Page 58 - RE-NJ

Rendering courtesy: JLL
Rendering courtesy: Gateway Merchant Banking
56 MARCH 2025
ALPINE SNAGS $143 MILLION LOAN FOR
‘SCHOLARS VILLAGE’ PROJECT
Alpine Residential has landed a
nearly $143 million construction loan
and equity for a plan to build 500
apartments on the doorstep of the
Liberty Science Center in Jersey City.
According to JLL, which sourced
the transactions, Bank OZK is
providing the four-year, fl oating-rate
construction loan for what’s known
as Scholars Village. Brokers noted
that the project at 189 Phillip St. calls
for two 12-story buildings adjacent to
the museum and learning center and
across from Liberty State Park, with
upscale amenities and 4,101 square
feet of ground-fl oor commercial
space, as part of an ambitious plan to
expand the institution’s footprint.
JLL Senior Managing Director
Thomas Didio, Managing Director
Thomas E. Didio Jr. and Senior
Plans for Scholars Village at 189 Phillip St. in Jersey City call for two 12-story buildings adjacent to the Liberty Science Center,
with 500 apartments ranging from studios to three-bedroom units and upscale amenities for residents.
DEVELOPER EYES 1,000 APARTMENTS,
RETAIL SPACE AT EX-HOSPITAL SITE
A developer has secured a key local
approval for a project that would
bring more than 1,000 apartments
and commercial space to the long-
shuttered Orange Memorial Hospital
property.
The fi rm, Gateway Merchant Banking,
said it expects to begin construction
later this year on the $350 million
phased redevelopment at 188 South
Essex Ave., following unanimous
site plan approval from the City of
Orange planning board. That would
include 1,005 rental homes ranging
from studios to three-bedroom units
— up to 20 percent of which will be
reserved as affordable housing —
with the potential to also bring senior
and student housing to the site.
Plans also call for 70,190 square
feet of retail and commercial space,
with 25,000 square feet earmarked
for municipal offi ce space, plus
more than an acre and a half of
public space that would anchor
what Gateway described as a family-
friendly destination.
“Not only was Orange Memorial
Hospital an important historical
institution in the Orange community
— it was also a statewide treasure,”
Mayor Dwayne Warren said. “It was
a leader in training opportunities for
Black nurses and was the birthplace
for leaders in every fi eld. All eyes are
on this transformational project as we
anxiously await its revitalization after
closing two decades ago.
A plan by Gateway Merchant Banking would bring 1,005 apartments, 70,190 square feet
of retail and commercial space and more than an acre and a half of public space to the
former Orange Memorial Hospital property at 188 South Essex Ave. in Orange.
“Gateway’s plans for the property
demonstrate its understanding of
the site’s historical signifi cance
and potential for the future. The
redevelopment of the Orange
Memorial
site will be
enhanced by
citizen input and
the thoughtful
building plans.
The fi nal project
will stimulate
growth and
Dwayne Warren
become an
integral part of the residential and
commercial life of our city.”
According to a news release, the
new residential space would include
amenities such as a rooftop pool
with cabanas and gardens, a sky
lounge, fi tness rooms, fl exible event
spaces, secure, access-controlled
package rooms and ample parking
spaces, including 200 electric vehicle
charging stations. Renters would
also have access to a host of public-
facing amenities, such as an outdoor
ice skating and roller-skating rink, a
public plaza with an open lawn and
swinging benches, terraced platform
seating, a restaurant with outdoor
seating and children’s play areas.
Meantime, Gateway said it will look
to preserve parts of the hospital,
which is on the New Jersey and
National Registers of Historic Places,
in part by restoring and repurposing
Mary Austen Hall. The building, the
last standing structure from Orange
Memorial’s historic nursing school,
Analyst Michael Mataras arranged
the $142.7 million construction
loan. They also represented Alpine
in securing a preferred equity
investment from EOS Residential
Investors.
In a news release, the brokerage
team noted that Scholars Village will
rise in Jersey City’s Bergen-Lafayette
neighborhood with apartments
ranging from studios to three-
bedroom units. The project is also
slated to include amenities such as a
fi tness center, coworking spaces and
rooftop terraces with views of the
Manhattan skyline and the Statue of
Liberty.
Residents, meantime, will be a short
walk from the Hudson-Bergen Light
Rail’s Liberty State Park station,
providing them with easy access
to other parts of Jersey City and
connections to Manhattan via PATH
trains.
will become Orange’s new City Hall.
The developer also plans to preserve
the Old Boiler House building,
the news release said. Additional
plans call for leasing most of the
commercial space to local businesses.
“This is not just another real estate
deal,” said Terrence Murray, co-
founder and managing partner at
Gateway. “As someone who lives
minutes away
and calls South
Orange home,
I understand
the magnitude
of this project,
not only for the
City of Orange
but for Essex
Terrence Murray
County and all
of New Jersey.
“I am deeply committed to making the
redevelopment of Orange Memorial
Hospital a community-centric
initiative. Every decision I’ve made,
and continue to make, is with a clear
focus on the impact this revitalization
will have on the city’s current and
future residents.”
Gateway noted that the property,
located in the Central Orange
Redevelopment Plan Area, is 30
minutes by train to Manhattan. That’s
a key feature for Gateway, which
has invested in, developed or co-
developed more than 2,000 apartment
units across 2.5 million square feet of
mixed-use, mixed-income and student
housing assets in 13 U.S. markets. RE