The work of two years reached its culmination Thursday with the official opening of the 37-story Liberty Towers residential complex on the Jersey City waterfront.
“The highly anticipated opening of our rental program will tap the pent-up demand of scores of prospective tenants who have been waiting for this opportunity,” said Brian Fisher, one of the partners in the development. Among officials at the grand opening were Mayor Glenn Cunningham, Councilman-at-Large Mariano Vega, and Housing, Economic Development and Commerce Department Director Mark Munley.
“This is really a very great accomplishment for Jersey City,” said Cunningham as he toured the building.
The 648 units are, according to Cahn, divided between studio apartments and one- and two-bedroom units. Fisher noted the complex is also in the process of finishing construction on 14 penthouse units. Fisher projects they will be completed in the next couple of months.
Fisher stressed the open design of all the residential units in the new complex, making note of the spacious kitchen and living area design.
“The kitchen space has been opened up,” said Fisher, conducting a tour of the units for the attendees at the Thursday grand opening. “Unlike the ordinary galley-style kitchen, the cabinets don’t hang down, but are in the wall.”
This design, Fisher stated, frees up more space for the tenants to utilize. Kitchen efficiency is further stimulated by the imported granite surfaces in the food preparation areas, giving people more space to work with while cooking.
In all the apartments, doors between rooms have been eliminated from the design, giving occupants a greater sense of mobility in the dwelling unit.
“We wanted a move from the smaller to the larger in the apartment units,” Fisher explained. “So when people walk into the apartments, they go from the small kitchen to the larger living space.”
Cahn said rent for units in the Liberty tower complex start at $1,600 a month, but that the average is $2,000 to $2,200.
“The price of the units depends on the view and which floor it is on,” Cahn added.
Fisher made mention of the ceiling to floor glass windows in many of the units. These windows were designed to incorporate the views of both the Manhattan skyline and the Statue of Liberty.
Views of New York City and Liberty Island, along with a good portion of northern New Jersey, were part of the consideration for the design for the residential complex, according to Fisher, who described the complex’s two-tower design as “unique.”
“The purpose was to maximize the views,” said Fisher. “The towers are turned away from each other, giving as much sunlight and the widest view as possible to all the units.”
Fisher said he felt now was a very good time to open a residential complex in Jersey City, despite the downturn in the economy overall.
“The development in Hoboken has gotten a little super-heated,” Fisher stated. “But it’s still good here in Jersey City.”
Fisher noted the Liberty Towers have gotten a very good response to their efforts to find tenants.
“Right now we have about eight or 10 apartments already rented and occupied,” Fisher said. “We have more people looking at the complex.”
Joel Cahn of Cahn Communications, the spokesmen for the Liberty Towers’ development firm, Essex Waterfront Company, said the residential complex was seeing the most interest in renting coming from Northern New Jersey area.
“We’re getting a lot of people from the 201 and 973 area codes,” Cahn stated. “There are some people from New York looking at our buildings, but its mostly New Jersey.”
Soon to be brought on line in the complex will be a gym and a business center. Cahn said the business center will be equipped with approximately 10 computers for people who need to work with a minimal amount of distractions. The business center, like all the dwelling units at Liberty Towers, is wired for high speed Internet access.
The Liberty Towers also have 24,000 square feet of dedicated retail space, which Cahn said the developers have begun leasing to retail tenants.
“We would be looking to serve the community of Liberty Towers,” Cahn stated, adding there would likely be a gourmet-style deli and a dry cleaners, among other stores in the retail space.
“There’s nothing comparable to Liberty Towers in today’s marketplace in terms of location, apartment dimensions, and amenities and services,’ said Fisher. “We’re confident this exceptional new address will appeal to many renters.”