Local officials, stakeholders and staff attending the recent Mission 50 ribbon-cutting ceremony in Hoboken included Mayor Ravi S. Bhalla (sixth from left) and Greg Dell’Aquila, CEO of JDA Group LLC (eighth from left). Photo by Marie Papp Photography/Courtesy: Mission 50
By Joshua Burd
A developer has unveiled a new co-working space in Hoboken after completing an extensive renovation and rebranding of an 80,000-square-foot office building in the city.
The landlord, JDA Group LLC, welcomed local officials and other stakeholders recently to mark the opening of its Mission 50 facility at 50 Harrison St. The new-look building now offers a host of options for entrepreneurs, small businesses and freelancers, including co-working spaces, privacy pods, private office suites and traditional, fully customizable office concepts, the firm said, helping to reinvent the former Hoboken Business Center.
JDA Group CEO Greg Dell’Aquila showed off the changes during the June 24 event.
“What you see here today is a testament to Greg, his family and their dedication to the city of Hoboken,” Mayor Ravi Bhalla said. “Greg is not just a business owner but a resident. He has a vision for Hoboken and he’s willing to put his money where his mouth is and put real dollars, real investments, into this community.”
Dell’Aquila’s firm, which is based in the city, said it has catered to small- and midsized firms since developing the Hoboken Business Center in 2003. The property introduced the original Mission 50 space in 2011 with the debut of a 3,000-square-foot penthouse co-working area, prompting the landlord in early 2020 to launch a year-long initiative that has expanded the concept to the entire building.
The company said its plans over the years have coincided with the growth of the neighborhood. That includes investments by the city such as the new Southwest Resiliency Park, which is just northeast of Mission 50, and a planned expansion of the public space.
“Every time the city made an investment, we made an investment into the future of Southwest Hoboken,” Dell’Aquila said. “We’ve done upgrades to the exterior and throughout the whole building, including a complete renovation of the second floor.
“We’re excited that we have the new park and look forward to the planned expansion. A lot of these ideas and visions that were talked about 15 or 20 years ago are now becoming a reality.”
Mission 50 offers a menu of membership options, amenities and programs such as networking, guest speakers, pitch competitions and scotch tastings, according to a news release. Dell’Aquila said such offerings will be all the more important as people return to the workplace.
“Mission 50 is one of the anchors of Southwest Hoboken,” said Ruben Ramos, the city’s fourth ward councilman. “It has a great track record of enhancing the community by being a unique place to work. Also, the building’s design is eye-catching and complements the feeling of the neighborhood. JDA Group continues to be instrumental in investing in Hoboken and shares a vision that is very future-looking.”
