A rendering of the Provost Square project

Toll Brothers is moving ahead with a 38-story apartment building in Jersey City, putting an end to the battle to keep the project from being developed in a local arts district, the Wall Street Journal reported.

The first phase of Provost Square is a $185 million, 420-unit project that Toll will break ground on this spring with an eye toward a 2015 move-in date. The complete project, located in Jersey City’s Powerhouse Arts District, will eventually have 925 condo and rental units, retail space, a 550-seat performing arts space and a pedestrian plaza.  [more]

Gene Kaufman and 70 and 90 Columbus Street

Construction will begin in the next two months at a long-stalled 1.2 million-square-foot mixed-use project in Jersey City, the architect for the project told The Real Deal today. The two 50-story towers, designed by Gwathmey Siegel Kaufman + Associates Architects, were approved by the Jersey City Municipal Council and Planning Board in December, clearing the way for the massive project to move ahead, according to Gene Kaufman, owner of GSKA. [more]

From left: Jersey City and a rendering of Madox

In a bid to compete with the ever-pricier Manhattan apartment market, Jersey City is adding Manhattan-esque amenities to the buildings rising there, the New York Post reported.

For instance, Madox, a new rental building slated to open this fall, will be the first LEED-certified residential building in Jersey City and the first one to be “smoke-free,” the Post said. [more]

From left: the groundbreaking and a rendering of 18 Park

A new Jersey City, N.J. mixed-use development — 18 Park — broke ground today with Jersey City Mayor Jerramiah Healy in attendance, a statement from the developers said. The 422-unit luxury rental building will sit atop a new state-of-the-art facility for the Boys & Girls Clubs of Hudson County and is being developed by Ironstate Development and Kushner Real Estate Group. [more]

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]