New Jersey’s First Affordable Green Project Now Complete

By Erika Schnitzer, Associate EditorJersey City, N.J.—Genesis Cos., a Jersey City, N.J.-based developer of urban communities, recently celebrated the opening of Webb Apartments, a five-story, 40-unit mixed-use community that will be the first 100 percent affordable, green residential building in the state of New Jersey.The redevelopment project is a public-private partnership between Genesis Cos., the state of New Jersey and the City of Jersey City.Designed by GF55 Partners, a New York-based architecture firm, Webb Apartments is LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) Silver- and Energy Star-certified and will consume 20 percent less energy than a non-green building. Green features include bamboo floors, low-VOC paints, Energy Star appliances and recycled-content construction materials.“As experts in the green building/LEED system, GF55 Partners is committed to creating housing with superior environmental building technology, and we are especially satisfied to bring this to an affordable housing development,” says David E. Gross, AIA, partner, GF55. (Click here to read an MHN interview with Gross).The project will offer one-, two- and three-bedroom residences, with monthly rents ranging from $523 to $714. In addition to the apartments, the community will feature 9,000 sq. ft. of retail space.Webb Apartments is located within close proximity to a New Jersey Transit light rail station, providing easy access to Hoboken and Manhattan.Genesis Companies was presented an Urban Redevelopment Award by the New Jersey Redevelopment Authority for Webb Apartments, and the project won the 2008 Jersey City Green Award.