Jersey no longer bargain for office dwellers

Once considered a viable alternative to pricey Manhattan office space, the New Jersey waterfront is now losing its luster in the eyes of fiscally-minded businesses, according to Crain’s, making 2009 the most dismal the region has seen in two years. The disparity in lease rates between New Jersey waterfront office space, in cities like Weehawken, Hoboken, and Jersey City, and Manhattan is slowly narrowing, leading to a slowdown in activity. After massive asking rent cuts in Lower Manhattan, the rent gap between there and New Jersey dwindled to just $6 per square foot, according to Cushman & Wakefield. As a result, the first nine months of 2009 saw 710,000 square feet of space hit the market with no takers.