A rendering of 100 Monitor St. in Jersey City — Courtesy: Ironstate Development Co.
By Joshua Burd
A joint venture led by Ironstate Development Co. has broken ground on a new luxury rental building in Jersey City’s Lafayette section, continuing the city’s push to expand development beyond its downtown.
The firm and its partners, Brookfield Property Group and Landmark Developers, gathered Tuesday to mark the official start of construction for the 309-unit apartment building. Located at 100 Monitor St., the $84 million development will be directly adjacent to a Hudson-Bergen Light Rail station and within walking distance of Liberty State Park and the Liberty Science Center.
The steel-and-brick-clad building is also meant to reflect the historic character of the Lafayette neighborhood, with its mix of residential and industrial buildings.
“I think it’s really going to be a beacon and a credit to this community, and it’s going to bring the neighborhood into its future, in a sense,” said David Barry, president of Ironstate Development Co. “So we really took a lot of pride in the design of the building both inside and out.”
Barry, whose firm has developed thousands of units in and around downtown Jersey City, said Lafayette was “an emerging neighborhood with significant growth potential.” So when Ironstate had the chance to become a partner in the project, “we jumped at it,” he said.
The development is more than a decade in the making and comes amid other projects nearby. That includes a planned $280 million development of what’s known as Sci-Tech City, a mixed-use project adjacent to the Liberty Science Center.
“This is a neighborhood clearly on the rise, and we’re excited to be a part of it,” said Barry, who is also a managing trustee of the science center.
Designed by BKSK Architects in partnership with Kitchen & Associates, its executive architect, 100 Monitor St. will take the place of what is currently a vacant 2.7-acre lot. Plans also call for 3,800 square feet of street-level retail space and 8,000 square feet of commercial space that will serve as the new headquarters for the Jersey City Redevelopment Agency.
Both Barry and Jersey City Mayor Steven Fulop pointed to other new businesses and commercial development in the surrounding blocks, including a planned boutique hotel and the recently opened, 17-acre Berry Lane Park.
“This lot, in particular, has been probably the most meaningful one in the Bergen-Lafayette area because it’s been open and perceived as an eyesore,” Fulop said. “And when it has this building completed on it, I am fairly confident that it will transform this entire area.”
The project will create more than 600 construction jobs and take approximately 22 months to complete.
Ironstate said the five-story property will be built in a rectangular configuration around a central courtyard with outdoor space and amenities. Apartments will include a mix ranging from studios to three-bedroom units, featuring efficient layouts, oversized windows and high-end finishes.
The developer also touted amenities such as a fitness center, resident lounge, rooftop dog run, and a 21,000-square-foot courtyard featuring an outdoor pool, sundeck, barbecue grills and a natural lawn.