Ground Breaks on More Riverfront Apartments in N.J.

December 7, 2011

Work has begun on the Estuary, a 589-unit residential complex on the waterfront in Weehawken, across from Manhattan.

By Dees Stribling, Contributing Editor

Weehawken, N.J.—Work has begun on the Estuary, a 589-unit residential complex on the waterfront in Weehawken, across from Manhattan. The rental property is being developed by a partnership between Roseland Property Co. and Hartz Mountain Industries, which has owned the property on the waterfront since 1981 and has leased other parts of it to companies that include UBS AG and the Sheraton Lincoln Harbor Hotel.

Two office structures were originally planned for the site, but that development was bogged down by state objections to its proposed height, and then the tanking of the office market with the Great Recession. Plans for a rental property emerged when it became clear that renters-by-choice could be attracted to a location near Manhattan, but without Manhattan prices. Rents at the property haven’t been determined yet.

The Estuary will consist of three buildings, one eight stories high, and two others six stories high. In addition to views of Manhattan and access to the city via ferry, the property will offer a number of amenities, such as a rooftop deck and pool, golf simulator, hot tub, fire pit, fitness room, yoga room, children’s playroom and Wii game center.

“The Estuary is targeted at the increasingly large market of renters by choice—people who, if they chose, could purchase a house but for reasons of lifestyle and flexibility prefer to rent in a high-end apartment building,” Carl Goldberg, managing partner for Roseland Property Co., tells MHN. “Many of our residents could choose to live in Manhattan. However, when rents at the Estuary are at most 60 percent of the rent you will pay in Manhattan, the Estuary is a viable and popular option. At this point in its development, New Jersey’s Gold Coast can and does function as a ‘sixth borough’ for Manhattan, offering PATH, ferry and bus connections to the city—with better views and better rents.”

Hartz is donating, at the city’s request, about an acre from the site to enlarge the existing Lincoln Harbor Park. Hartz will also build a number of features for the park addition, such as a playground, dog run and stage.

“Estuary” is more than a fanciful developer name for the property. The Hudson River is a tidal estuary whose influences are clearly visible at Lincoln Harbor, part of the Weehawken Cove, where water flow and level vary with low and high tides. Marine and bird life along the waterfront is seasonally influenced, and, due to conservation efforts, is more abundant than at any time in the past 100 years.

Roseland Property Co. has been busy lately. Only last week, as reported by MHN, the company broke ground on RiverTrace, a 316-unit building in West New York, not far from Weehawken. It too is a riverside rental property.