London? Vegas? Los Angeles? No, says Kushner. We prefer Journal Square.
New Jersey real estate tycoon continues to develop innovative plans to reshape the Jersey City neighborhood with skyscrapers.
For the first time ever, a skyscraper will be built on the west side of Kennedy Boulevard behind the historic Loews Jersey Theater. There, he’s the mastermind behind Journal Squared, a KRE group whose two towers (and his third tower under construction) have allowed him to identify neighborhoods from miles away. plans to build two new towers.
A total of 1,189 new units will be built on land currently occupied by parking lots, all of which will be designated as affordable housing, according to plans due in the Jersey City Planning Commission’s Sept. 6 review. It will never be done.
Meanwhile, former President Donald Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner and his Kushner Companies brand are behind the 1 Journal Square project and the new Path Plaza, which broke ground this summer. So does the planned skyscraper on the site of the former Jersey Journal building across Ship Avenue.
Led by Chairman and Founder Murray Kushner and President Jonathan Kushner, KRE keeps a low profile. The two companies are rivals, but it looks like Kushner bought Journal Square.
For this new project, KRE has partnered with Silverstein Properties, who have redeveloped the World Trade Center site.
The Journal Square building bordered the PATH track and a quiet street of two- or three-story homes. Developers will build a public ‘art walk’ along a section adjacent to the tracks. Kennedy Boulevard, which partially uses an existing sidewalk next to the Loews Theater.
In the more western section of the square are Dog parks, performance spaces, and greens.
The building behind Loew’s has an additional new building behind it. A space that doubles as a gallery and cafe.
A view (left) of the site behind Loew’s Jersey Theater, adjacent to the PATH railroad tracks in Journal Square, Jersey City, where KRE Group plans to build the two-tower 808 Pavonia development project. (Reena Rose Sibayan | Jersey Journal)
A drop-off area will be created by connecting the currently dead-end Pavonia Street and Van Leipen Street.
Under the redevelopment agreement, KRE will contribute $3.5 million to the city’s Journal Square Cultural Arts Fund. The redevelopment plan was able to exceed the height limit of 37 stories, he said.
Rental units are market priced and range from studios to 3 bedrooms. More than half are one-bedrooms. Residents have access to the on-site pool. 368 on-site parking lots and 606 bicycle parking lots are planned.
Developments in Journal Square have surged in recent years, targeting a younger, affluent demographic rather than the diverse hodgepodge of families we now call home. Pompidou x Jersey City, a satellite of Paris’ iconic Center Pompidou, is set to open in his 2024, and Devils Arena Entertainment plans to make Loews his A-list concert venue.
The Journal Square 2060 redevelopment plan that lays its groundwork does not require affordable housing, so most, if not all, projects do not include housing.
Studio apartments in the Journal Squared building are currently listed for over $2,660 per month. KRE broke ground on his third and final tower on the project in October.
One Journal Square broke ground in June after years of delays due to a lawsuit between developers Kushner Companies and Jersey City over tax cut denials. We did not win any tax relief in the 2020 settlement.
Jared Kushner is the company’s CEO, and the estimated $821 million project includes two 64-story residential towers, a rebuilt PATH Plaza, and a Target store in one of the buildings. .