A rendering of the mixed-use University Place project at New Jersey City University in Jersey City. — Courtesy: The Hampshire Cos.
By Joshua Burd
In today’s “ecosystem of real estate in New Jersey,” Jeff Sica knows that good opportunities are hard to find when it comes to mixed-use, transit-centric projects that feed off of New York City.
But he feels the potential of University Place, a 22-acre master-planned project alongside New Jersey City University, checks those boxes while still offering an attractive return.
“It really has everything to offer — and everything we look for when investing in something,” said Sica, president and chief investment officer of Circle Squared Alternative Investments. “As much as we’ve loved Jersey City, we knew the ship sailed on the waterfront, and we knew that it was one of the only opportunities we were going to get — where we could be a third of a mile away from the light rail … at prices where we think we’re going to see very significant appreciation in the first years of the investment. So we feel good about it.”
Sica’s Morristown-based firm is serving as project investment adviser to two mixed-use buildings slated for University Place, working in conjunction with The Hampshire Cos. and The Claremont Cos. The first of those projects is slated to break ground Monday and give way to 163 apartments and 10,000 square feet of retail, serving as one piece of a plan that figures to transform the west side of Jersey City and raise the profile of the state university.
Sica said the project will capture the demand for urban-style living that has helped build up places such as Hoboken and downtown Jersey City. But being able to offer lower rents away from the Hudson River will expand the tenant base and ensure the project’s success, he said.
As a case study, he points to the nearby town of Harrison, where Circle Squared, Hampshire and CrownPoint Group have built a 104-unit residential complex not far from a PATH rail station. A little more than a half-year after the developers opened its doors in fall 2015, the project was close to full occupancy.
But Sica noted that University Place offers an added dimension that is perhaps even rarer: the opportunity to feed off of a college campus. Along with providing a potential renter pool of faculty, employees and grad students, NJCU will create a buzz that can only benefit the new development.
“The type of energy that this environment fosters makes people want to live there,” Sica said. “Plus, it does give the opportunity for people who want to advance their education — when more people are getting graduate degrees or changing career directions — and the university will make it very accessible for them to advance their education while they’re working. And I think that’s a very good feature.”
