Jersey City Community Scores $168M Loan

Emerson Lofts. Rendering courtesy of Madison Realty Capital

Manhattan Building Co. has borrowed $168 million to complete the first phase of the Emerson Lofts, a planned 1,000-unit rental development on the northern edge of Jersey City, N.J. Madison Realty Capital (MRC) provided the construction loan for the 350-unit initial phase of the fully approved, four-phase project at 315-326 15^th St.

The first phase will consist of a 26-story tower with frontage along 14^th Street and Coles Street and will also include more than 10,000 square feet of retail, a roughly 24,000-square-foot community center, a public park and parking. The new loan will also fund predevelopment on three subsequent phases of the project, which will entail the conversion of an existing industrial building, the former Emerson Radio Factory.

Upon completion, the huge project will deliver a spacious lobby, 28,000-square-foot outdoor roof deck with pool, and fitness center and spa. The project is located in the Jersey Avenue Park redevelopment area, which forms part of a downtown redesign scheme under which the city has agreed to fund new streets, lighting and seating areas.

The property is just off Interstate 78 and the Holland Tunnel, providing quick access to Manhattan just across the Hudson River, as well as Hoboken, N.J., two PATH rail stations at the Newport station and the Journal Square Transportation Center (JSTC).

Growing neighborhood

Emerson Lofts is around the corner from Soho Lofts, a 377-unit property that Manhattan Building Co. constructed in 2018. Mack-Cali arm Roseland Residential Trust bought the luxury property at 273 16^th St. in April for nearly $264 million, or $700,000 per unit.

Also in the neighborhood, Manhattan Building Co. built Cast Iron Lofts, a 387-unit community at 837 Jersey Ave., in phases from 2013 to 2016. The company has been involved in more than $800 million of real estate projects in Hoboken and Jersey City.