Real estate and business development in Hudson County is at an all-time high. The county’s move into the next millennium is marked by intense development along the waterfront, by the revitalization of business districts, and by the arrival of the Hudson-Bergen Light Rail system which looks to provoke further development along its routes. Harborside Financial Center in Jersey City will continue to lure major commercial and residential development. On the horizon is a new 350-room Hyatt hotel that will occupy 20,000 square feet, according to Daniel Frohwirth, the director of real estate at the Jersey City Economic Development Corporation. The city recently received a $10 million grant from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) to further develop that area. According to the JCEDC, the Hyatt is one of several projects in the works for the Harborside region, including office buildings along Hudson Street. Hartz Mountain Industries recently opened a 12-story office building at 90 Hudson St. with tenants including American Express, National Discount Brokers, and Lord & Abbott, a firm that relocated from the General Motors building in Manhattan. “Lord & Abbott is moving in on Jan. 15 of 2000, and they’re bringing their entire operation here,” Frohwirth said. “There’s a tremendous demand for office space along the waterfront and we have the land to build on. In Manhattan, there’s not enough land, and major companies want to be at locations where they can see the city as if they’re able to touch it.” Hartz also recently broke ground on 70 Hudson St., and according to the JCEDC, there is another Hartz office building proposed for 77 Hudson St. “We are looking to develop the site,” said Emanuel Stern, president of Hartz Mountain Industries, who declined to elaborate further. “I will say that there is a lot of activity and the activity is incredible. Jersey City has become established as the ultimate address for financial companies looking for the best combination of modern infrastructure, costs, and location.” Slated for an opening in the spring of 2000 is a 165,000-square foot Harborside Plaza IV-A to join plazas one, two, and three, which are already up and running. Mack-Cali Realty Corporation, according to the JCEDC, is already proposing three more plazas: five, six, and seven. Goldman Sachs has proposed office buildings at 30 and 55 Hudson St. Further north on the waterfront Moving up the waterfront, Hoboken expects a hotel, two office buildings, and a new residential complex on its south waterfront in the next few years. The Parsippany-based developer SJP Properties is looking for an anchor tenant for its proposed 14-story office building on Hudson Street. The Applied Companies, which has built market-rate and subsidized apartments throughout Hoboken, will construct a 526-unit residential building. On the city’s northern waterfront, the first phase of Applied’s Shipyard apartment and condominium complex on the northern waterfront is complete, with parkland and more units to follow. A block away, BDJL is hard at work at an 868-unit residential “Hoboken Cove” complex with panoramic river views. In Weehawken, Roseland Properties will build 48 brownstones along 51st Street and Baldwin Avenue in the new year. Mayor Turner, who commented that other housing projects were in their preliminary stages right now, said that the town is taking gradual steps on how the waterfront is developed. “Our town and the people who are involved in looking at the developers’ proposals are severe critics when it comes to approving property development,” said the mayor. “We want the development of the waterfront to include a mix of housing, office and commercial space. So we are looking into all aspects of what is being done.” Roseland has submitted plans to build an additional 128 units of condominiums and apartments in the future. Since 1998, the waterfront development on the north end of West New York off River Road has become the economic engine that has moved the town forward. A ten-year Roseland project has generated $3 million in tax money in its first phase and has so far included the completion of 286 townhouses and 200 apartment units. City officials anticipate that the next two phases of the project will be on schedule. “I see that the development of the waterfront will help the people of our town greatly,” said Mayor Albio Sires. “I see that there are a lot of people employed in West New York, and with the increase of residential and commercial development, we will be able to generate the type of jobs people could use and also provide housing that has been needed.” The second phase will add of 400 units of condominiums and apartments and will start construction by the spring of 2000. The third phase will include a 150,000-square foot commercial strip that will have restaurants, a pharmacy and professional offices. It will begin construction in late 2001 or early 2002. During this ten-year period, city officials estimate that a total of 4,100 new residential units will be built in West New York. Interior business and development All around the area, hotels are benefiting from the overflow of tourists visiting New York. In addition to the several hotels already in Secaucus, Prime Hospitality Corporation of Fairfield, along with Hartz Mountain industries, recently built a 159-room AmeriSuites hotel in that town’s Harmon Meadow development. In Weehawken, the Sheraton Hotel at Lincoln Harbor on the waterfront just added a new wing. State designations have given a boost to retail areas in West New York, North Bergen and Jersey City. Incentives such as a three percent sales tax