At its Nov. 29 meeting, the Planning Board approved a 202-unit luxury condo project at the site of the old American Can Company located between Dey Street and St. Paul’s Avenue. Another 398 units may be built in future phases of the residential project.
The American Can Company left the property in 1974 after having occupied it since 1929 (see sidebar). The building has held various commercial tenants since that time.
The new project, tentatively named Hudson Lofts, will be the first major development to occur in the recently designated MWORD, or Marion Works Office/Residential District.
The nine-block district is located west of Journal Square near Tonnele Avenue, an area that for years has been the home of factories and other industrial operations. In April, the Planning Board approved a new redevelopment plan that would allow residential buildings to be constructed there between St. Paul’s and Newark avenues.What ‘can’ be possible?
The American Can Company was spread over a series of five buildings on St. Paul’s Avenue. Only two of the five buildings will be turned into the 202 units right now, although another 398 units may be built in the other three buildings in future phases.
In the two buildings, a total of 382,041square feet will be residential and 1,200 square feet will be retail.
Of the 202 condos, 137 will be one-bedrooms and 65 will be two-bedrooms. They will be constructed on the second to eighth floors, with a parking garage of 140 spaces on the first and second floors. There will be another 15 parking spaces at the end of Dey Street, near the current entrance to the complex. Also, a one-story penthouse will be constructed.
James McCann, attorney for New York City-based Coalco Construction Services, the developers, said construction is expected to start at end of March 2006. That was confirmed by Coalco Director of Marketing Edward Yorukoff, who said there should be units available for sale in January 2007 with occupancy expected by the summer of that year.
Coalco purchased the entire American Can Company complex this past summer. Yorukoff would not offer the purchase price for the building or how much the total project will cost.
Yorukoff also said the project will see a total of 600 units built in the five buildings in the next couple of years.
Yorukoff said the prices of the units range from $200,000 to $600,000 for 1,500 to 2,000 square feet. He said they are being priced lower than condos on the Jersey City waterfront to attract prospective residents immediately.
“People are looking to live in Jersey City because it’s an up-and-coming place with all the development happening, but they see high prices on the waterfront and feel they can’t live here,” said Yorukoff. “It’s also a nice opportunity to see development of an area that has been neglected for quite a while.”
Yorukoff also mentioned some of the unique elements of the rehab project, including lofts with ceiling heights from 14.5 feet to 27.5 feet. Also, there would be amenities in the building such as a dog run, a pool, a kids’ room, and a screening room.
Coalco Construction Services was formed in 1997 as a subsidiary of Coalco International, a global investment and development company with experience in the U.S., Central European and Russian real estate markets. The president of the company is Mihkail Kurnev. The Jersey City project is their first in the city and in Hudson County.
Among their completed projects are a 13-unit luxury apartment building in the SoHo section of Manhattan and several renovated buildings in Lower Manhattan that are leased by New York University for student housing. ‘Can’ not be happier
At the Planning Board meeting, Ward C City Councilman Steve Lipski praised the development effort. The American Can Company buildings are located in Lipski’s ward, and only blocks from his residence.
“[It is] a huge re-use project involving a cornerstone of a solid part of Jersey City’s history. It’s something that can contribute to an area that can use some rejuvenation,” said Lipski.
Lipski added, “Ward C and especially Journal Square are ripe for the development and the renaissance that Downtown [Jersey City] has seen.”
Lipski also looked forward to the American Can Company rehab project jumpstarting other potential development projects within his ward.
“Once developers see this project going forward, there will be action on the Hotel on the Square and the old Mueller’s factory site on Baldwin Avenue,” said Lipski. “Developers will also look more inward and see the potential of Ward C and Journal Square.”
He compared developing the American Can Company buildings to the redevelopment of the old Jersey City Medical Center at Baldwin Avenue and Montgomery Avenue, now known as the Beacon Condominium project. That project includes the rehabbing of most of the 10-building complex with 1,200 units to be built over the next several years starting in 2006.
Lipski added, “Those two [American Can] buildings will attract a new, more affluent class of people who, along with those in the community, will help transform this part of town.”
Lipski made the correlation between the culture of Downtown Jersey City (Ward E) and the amount of development and city attention that ward gets for projects such as the Sixth Street Embankment.
“Ward E gets what they want because they have an educated group of people who are able to organize and squeak as loud as they want,” said Lipski. SIDEBAR What was American Can (Canco)?
On top of the American Can Company building, there used to be a sign displaying the company’s name, greeting drivers approaching the Pulaski Skyway to and from Jersey City. The company was stalwart like Colgate Toothpaste, Mueller’s Macaroni and other factories of the city’s industrial past, when locals could find a job for life and earn enough to raise a family.
The American Can Company, known back in the day as Canco, built the factory in 1929 for $5 million. The company operated out of Jersey City until 1974 when it closed operations and move to Connecticut and New York.
In its heyday, the company was responsible for making aerosol cans, milk cartons and glass bottles with brand names such as Dixie and Marathon. It also employed over 3,000 people, many of whom were bitter over the closing.
Then-Mayor Paul Jordan, as quoted in a 1979 New York Daily News article, called the closing “the cheapest shot” during his administration.
Bob Leach, head of the Jersey City Historical Project and a lifelong city resident, remembered the mark the company and its building left on the city’s residents.
“My grandmother lived on Corbin Avenue when I was a kid, not far from American Can, and she would take me to see the building and the size of it was overwhelming,” said Leach. “Also, when I was a teenager, I recalled people telling me to get a job there because it paid $2 an hour, which was a big deal back in those days.”
After the closing, a succession of tenants occupied the complex. The first two buildings were slated to have been utilized as a cyber hotel until the Internet boom of the 1990s went bust by the end of the decade.
Coalco Construction said currently there are tenants in the other three buildings that are not rehabbed yet, but their lease will expire by late 2006 and will not be renewed. – Ricardo Kaulessar