From left: Joel Halpern, managing director of investments for Halpern Real Estate Ventures; Jersey City Mayor Steven Fulop and Phil Goldschmiedt, a development partner, were among those on hand for a ribbon-cutting ceremony at Birch House at 49 Fisk St. in Jersey City. — Courtesy: Birch House
By Joshua Burd
Halpern Real Estate Ventures has welcomed residents to Birch House, its new upscale and eco-conscious apartment building in Jersey City’s growing West Side neighborhood.
The developer hosted Mayor Steven Fulop and other officials last week to unveil the 337-unit property at 49 Fisk St., less than a quarter-mile east of Route 440. On display was a collection of studio, one-bedroom and two-bedroom homes with both amenity spaces and notable sustainability features such as a composting system producing fertilizer for the property’s landscaping, community garden planters and rooftop solar panels, among others.
Minno & Wasko Architects and Planners designed the six-story building, with interiors and amenities curated by The Meshberg Group, while JRM Construction Management served as general contractor.
“We are honored to have Mayor Fulop and other city representatives join us today to officially open Birch House,” Joel Halpern, managing director of investments for HREV, said in an announcement for the May 2 event. “Their unwavering commitment to fostering responsible development on the West Side has brought forth not just new residences, but much-needed retail providers, lifestyle services and infrastructure improvements. We’re excited to add Birch House to the local housing mix and are delighted the public is already embracing the opportunity to live in one of Jersey City’s burgeoning new communities.”
Monthly rents at Birch House start from $1,995, with immediate occupancy available, according to a news release. Leasing launched earlier this year, giving residents their first look at the building’s green features, which also includes a 20,000-square-foot landscaped park, electric vehicle chargers, LED light fixtures and low-flow fixtures.
Other spaces include a sprawling garden courtyard and a 22,000-square-foot rooftop with views of the Hackensack Waterfront District, downtown Jersey City and Manhattan. Meantime, the building has more than 50,000 square feet of indoor and outdoor amenities, including private and public coworking spaces, a speakeasy-style bar, a fitness center and a demonstration kitchen.
“The transformation on the West Side has really been unprecedented,” Fulop said. “If you go back 10 years and tell somebody that this is what the West Side of Jersey City would look like, or a building like this would be built on the West Side, you would probably have very few believers, but that’s the reality. Here we stand and when we enter this building it looks very different than the newer buildings that we see here in Jersey City.
“I have the privilege of being at a lot of these ribbon cuttings and I can tell you that the lobby, entryway, and the feeling you get in this building is really second to none. Congratulations and thank you for believing in Jersey City.”
Corcoran Group Marketing is the property’s marketing and leasing agent, while ASH Staging has decorated the on-site leasing gallery. Its arrival comes amid a surge of new investment and revitalization efforts on Jersey City’s West Side, where residents have quick access to the nearby 273-acre Lincoln Park and the nine-hole Skyway Golf Course, as well as Route 440 for a connection to the New Jersey Turnpike and Routes 1 and 9, while Hudson-Bergen Light Rail service is five blocks away.
