Investors double down on property deals in Jersey City’s Journal Square

Gaia Real Estate is set to move on a partial repositioning of its 300,000-square-foot office asset at 2 Journal Square, Real Estate NJ reported last week. Lead designer HLW has been tapped to reconfigure the office complex to add street-level retail and restaurant space. The new plans call for 30,000 square feet of retail space and redesigned lobbies at the property, as well as an updated chrome and glass facade, an exterior terrace and glass-walled stores. According to JerseyDigs, the existing Chase Bank will remain on the first floor on the building as two separate retail storefronts are are added. Rutherford-based retail broker RKF is handling leasing for the conversion. Meanwhile, fellow brokerage HFF last week completed the sale of a roughly half-acre site at 175 Sip Avenue in Jersey City’s Journal Square neighborhood. The property, as noted by NJ.com, was once home to the VIP Diner, where an episode of “The Sopranos” was filmed in 2006. Real Estate NJ reported that the site has been earmarked for redevelopment that could include a residential high-rise of up to 25 stories. Cushman & Wakefield represented the seller, although exact terms of the deal were undisclosed. [RealEstateNJ]