For buyers accustomed to searching Downtown Jersey City, Hoboken, or Brooklyn, finding enough space can often require compromising on outdoor space, parking, or price. Jersey City real estate agent and longtime resident Michelle Mumoli believes buyers may find a different equation on the city’s West Side, particularly in the residential blocks south of Lincoln Park.
Mumoli, who has lived in Jersey City for 24 years and in the Lincoln Park area since 2019, has begun referring to this pocket as “Lincoln Park South.” It is not an official neighborhood designation, but rather her way of describing an area she believes is developing an increasingly distinct identity of its own.
“I want people to discover this part of Jersey City and understand how much further their investment can take them here,” Mumoli said.
Her current listing at 335 Virginia Avenue illustrates some of what she sees buyers overlooking. The three-bedroom, two-bathroom condominium spans 1,676 square feet and includes a large private roof deck and garage parking for two cars positioned side by side.
That parking configuration is particularly notable in Jersey City, where two-car garages often require vehicles to be parked in tandem, forcing one driver to move a car whenever the other needs to leave.
The home, constructed by NKAY in 2024, is currently listed for $844,000. Its location places residents about three blocks from both Lincoln Park and the West Side Avenue light rail station. The listing is also serving as a way for Mumoli to introduce prospective buyers to “Lincoln Park South,” a portion of Jersey City that may not yet be on their radar.
Mumoli has experienced several cycles of Jersey City’s growth firsthand. She lived in the city during Downtown’s transformation in the early 2000s, watched new businesses and residential development spread through the Heights in the following decade, and later chose to invest in the area surrounding Lincoln Park. 20 year ago, both Downtown Jersey City and the Heights were areas many buyers would not have considered, she noted, but have since evolved into some of the city’s most sought-after neighborhoods.
When she moved to the neighborhood in 2019, she recalls far fewer cafés, fitness studios, and newer residential buildings than residents see today.
One of her earliest memories was walking past a sparse storefront on West Side Avenue with a simple sign reading “COFFEE.” She suspected it would become the type of independent business that could help give the area a stronger sense of place.
That storefront became Treehouse Coffee Shop, whose original location remains near the Virginia Avenue property.
As construction began on The Agnes, a large residential development on Yale Avenue, Next Door Provisions also opened nearby. Mumoli remembers the restaurant’s arrival as an important addition at a time when the neighborhood had relatively few contemporary dining options beyond longtime establishments.
Today, The Table, Treehouse Coffee Shop and Next Door Provisions have become neighborhood fixtures, while boutique fitness businesses and other services have continued to arrive.
Mumoli believes this reflects a familiar development pattern: New housing brings additional residents, and a larger residential population creates demand for more restaurants, shops, fitness studios, schools, and everyday services.
“Services tend to come after density is achieved,” she said. “When people move, they need to look not only at what is there today, but what the neighborhood will be in two to five years.”
Lincoln Park remains the area’s largest amenity. The expansive county park offers athletic fields, tennis courts, trails, natural areas, playgrounds, and a public golf course, giving nearby residents access to an amount of recreation and greenery that can be difficult to find in denser sections of Hudson County.
Transportation is another major part of the neighborhood’s appeal.
The West Side Avenue light rail station provides connections toward Downtown Jersey City, including the Exchange Place and Newport PATH stations, as well as Hoboken Terminal. Bus service along the West Side also gives commuters another option for reaching Manhattan’s Port Authority Bus Terminal.
For drivers, the neighborhood offers relatively convenient access to the New Jersey Turnpike, Newark Liberty International Airport, and routes heading toward Brooklyn and other parts of the region.
The city has also completed safety and bicycle improvements along Mallory and Claremont avenues, strengthening connections between the neighborhood, Lincoln Park, and the light rail station.
Mumoli says buyers unfamiliar with the West Side often underestimate how much living space and relative tranquility they can find there. “People are looking for more room without feeling so tightly packed in,” she said. “Here, buyers can get more space for their budget while still having access to transit, parks, and the rest of Jersey City.”
A new Montessori school is also expected to open on Mallory Avenue, adding to the neighborhood’s growing collection of family-oriented amenities.
The changes are not only limited to the streets surrounding Lincoln Park. Newer apartment and condominium buildings have appeared throughout the West Side, including projects near Mallory, Claremont, West Side, and Yale avenues. Farther west, the long-planned Bayfront redevelopment has entered its construction phase along the Hackensack River.
Mumoli and her team are also working with several new-construction projects expected to come to the area, giving her a firsthand view of both the development pipeline and the buyers, builders, and investors paying closer attention to the neighborhood.
Mumoli views that activity, together with smaller residential projects throughout the surrounding streets, as evidence that investment is continuing to spread westward.
She is careful to distinguish the area’s current identity from the more established markets of Downtown or Hoboken. For her, that is precisely the opportunity.
Buyers are not purchasing a finished version of the neighborhood, she said. They are choosing whether its existing combination of space, transit, green space, local businesses, and future development fits the life they want to build.
At 335 Virginia Avenue, the home’s scale helps demonstrate that value proposition.
The residence includes an open-concept kitchen and living area, three bedrooms, two full bathrooms, in-unit laundry, smart-home features, and a private rooftop deck. The side-by-side garage configuration allows two vehicles to be parked without the inconvenience of a traditional front-to-back tandem arrangement.
The property is also within walking distance of Lincoln Park, the Light Rail, Treehouse Coffee Shop, and Next Door Provisions.
For Mumoli, the listing represents more than an individual home. It is an example of the kind of space and lifestyle that may encourage buyers who previously limited their search to more established neighborhoods to take another look at Jersey City’s West Side.
“I’ve lived and invested in parts of Jersey City that many buyers initially overlooked,” she said. “Understanding when a neighborhood is reaching a pivot point has always been one of my specialties.”
335 Virginia Avenue, Unit 2, is listed by Michelle Mumoli of Compass for $844,000.
For more information or for any of your real estate needs, contact Michelle Mumoli of The Mumoli Collective at Compass at 973-454-3543 or [email protected]. You can also visit her website here.
