Jersey City tower becomes tallest residential building in N.J. (PHOTOS) (original) (raw)
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JERSEY CITY--A new Jersey City tower is the tallest residential building in New Jersey--for now.
At 713 feet high and 69 stories, Urban Ready Life (URL) Harborside 1 towers above nearby Trump Plaza and the Merrill Lynch building. City officials, construction workers and the project's developers celebrated the building's superlative on Thursday with a flag-raising ceremony. But if other developers get their way, URL's status as the tallest residential building will be short-lived. A 950-foot residential building is planned for 99 Hudson Street. Journal Squared, which began construction last year, is also poised to become one of the state's tallest residential buildings.
Developers Ironstate and Mack-Cali touted the tower's height and said that the project will be a landmark in the city. The threat of being usurped as the tallest residential building doesn't lessen URL's impact on the city's skyline, representatives said.
"We think URL is to residential towers what the Chrysler Building is N.Y.," Michael DeMarco, president of Mack-Cali, said in a statement. "The Chrysler held the title for tallest building for a short time before the Empire State was built. What was important was how the Chrysler changed how skyscrapers were viewed forever."
David Barry, president of Ironstate, said the building will be a "timeless milestone in the trajectory of Jersey City."
"I think it's symbolic of Jersey City's vibrancy, its growth and its importance in this state," he told the crowd on Thursday.
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The $330 million development is the first phase of three planned towers, which will consist of 2,358 residences. The first tower will have 763 rentals and will start leasing in the winter of 2016. Attendees on Thursday were able to take an elevator to the 57th floor--which is currently open to the outside-- to check out the building's view of Manhattan. Mayor Steve Fulop said the project will "redefine the entire Gold Coast."
"It is remaking the entire New Jersey skyline," Fulop told NJ Advance Media while touring the 57th floor of the building. "We couldn't be more proud of the growth of Jersey City. The fact that residents fill these buildings up as soon as we build them speaks to the demand of Jersey City."
The planned towers, designed by the Dutch architecture firm Concrete, resemble shimmering blocks that have been unevenly stacked on top of one another. The "Urban Ready Life" concept aims to provide housing that "maximizes space, reduces energy use" and provides easy access to public transit, according to the developers. Harborside 1 will feature a ninth-floor roof deck with an outdoor pool overlooking the Hudson River.
The project is just one example of Mack-Cali's growing presence in Jersey City. Earlier this month, the real estate giant announced that it will move its headquarters to the city and will amp up its efforts along the Gold Coast. DeMarco called URL a "key part" of "transforming Mack-Cali into a premier urban waterfront and transit-based office."
"This is the type of project that you won't see anywhere else in the country," he said. "This is really something that we think is going to speak to what Jersey City is and will become in the future."
Kathryn Brenzel may be reached at kbrenzel@njadvancemedia.com. Follow her on Twitter @katiebrenzel. Find NJ.com on Facebook
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