Panepinto Properties has officially taken over ownership of a two-tower development along the Hudson River currently under construction. Image courtesy of Elkus Manfredi Architects.
One of the largest properties under redevelopment along Jersey City’s waterfront has officially changed hands as the two-tower plan for Harborside 8 & 9 has new owners.
Panepinto Properties has acquired a former surface parking lot at 2 Second Street and 242 Hudson Street from Veris Residential for $75 million. As Jersey Digs exclusively reported back in September, Panepinto was officially declared the new redevelopers of the site, which spans about four acres.
Piledriving work has officially begun at the Harborside 8 site, where a 68-story building is set to rise. Photo by Chris Fry/Jersey Digs.
The earliest approvals for the property were first obtained back in 2020 by then-developer Mack-Cali, who initially intended to build three towers at the site. The plans were then scaled back a bit, with a second tower called Harborside 9 gaining approval last summer.
The ground floor of the future Harborside 8 includes a sizable retail component. Image courtesy of Elkus Manfredi Architects.
The sale represents Veris Residential’s complete exit as owner from the Harborside complex, according to Cushman & Wakefield, the real estate investment trust’s broker who worked on the deal. The company has been selling office buildings and non-core properties in its portfolio for several years now as part of its transition to a pure-play multifamily REIT.
“The sale of the Harborside 8/9 land parcel represents a significant milestone in the continued execution of our strategic plan to monetize non-strategic assets and further strengthen our balance sheet,” said Veris CEO Mahbod Nia in a statement following the sale.
Image courtesy of Elkus Manfredi Architects.
With full approvals in place, Panepinto has already begun work on the 65-story tall Harborside 8 portion of the project. Designed by Elkus Manfredi Architects, that building will include 678 apartments, 8,578 square feet of retail space, a 350-space parking garage and a 40,000-square-foot redesigned public park along the Hudson River.
The second phase, Harborside 9, calls for a 57-story tower with 579 units, 14,800 square feet of retail space and a 555-space structured garage. That portion of the development will include a 15% affordable housing component that will create 87 affordable units.
An aerial of the full plan. Image courtesy of Elkus Manfredi Architects.
Both buildings are slated to offer extensive indoor and outdoor amenities, waterfront activation and connectivity to the surrounding Harborside campus. As part of the buildout of Harborside 8 and 9, a new dead-end east to west street will be created between the two high rises.
“This acquisition reflects my long-standing belief that this formerly industrial waterfront would evolve into a modern, world-class community,” Joseph Panepinto Sr., founder and CEO of Panepinto Properties, said in a statement. “Having represented Jersey City in its early redevelopment, helping shape its rising skyline has been a defining part of my life’s work. I look forward to keeping that progress a priority.”
The buildout of project will decidedly change the landscape along this slice of the Hudson River waterfront. The development will add over 1,250 residential units and 23,000 square feet of retail space to the neighborhood, which is situated near the Exchange Place PATH station and just steps away from the Harborside stop on the Hudson Bergen Light Rail.