From left: Bayfront area and a rendering of the future development

Jersey City has taken a crucial step towards the redevelopment of 100 acres of contaminated land on its western edge, according to the Wall Street Journal. NJ Transit began an environmental review of the plan last week, a precursor to extending the Light Rail to connect the region’s public transit to the area, known as Bayfront. An estimated $213 million extension of the Light Rail could help encourage developers to move forward with a plan to build 8,100 residential units, 1 million square feet of office space and 20 acres of park on the waterfront site. [more]

Allegedly abandoned buildings in Jersey City (credit: official Jersey City register)

Jersey City officials have begun a push to flag the city’s estimated 950 vacant buildings, the Wall Street Journal reported, in an effort to cleanup blighted streetscapes. The measure utilizes the state’s strong abandoned property laws, which require landlords to register abandoned buildings and allow the state to repossess properties in order to sell them or tear them down and redevelop the land if a building is unoccupied for six months. [more]

From left: 200 West Street and 30 Hudson Street

Goldman Sachs is reconfiguring its real estate footprint and, according to the New York Post, that could have a major impact on its 42-story Jersey City property that remains the tallest in the state. The firm plans to move some of its real estate, technology and administrative staff to its new headquarters at 200 West Street in Battery Park City from the 1.5 million-square-foot office it developed in 2004 at 30 Hudson Street in Jersey City. [more]

Jamie LeFrak and a rendering of Pier 6

The LeFrak Organization is all set to break ground on the latest new construction for its 25-years-in-the-making, $10 billion Newport development in Jersey City. According to the New York Times, all it needs is an office tenant. LeFrak has already erected 14 apartment buildings, seven office buildings and a shopping mall to Newport, but has recently slowed its development pace. The last office building went up in 2003. [more]

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]