Advance Realty Investors welcomed local officials on Sept. 28 to The Wyldes, a new 399-unit luxury apartment building at 1100 South 5th St. that is the latest addition to the town’s redeveloped waterfront and to the firm’s 35-acre Riverbend District. — Courtesy: Advance
By Joshua Burd
The difference is noticeable almost immediately upon entering The Wyldes, the new 399-unit luxury apartment building in Harrison’s Riverbend District, where an airy, hotel-style lobby connects to a vast courtyard with a generous green space and an infinity-edge pool.
Its developer, Advance Realty Investors, points to a key choice it made before breaking ground in 2021.
“We made a decision that the building design we had wouldn’t meet the market,” said Peter Cocoziello, the firm’s founder, CEO and president. “With COVID, we decided that parking would go underneath and we’d create these wonderful open spaces, so I think it’s really a tribute to the design team … that you have this kind of open space.”
That decision has distinguished the project from many of New Jerey’s other midrise rental properties, where apartments are typically wrapped around an above-ground parking structure. It came at a considerable expense, but has resulted in what Cocoziello feels is a signature multifamily project for the 44-year-old firm — which has spent the past decade expanding its apartment holdings — providing a vast footprint for visibly larger amenity spaces.
The offerings have resonated with renters. The firm had already leased 50 percent of The Wyldes as it held a ribbon-cutting ceremony on Thursday, which came five months after it hit the market, having welcomed nearly 150 residents to date to the property at 1100 South 5th St.
All the more notable: Advance’s footprint in Harrison now includes nearly 1,000 apartments across three buildings in the 35-acre, master-planned Riverbend District, where it hopes to break ground on another 524 units next year.
“It has been extremely rewarding to see the growth of the Riverbend District, which has not only become one of the most desirable neighborhoods in Harrison, but in all of Hudson County,” said Dan Cocoziello, principal and chief operating office of Advance Realty. “The Wyldes reaffirms our dedication to this neighborhood, presenting yet another cutting-edge residential property that caters to the needs and lifestyle of today’s discerning renters while also enriching the broader Harrison community. We extend our sincere appreciation to (Mayor James A. Fife), as well as all the municipal officials and agencies for their support in bringing our vision to life.”
Designed by MHS Architecture and built by March Associates Construction, the five-story building has a mix of studios, one-bedroom and two-bedroom homes priced from the mid-$2,000s. Amenities include a two-story fitness center, a host of co-working spaces and private offices and multiple resident lounges, along with a commercial-grade demonstration kitchen with programming from Hoboken-based operators bwè kafe and Hudson Table.
Meantime, The Wyldes has some 45,000 square feet of outdoor space that includes a rooftop deck with views of the Manhattan and Newark skylines, plus a landscaped courtyard and an expansive pool area with in-water chaise lounges, firepits and a sun deck. Renters are also a short walk from the Harrison PATH station, the focal point for developers that have helped transform Harrison’s formerly industrial waterfront.
“This is truly a monumental building, and if you knew this site beforehand you would just shake your head and go, ‘How did you do it, Peter? How did you do it, Dan?’” Harrison Councilman James Doran said, noting that the town has seen roughly 4,500 new residential units built across the redevelopment zone. “We’ve welcomed every single person that’s rented or bought, and you bring life to Harrison. So I thank the developers for their foresight. The Cocoziello family has just done a great job.”
Advance, for its part, has spent some 15 years planning and developing the 35-acre swath along the Passaic River. It has now completed three buildings to date after previously delivering Steel Works, a collection of 286 apartments that opened in 2017, and Cobalt Lofts, which added another 280 units to the Riverbend District about a year and a half later.
At full build-out, the neighborhood is slated include some 3,800 residential units and 100,000 square feet of commercial and retail spaces. Dan Cocoziello on Thursday said the firm hopes to break ground on the next phase, a fully approved, 524-unit building, in 2024.
“Our goal here is to keep improving and keep up with the market conditions,” he said.
Advance is leasing The Wyldes in tandem with The Marketing Directors. The project team also includes Wells Fargo, Gibbons PC, Petillo, Langan, SESI Consulting Engineers, Cahn Communications and the Bozzuto Group.
