestly believe this abatement is very helpful not just to the new buyers but also for Jersey City residents,” Fisher said last week.
The building, still under construction, will have prices starting in the mid-$400,000 range.
Did someone say ‘Auction’?
The developer of the Beacon condos in Jersey City announced recently that 25 one- and two-bedroom luxury condominiums would be auctioned off Saturday, June 27.
Metrovest Equities, the developer of the Beacon, retained the services of Sheldon Good & Co. Auctions N.E., LLC to carry out the auction at the Hyatt Jersey City hotel.
Twelve of the homes were to be sold “Absolute” regardless of price. That means any bid price during the auction or a minimum acceptable price set by the developer will be accepted.
Suggested opening bids ranged from $150,000 to $250,000 for residences originally priced from $380,000 to $700,000.
At the auction, the winning bidders have to provide a certified check for $15,000 (for a one-bedroom unit) or $25,000 (for a two-bedroom).
Before the auction, all bidders had to attend an open house at the Beacon and pay for a $20 bid package.
George Filopoulos, President of Metrovest Equities, said in a recent press release that the auction is a "proactive approach" to closing out the community's first phase of 315 homes, and allow Metrovest to accelerate the opening of The Beacon's second phase.
Filopoulos stated that it was not done as “a distress sale” but will “cut months off of our current marketing program, resulting in considerable savings that will be passed on to the buying public through discounted pricing."
The Beacon, located at the site of the old Jersey City Medical Center, will ultimately include 10 buildings containing 1,200 luxury residences and 80,000 square feet of retail space.
Ricardo Kaulessar can be reached at rkaulessar@hudsonrreporter.com.
Link to Article
Friday, June 19, 2009
Press Release: ARTchitecture 4 Abruzzo Charity Event
A Charity Benefit & Art Exhibition: The New Way to Sell Real-Estate
JERSEY CITY, N.J., JUNE 22 /PRNewswire/ -- There’s auctions, short-sells and price gouging going on in today’s Real Estate market, but you wouldn’t know it by looking at m650 Flats in Jersey City. Brunelleschi Construction (BrunCon) has taken a different approach to boosting the sales of their luxury lofts.
BrunCon, a premier urban developer of adaptive re-use properties in Hudson County, was established based on the principals of their Renaissance namesake, Filippo Brunelleschi. Much like this architectural forerunner, they believe in working within a neighborhood’s existing fabric to create a vibrant community – socially, architecturally and environmentally. A recent recipient of the 2009 Adaptive Re-Use Preservation Prize, the boutique style luxury lofts at m650 Flats shatter the cookie-cutter mold of urban developments and offer amenities not often found outside of Manhattan.
While other condo communities are taking measures to cut costs and sell off their inventory, BrunCon is throwing a party! On Saturday, June 13th, m650 Flats hosted a charity benefit and artist exhibition. “The event supports their dedication to local community revitalization, while paying homage to their Italian ancestry,” says Kristin Ehrgott, founder/president of Mindseed, a boutique marketing and events company enlisted to create the event.
ARTchitecture 4 Abruzzo featured an artist exhibition and custom mural by Duda Penteado, an open bar and hors d’oeuvres on the roof deck and a silent auction with items including a Vespa S50 scooter and luxury home furnishings from Desiron and Teroforma raised just shy of $7000 for the UNICO fund benefiting earthquake victims of Abruzzo, Italy.
“Incentives are attractive, and we offer plenty – a $5,000 credit at closing, 5 year tax abatement, paid monthly maintenance dues through the end of 2009, not to mention included garage parking (in New Jersey’s first state-of-the-art robotic garage) – but other properties offer incentives as well, our residents are looking for something more unique, a sense of community in a luxury property without the exorbitant price,” says Anthony Carrino, partner at BrunCon.
The event proved to be a great success. One hundred and thirty people attended the event, toured the fifteen available luxury lofts and resulted in three offers the very next day! “The event and the results exceeded our expectations, not only in terms of sales, but recognition and support as well,” said Carrino. “Mariano Vega Jr., City Council President and other notable attendees came out to support our cause and everyone had a really good time; you throw a great party and you’re sure to be the talk of the town for weeks to come!”
About Brunelleschi Construction
Brunelleschi Construction, LLC is a premier urban developer of mixed-use and adaptive re-use properties, working within a neighborhood's existing fabric to create a vibrant community. We strive to develop the ideal product - socially, architecturally and environmentally. www.bruncon.com.
CONTACT: Kristin Ehrgott, Kristin@mindseedevents.com, +1-973-945-0362
Photos © GLK Creative: http://glkcreative.com/Slideshows/m650/index.html
JERSEY CITY, N.J., JUNE 22 /PRNewswire/ -- There’s auctions, short-sells and price gouging going on in today’s Real Estate market, but you wouldn’t know it by looking at m650 Flats in Jersey City. Brunelleschi Construction (BrunCon) has taken a different approach to boosting the sales of their luxury lofts.
BrunCon, a premier urban developer of adaptive re-use properties in Hudson County, was established based on the principals of their Renaissance namesake, Filippo Brunelleschi. Much like this architectural forerunner, they believe in working within a neighborhood’s existing fabric to create a vibrant community – socially, architecturally and environmentally. A recent recipient of the 2009 Adaptive Re-Use Preservation Prize, the boutique style luxury lofts at m650 Flats shatter the cookie-cutter mold of urban developments and offer amenities not often found outside of Manhattan.
While other condo communities are taking measures to cut costs and sell off their inventory, BrunCon is throwing a party! On Saturday, June 13th, m650 Flats hosted a charity benefit and artist exhibition. “The event supports their dedication to local community revitalization, while paying homage to their Italian ancestry,” says Kristin Ehrgott, founder/president of Mindseed, a boutique marketing and events company enlisted to create the event.
ARTchitecture 4 Abruzzo featured an artist exhibition and custom mural by Duda Penteado, an open bar and hors d’oeuvres on the roof deck and a silent auction with items including a Vespa S50 scooter and luxury home furnishings from Desiron and Teroforma raised just shy of $7000 for the UNICO fund benefiting earthquake victims of Abruzzo, Italy.
“Incentives are attractive, and we offer plenty – a $5,000 credit at closing, 5 year tax abatement, paid monthly maintenance dues through the end of 2009, not to mention included garage parking (in New Jersey’s first state-of-the-art robotic garage) – but other properties offer incentives as well, our residents are looking for something more unique, a sense of community in a luxury property without the exorbitant price,” says Anthony Carrino, partner at BrunCon.
The event proved to be a great success. One hundred and thirty people attended the event, toured the fifteen available luxury lofts and resulted in three offers the very next day! “The event and the results exceeded our expectations, not only in terms of sales, but recognition and support as well,” said Carrino. “Mariano Vega Jr., City Council President and other notable attendees came out to support our cause and everyone had a really good time; you throw a great party and you’re sure to be the talk of the town for weeks to come!”
About Brunelleschi Construction
Brunelleschi Construction, LLC is a premier urban developer of mixed-use and adaptive re-use properties, working within a neighborhood's existing fabric to create a vibrant community. We strive to develop the ideal product - socially, architecturally and environmentally. www.bruncon.com.
CONTACT: Kristin Ehrgott, Kristin@mindseedevents.com, +1-973-945-0362
Photos © GLK Creative: http://glkcreative.com/Slideshows/m650/index.html
Wednesday, June 17, 2009
Charity Event a Huge Success!
The charity event this past weekend was a huge success! We had over 130 people in attendance and raised just shy of $7,000.00 through the silent auction and donations!!!
We can not possibly thank everyone enough who attended and donated, you are all the reason this event was such a success, thank you!
The weather threw us a bit of a curve, but true to form we all kept the party going. The comments about the Flats we heard as people wandered about were truely humbling. It is a good feeling to know the passion, time and effort we put into our projects is visible to, and appreciated by so many.
If you haven't seen them already, the photographer for our event posted a great slideshow on his website. He truely captured the emotion of the day.
If you weren't able to make the event, the artist, Duda Penteado, is leaving his artwork in the building for a few more weeks, and we had such a great response to our 10% pricing discount that we are going to leave it in effect for one additional week as well...so setup an appointment to come by and view the m650 Flats ASAP!
We hope you all have a great summer, and hope to see you at the Flats again soon.
Best,
The Brunelleschi Team
www.BrunCon.com
We can not possibly thank everyone enough who attended and donated, you are all the reason this event was such a success, thank you!
The weather threw us a bit of a curve, but true to form we all kept the party going. The comments about the Flats we heard as people wandered about were truely humbling. It is a good feeling to know the passion, time and effort we put into our projects is visible to, and appreciated by so many.
If you haven't seen them already, the photographer for our event posted a great slideshow on his website. He truely captured the emotion of the day.
If you weren't able to make the event, the artist, Duda Penteado, is leaving his artwork in the building for a few more weeks, and we had such a great response to our 10% pricing discount that we are going to leave it in effect for one additional week as well...so setup an appointment to come by and view the m650 Flats ASAP!
We hope you all have a great summer, and hope to see you at the Flats again soon.
Best,
The Brunelleschi Team
www.BrunCon.com
Friday, June 12, 2009
NY Daily News Article
A Jersey City neighborhood looks to better times, and Brooklynites notice
Friday, June 12th 2009
Exterior of M650, a high-end condo with New Jersey's first robotic garage.
Hagen for News
From the 1920s through the 1960s, Journal Square was Jersey City's crown jewel, a glowing commercial, entertainment and transportation hub. But the arrival of local malls and the Port Authority bus terminal's move to inside the PATH station in the 1960s decreased foot traffic and increased the area's deterioration.
The result is a hodgepodge of downscale franchises, bodegas and, as Mayor Jerramiah Healy puts it, a housing stock of "ugly old eyesores." Most residents live in single- or multifamily houses, brownstones and prewar apartment buildings.
More recently, though, the word "potential" comes up when people speak of Journal Square. Looking to continue a decade of city growth by pushing west, Healy has made it his mission to restore Journal Square to its original glory.
Last fall, he unveiled his vision for the district: up to 15,000 new units of housing, millions of square feet of retail and commercial space, a revamped PATH station and 9 acres of parkland. Completely realizing this plan could take "10, 20, 30 years," Healy admits.
But the plan's keystone - two residential towers of 61 and 43 stories, with 70,000 square feet of retail space - is underway. Demolition of the three buildings on the site has been completed, and construction is expected to begin on 1 Journal Square, the project's working name, by the end of the year, with occupancy set for 2013.
The privately financed, $400 million project, adjacent to the PATH station, is considered the test case for Journal Square investment: Depending on how much demand there is for its 1,615 units and how well its retailers do, other developers and businesses will either follow suit or stay away.
"I always wanted to see something happen," says Jersey City native Lowell Harwood, 79, the developer. "In 40 years, no one had built an apartment building here."
His experience five years ago redeveloping the State Theater, a 130-unit rental building across the street from the towers' site, convinced him there was a strong market in Journal Square.
"It filled up within 30 days," Harwood says. "Being from Jersey City and seeing how fast we rented the State Theater, I thought it was important to bring something even better to Jersey City."
Other projects have sprung up since, though none bigger than the planned towers. The Beacon in neighboring McGinley Square - close enough to Journal Square that residents use the PATH station there - stays true to its name. The 1,200-unit, $350 million hospital conversion by Metrovest has drawn people interested in high-end housing for a fraction of the price they would pay across the river. The development's 315-unit first phase already is 80% occupied. Its success has fueled other developments in the heart of the city.
Before The Beacon, "there hadn't been a project in Jersey City with that full-scale amenity package," says Desi Daniels, a sales associate with Weichert Realtors. "It's resort living in the city."
The 10-building development, to be completed by 2014, boasts 40,000 square feet of amenities and 80,000 square feet of retail space. A one-bedroom apartment can be had for as little as $225,000, Daniels says. On June 27, the remaining Beacon units will be auctioned off at prices starting at $150,000.
Several other conversion projects have followed. Set on 3-1/2 acres on Journal Square's western edge, Canco Lofts used to be the American Can Co. factory. It now consists of 202 lofts, with 112 more on the way. Modern floor-to-ceiling windows have been combined with original details like the façade's sawtooth design, enormous concrete mushroom columns and 14-foot ceilings with gashes from conveyer-belt machinery.
Amenities include half a basketball court, a 300-square-foot fitness center, a dog park and a movie theater. Prices range from $300,000 for a 750-square-foot one-bedroom to $675,000 for a 1,260-square-foot penthouse with 27-foot ceilings and a Manhattan view.
"We're incredibly busy," says Jodi Stasse, Canco's director of marketing and sales. "We do eight to 10 sales a month in a market like this. That's amazing!"
In response to critics who say Canco is too far from the Journal Square PATH station, managment has arranged a free shuttle to take residents back and forth.
Diagonally across the street from The Beacon is M650 Flats, formerly the Calco Chemical Co. factory. Despite having entered the market last November, M650 has found buyers for nine of its 22 luxury lofts, which range from $375,000 to $705,000.
Each has an individual design and elements from the original structure, like bluestone mantels and recycled brick - "character," as new buyer Eric Margelefsky, 27, puts it. These homes also have Bosch appliances, iPod docks and heated bathroom floors and towel racks.
Most units have a terrace, and there's a common roof deck where the developers throw parties for buyers, apartment hunters, friends and locals. Among the many green features are bamboo floors and energy-saving tankless hot-water heaters. M650 also contains New Jersey's first robotic garage, which parks cars itself.
"In the McGinley Square-Journal Square area, there are a lot of brick buildings that go back 100-plus years, and a lot of developers choose to knock down these gems of architecture," says M650 developer Alfonso Carrino, who put his money where his mouth is and lives in the building. "We wanted to conserve the story of Jersey City and add some uniqueness to the building."
Popular among Egyptian and south Asian immigrants from India, Journal Square has an international flavor - but also a downscale feel. The hope is that new, upscale retailers will arrive with the new wave residents demanding more services and local entertainment.
Wednesday, June 10, 2009
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