Construction on Jersey City's massive three-tower residential development begins

Construction on "Journal Squared," a massive three-tower project that will include the tallest residential building in New Jersey, has begun in Jersey City's Journal Square.

The KRE Group project, which is located between Magnolia, Pavonia, and Summit Avenues, just east of the Port Authority transportation hub, will include a 54-story tower with 540 units; a 70-story tower with 700 units; and a 60-story tower with 600 units. The project received a 30-year tax abatement from the city last November.

Once completed, the 70-story tower is expected to be the tallest residential building in New Jersey, according to Hollwich Kushner's website, surpassing the 55-story Trump Tower Residences in Downtown Jersey City, which opened in 2008.

The development's phase I tower is expected to be complete by 2016, while the second phase will be finished five years after the first tower is built, said Jonathan Kushner, president of The KRE Group.

Kushner added that the final phase of the project will be completed approximately five years after the second phase, noting that market conditions can impact the timetable.

Last week, construction on the site was clearly active, with workers in hard hats walking around mountains of dirt and at least one crane moving a gigantic bundle of wooden planks.

Despite decades of unfulfilled promises to develop the Journal Square area by developers and politicians alike, residents and workers near Journal Square's construction site weren't surprised by the project's progress when they spoke to The Jersey Journal last week.

"We knew about it for years, we waited for it and now it's here," said Amin Mohamma, 45, a worker at Toasted Bagels at Summit and Magnolia avenues. "We expected it."

Kathy Diblasi, who said she has lived on Magnolia Avenue for 10 years and worked in the area for 14 years, corroborated the same sentiment of business-as-usual.

"They're starting a foundation, and as far as we know, it's going to be completed," she said. "It's normal."

George Cahn, a spokesman for KRE, told The Jersey Journal last week that an official groundbreaking for Journal Squared will take place sometime this fall.

Journal Square has recently seen the beginning of what city officials, residents and developers are hoping will blossom into a fully-fledged revitalization of the area.

On Wednesday, Kennedy Lofts – the first high-end residential building Journal Square has seen in years – officially opened. During its ribbon-cutting ceremony, demolition was going on across the street at 87 Newkirk St. to prepare the way for another upscale residential building.

Two other massive projects, one that will preserve The Jersey Journal's former building at 30 Journal Square and another one to be built on the empty lot next to the PATH station across the street, have been planned for the area.

A rendering for the project at 30 Journal Square, the former home of The Jersey Journal, has already been posted to developer Kushner Companies' website.

Kushner Companies is a separate organization from KRE.

The rendering depicts a series of connected structures that "steps down" to The Jersey Journal's historic building. The tallest of those structures is a skyscraper that is over 40 stories high. A caption on the rendering reads "525 apartments."

The other project, called "City Center Towers" and planned for the space right across the street, has long been delayed. No one at Multi-Employer Property Trust, which is behind the towers' development, could be reached for comment on the current status of the project.

In March this year, new renderings for City Center Towers were released, depicting two possibilities for what the towers might look like once completed, according to newyorkyimby.com. The towers, each 60 stories tall, would provide a total of 1,500 residential units, along with 150,000 square feet of retail at its base, the website stated.

Source NJ.com