Hudson Waterfront continues unabated - booming real estate market in the Jersey City, New Jersey area - Brief Article

The incredible velocity of New Jersey's Hudson Waterfront real estate market continues unabated, particularly in Jersey City. Multiple tenants with requirements in excess of 250,000 square feet continue to seek opportunities to establish operations in the area, further fueling new construction at major projects.

With users leasing space even before it comes on line, properties like LeFrak's ISO Building (formerly Newport Office Center IV) and Hartz Mountain's 70 Hudson Street -- with a combined total square footage of 1.2 million square feet -- were fully leased even prior to completion. Newport Office Center V and VI, totaling approximately 1.1 million square feet, have been pre-leased to Chase Manhattan Bank. And plans are currently underway for Newport Office Center VII, a 32-story, 1.1 million-square-foot office building.

In fact, the market is so tight, that tenants of literally all size ranges cannot find space on the waterfront in Jersey City. The Hudson Waterfront's Class A and B inventory is virtually full, and landlords are no longer accommodating leases of less than a full floor.

At this point, we see no sign of a slowdown. And with all of the housing, retail, hotel and transportation infrastructure that has been put in place during the past few years, the Hudson Waterfront will continue to provide an unparalleled quality of life for corporate tenants well into the future.

LeFrak began construction of the ISO Building in June 1999, and the building was more than 50 percent leased in three months by ISO. In early 2000, Automated Securities Clearance, a division of SunGard Data Systems, and U.S. Trust Corporation each signed leases for 40,000 square feet at the building. Knight Securities has executed leases for 266,000 square feet, and PaineWebber's commitment for the remaining three floors, totaling approximately 120,00 square feet, brings the building to 100 percent occupancy.

The state-of-the-art ISO Building will be completed in February 2001, followed by the two Chase buildings (NOC V and VI), bringing the total amount of fully-leased office space at Newport to approximately 4 million square feet. Newport Office Center I, Newport Tower (NOC II) and the PaineWebber Building (NOC III) are all fully occupied. When completed, Newport will have approximately 7 million square feet of office space.

The unprecedented pace of lease-up and continued activity can be attributed to the unusual attractions of Newport, a dynamic, mixed-use community designed for residential and commercial tenants. Currently, Newport has approximately 4,000 rental and condominium units; the 1.1 million-square-foot Newport Centre Mall one of the largest and most successful malls in the northeast; will be expanded by the addition of a major department store, a swim, fitness and health center with an Olympic-sized indoor/outdoor pool; a marina for 285 boats; two child care centers; and a Hudson River esplanade. Newport's restaurants and recreational, shopping and entertainment facilities complement the other attractions.

COPYRIGHT 2000 Hagedorn Publication
COPYRIGHT 2001 Gale Group