After more than 20 years as a gold trader on the New York Mercantile Exchange, Rich Trifoglio was looking for a change of pace in his life.
“It all happened one night when I was playing cards with a bunch of friends,” Trifoglio said. “I overheard a conversation that a friend of mine was having about real estate. I thought it was a great idea.”
And there was no better place to start than Trifoglio’s old neighborhood, namely Weehawken’s historic “Shades” section. Trifoglio was born and raised in the Shades and called the area home for most of his life.
“My grandfather’s home still stands, and my mother still lives around the corner,” Trifoglio said. “I received the sacraments at St. Lawrence Church. I’m a local guy from the neighborhood. It’s special down here. Everyone looks out for each other. It’s a real neighborhood.”
Trifoglio first set his sights on property on Chestnut Street, where two old stainless steel factories had existed for many years.
“I wanted that property for a long time,” said the 45-year-old Trifoglio, who graduated from Weehawken High School in 1975. “I put in a bid for it at first, but I missed out on it. It was originally zoned for only commercial use, so someone was going to use it to build electric cars.”
However, when the township’s Planning Board wouldn’t give approval to the car factory because of the threat of noxious fumes plaguing the neighborhood, Trifoglio stepped forward to make another bid. He also had an advantage.
“The woman who owned the property is my best friend’s mother,” Trifoglio said. “I’ve known her since I was a little boy. We were in negotiations for a long time, almost two years. When I purchased the property, it came with approvals to convert it to residential use.”
Trifoglio then went to work to convert the former steel factories into four duplex townhouses. Trifoglio hired a general contractor, Tony Pasculli, from Hoboken, and secured the services of architect Jose Izquierdo from West New York.
“They came up with a nice design, complete with a skylight window,” said Trifoglio of the three-bedroom, two-bathroom duplexes. There is also a 10-car indoor garage.
The conversion from old factory to upscale townhouse took about a year. The work was completed about three weeks ago, and Trifoglio determined that the units were ready for occupancy.
However, instead of putting the four townhouses up for sale, Trifoglio has decided to keep the homes and rent three of them. He’s living in the fourth.
“I’m bullish,” Trifoglio said. “I didn’t want to sell them. It took a lot of money and heartache, so I wanted to keep them. It’s a big gamble and a big risk, but I just felt it was the right thing to do.”
Trifoglio listed the units for rentals in late December. They were gone in four days.
“It was scary how fast they went,” Trifoglio said. “I had a waiting list. People realize that this is a safe neighborhood and a good neighborhood.”
Weehawken Mayor Richard Turner applauded the efforts of Trifoglio, as well as other developers who are trying to add to the Shades. The nearby St. Lawrence Estates complex is completed and ready for occupancy as well. There are plans on tap for other residential developments in the area.
“What you’re seeing down there is the transformation from old, vacant industrial buildings into residential areas,” Turner said. “The factories die off and go out of business. The worst thing is to have vacant factories in the area, because it leads to problems. Once these factories are transformed, it leads to a neat, clean and safe environment.”
Turner also said that it was particularly pleasing that Trifoglio took the time to beautify the neighborhood because he was born and raised there.
“I know that I was encouraged by Mayor Turner to pursue this,” Trifoglio said. “I think the mayor and council are happy to see someone put the time and effort to help the neighborhood. It seems like a win-win for everyone, for the town, for me, for the neighborhood. People remember what Chestnut Street looked like before this. The neighborhood was in decay. This was a big step up.”
Because these townhouses were such a rousing success, Trifoglio is branching out into his new career. He has another two-family project on tap, directly right next door to the four existing townhouses on Chestnut Street. “This is just the start,” Trifoglio said.