An effort to revitalize a former factory along Downtown’s northwest fringe has obtained funding to build an initial mixed-use tower, which will be the first portion of a four-phase development that looks to transform the neighborhood.
Last year, Jersey City’s planning board approved an application to overhaul a sprawling industrial facility just north of the I-78/Route 139 onramp between Coles and Monmouth streets. The existing building was first constructed in the 1920s by the Continental Can Company and later housed Emerson Radio, who manufactured radios, records, and later televisions at the site.
The scheme, drawn up by Jersey City-based Urban Architecture LLC, will adaptively re-use a portion of the factory and add three 26-story towers to the property for a total of 1,000 residential units. 526 parking spaces, 44,000 square feet of retail, and 23,900 square feet of public use space for the city are included in the plan, which moved forward earlier this year when demolition began in January.
The initial phase will see a 26-story tower rise 304 feet at the now-vacant corner of Coles and 14th streets that includes 350 residential units, 307 parking spaces, 10,040 square feet of retail, and the 23,900-square-foot public use facility. The developer of Emerson Lofts, Manhattan Building Company, has picked up a $168 million construction financing package from Madison Realty Capital to fund the first phase of the project.
We previously reported that the Emerson Lofts property is owned by a subsidiary of Newmark & Company, but according to Commercial Observer, Manhattan Building controls the property’s leasehold interest through a 99-year deal with Newmark.
Madison Realty Capital says that due to the project’s size and scope, construction will likely take two and a half to three years. According to the development’s application, the first phase of the project also includes the creation of Coles Street Park on a nearby vacant parcel between 18th and 16th streets that’s between and across the way from the SoHo Lofts and Cast Iron properties.
The second phase of Emerson Lofts will see construction of another 26-story tower at the corner of 15th and Monmouth streets, while the third phase would rehabilitate the remaining factory into 150 apartments and ground-floor commercial space. The final tower, or the fourth phase, will rise next to the remaining factory along Monmouth Street.
