August 30,2007
Grant Hardeway
For the past year and a half most of us have been waiting to see just what would be taking place in the Journal Square redevelopment.
Harwood Properties the developers who showed their enthusiasm by plunking down a sizeable amount of money to acquire the the 1.5 acre site, $400 million project; has now sold a 66% interest in the project to Multi-Employer Property (MEPT).
It makes you wonder, with all of the turmoil occurring in housing industry at the present how this deal is going to come about. Don't worry! MEPT has deep pockets, 6.2 billion in assets- and plans to self finance to project.
But wait, it gets even better. There is a third party involved in this new development.
Becker & Becker the architctural,planning, preservation and development firm that worked on the Octagon, a 500 apartment redevelopment on New York's Roosevelt Island.
This is great news if you have not noticed. All of us may be a little skeptical-however we should bear in mind that the New York Metro area has seen a 1.7 increase in sales price since the market flattened out in the last quarter of 2006. And, most importantly the Hudson County area has seen an increase of 3% in overall sales prices.
Also, the project which includes two towers (north and south) and which is going before the planning board on Sept.25 is rumored to include a hotel component as well as 150,000 square feet of commercial space. This is surely to give a great boost to the employment and sales which are much needed in the Hudson County area.
This comes as welcomed news, especially with the forecast from the Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia's report that New Jersey's projected economic growth is a mere 0.7% through next March.
