Continued growth along New Jersey's waterfront needed

With a recent influx of several first-rate, modem office buildings and complexes, New Jersey's "Gold Coast" has once again become a popular destination for major corporations and new businesses looking to establish operations along the waterfront.

While there is little doubt of the positive effect this has had on the region -- fueling economic growth with the addition of more than 6,000 new jobs -- the fact remains that the existing marketplace can no longer support the increasing demand for commercial office space. For this reason, our Association has passed a New Year's resolution voicing our support for the continued expansion of the commercial marketplace along New Jersey's Hudson River waterfront.

To date, Jersey City and the Lincoln Harbor section of Weehawken have served as the centers for Hudson County's waterfront office space, but that is about to change as new commercial projects begin in several municipalities bordering the riverfront, including one in Hoboken and others proposed for Bayonne and Port Imperial South in Weekhawken.

A major contributing factor for the expansion of the waterfront's commercial marketplace has been the increasing number of New York City companies which have opted to relocate to the waterfront and take advantage of its significantly lower lease rates and convenient location near Manhattan's major financial centers. For example, Chase Manhattan Bank leased 1 million SF of space in the Newport Office Complex, bringing 2,500 new jobs to Jersey City.

The positive attributes of New Jersey's Hudson River waterfront have had particular appeal to major New York City financial firms, with at least 15 of these businesses relocating to the Jersey City riverfront, including Goldman Sachs Group, Merrill Lynch & Company, Morgan Stanley, Waterhouse Securities, DLJ Direct Holdings and Paine Webber.

However, the expansion of New Jersey's Hudson River Waterfront does not end in Jersey City: Several other major New York City corporations have chosen to relocate to: regions bordering the waterfront including. John Wiley & Sons, Inc., which has signed a lease to occupy 400,000 SF along the riverfront in Hoboken.

But while many corporations are choosing to leave Manhattan and relocate their operations along New Jersey's Hudson River Waterfront, the two marketplaces should not be viewed as competitors. Rather, both are intertwined and share transportation systems and tight labor markets. Thus, positive development in both Manhattan and New Jersey will lead to a stronger, more integrated office market for the, entire region.

COPYRIGHT 2001 Hagedorn Publication
COPYRIGHT 2001 Gale Group