A rendering of the proposed High Line in New Jersey

A legal settlement that would hand control of an elevated railway known as the Sixth Street Embankment in New Jersey from a Manhattan developer to Jersey City authorities could allow for the construction of the state’s own High Line Park, the Wall Street Journal reported.

While New Jersey officials have long pushed to have the mile-long structure transformed into a landscaped park, the patch of railway has been caught up in a lengthy legal battle spawning from the sale of the prospective park to Manhattan investor Steve Hyman, the Journal said, who wished to build housing at the site. Hyman purchased the embankment from Consolidated Rail for $3 million in 2003; Jersey City then sued Consolidated for selling the land and Hyman sued the city for throwing a wrench in his plans. [more]

A ribbon-cutting in Jersey City

From the January issue: Over the past three years, Rapid Realty has undergone an expansion befitting its name. Founder Anthony Lolli started franchising his Brooklyn-based rental brokerage in 2009, and the company has since mushroomed to several dozen franchise locations throughout New York City. Now, he’s plotting a national takeover, starting with an expansion into New Jersey.

The first Rapid Realty outside the city opened this fall at 479 Palisades Avenue in Jersey City. The owner of that franchise, Nina Morrow, is opening another Jersey City location this month at 183 Montgomery Street. [more]

New Jersey office landlord Mack-Cali Realty, is partnering with Hoboken-based Ironstate Development to develop two luxury towers with 500 rental units on the Jersey City waterfront, the Wall Street Journal reported, in an effort to diversify it’s predominantly commercial office portfolio as the market shifts towards residential.

“What they’re doing, I think it’s very smart. At the moment, the market clearly shows more demand for residential than for office,” said Jamie LeFrak, a principal at the LeFrak Organization, a major developer in Jersey City.

The towers will span two city blocks the Journal said, currently the site of vacant parking lots. Mack-Cali is aiming to break ground on the development in the last quarter of 2012. [more]

Jamie LeFrak and the Shore Club condominiums

A judge has ordered that Jamie LeFrak, heir to the LeFrak New York real estate dynasty, pay out $4.8 million to 16 residents at one of his luxury apartment buildings in New Jersey, the New York Post reported.

In a June ruling, LeFrak was found to have sold condominium units in his tony Shore Club condominium in Jersey City to buyers under the assumption that they would have panoramic views of Manhattan, which were promptly blocked by the 32-story AquaBlu, another LeFrak building, the judge said.

Judge Edward O’Connor also ordered the developer and his firm, the LeFrak Organization, to pay $1 million in legal fees.

The LeFraks have operated a family business stretching back five generations. [Post]

From left: Keller Williams agents Laura Schwartz and Gershon Adjaye pictured at 361 1st Street in an episode of “Open House NY”

French reality television show “Angels of Reality” is descending upon
Jersey City for its third season, thanks to a last-minute lease
brokered by two Keller Williams agents. The show, which takes a group
of reality TV stars and puts them up in a “dream house” as they pursue
careers in the entertainment industry, signed a six-week lease on a home at 361 1st Street in the historic downtown section for $60,000, production company Paradoxal confirmed.

“We were looking for something very large — at least five bedrooms –
with modern furniture and a private swimming pool in New York City or
as close as possible,” said Doryne Mercier, a production coordinator
on the show. [more]

Long a haven for single 20-somethings who coveted Manhattan but not the expensive real estate that comes with it, Jersey City is beginning to lure a more mature crowd. The New York Post reported that families are increasingly turning to Jersey City to live in more spacious abodes for substantially less money and just a PATH stop away from Manhattan. One couple moved from the Upper West Side into the Newport development, a 15-building Jersey City complex with more than 4,000 apartments, and doubled the square feet of their home without paying significantly more. [more]

From left: the Centurion, Jersey City’s Soleil Lofts and Toby’s Estate

Australian coffeemaker Toby’s Estate is looking to set up shop in New York City. The company, which currently runs six cafés in Australia and is working on new locations in Paris and Singapore, is seeking retail shops with between 1,500 and 2,500 square feet of space and at least 15 feet of store frontage. Meanwhile, the developers of Jersey City’s Soleil Lofts are offering buyers hundreds of dollars in gifts if they sign contracts at the 38-unit police precinct-to-condominium conversion by Jan. 31, 2011, and I.M. Pei’s the Centurion is about to cross the 50-percent-closed threshold. Click here for more. TRD [more]

The leasing office at Monaco — Jersey City’s latest new residential tower and the tallest rental building in New Jersey — is slated to open in February, development team Roseland Property, Garden State Development and Hartz Mountain Industries has announced. The 523-unit, 50-story project consists of two towers designed by SLCE Architects, which are scheduled for completion in early spring, when they’ll eclipse the LeFrak Organization’s nearby Towers of America complex as the tallest rentals in the state. TRD [more]

The model apartment at Trump Plaza Residences

After this summer’s appearance on “HGTV Design Star,” the Trump Plaza Residences condominium in Jersey City has unveiled a permanent model residence designed by the show’s finalists. The condo, at 88 Morgan Street, is New Jersey’s tallest residential tower. The model apartment is a 1,182-square-foot, two-bedroom unit on the 32nd floor with views of the Manhattan skyline and the Hudson River. In an interview with The Real Deal just before the episode aired in July, Donald Trump Jr. said he hoped the show would boost sales at the condo. “The demographic of the people watching the show could be potential buyers, and the show highlights the amenities of the building, its views, and its proximity to city,” he said. “It was great that the show’s producers wanted to use the Jersey City project as an example of a model luxury building.” TRD

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