With additional reporting by E. Assata Wright Reporter Staff Writer
Some luxury housing is still selling in Hoboken during a tough economy, while other projects remain only partly completed for now.
Recently, the developer of Maxwell Place, a luxury mixed-use development owned by Toll Brothers, Inc., has reported an uptick in buyer interest for its $1.9 million townhouses along the Hudson River. The development on the site of the former Maxwell House coffee plant broke round in 2004. Almost all of the first 545 units in the development have sold – including, most recently, five out of 10 luxury townhouses with starting prices of at $1.9 million. A sixth townhome is presently under contract, and the other four are on the market.
In fact, Toll Brothers has twice in the past three months increased the asking prices in the development, representatives said.
Toll Brothers is being tight-lipped regarding possible expansion plans for Hudson Tea.
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Rising in parking lot of Hudson Tea
Residents of uptown Hoboken may have noticed the recent placement of trailers and construction in two parking lots outside of the Hudson Tea building at 1500 Washington St., which is also owned by Toll Brothers. However, while Toll was eager to talk about the recent sales at Maxwell Place, they were surprisingly tight-lipped last week regarding the construction in the parking lots.
In recent weeks, the lots at 15th Street and Washington have been cleared, with a fence erected around them. Nearby tenants and property owners have received notification from the city of Hoboken that construction will begin soon.
What exactly is being built is hard to determine. Original artist renderings of Hudson Tea note that the parking lot to the west of Washington at 15th Street will be home to a 29,216 square foot structure. The same artist rendering shows a 33,191-square-foot, eight-story condo development being built on the parking lot on the east side of Washington Street at 15th Street.
Despite obvious signs that some type of work is about to begin, several executives at Toll Brothers refused to answer questions regarding the company’s plans there, referring all questions to a PR rep.
The representative, Ron Simoncini of Axiom Communications, said, “We have no comment on that parcel” and declined to elaborate.
Hoboken City Board Planner Eileen Banyra did not return phone calls about the site by press time.
The Tea Building complex was carved out of a former General Foods factory in the 1990s. The conversion to 748 condos development was completed in 2005.
The waterfront complex’s famous residents including New York Giants Quarterback Eli Manning. Former Gov. Jon Corzine lived there until last year, when he moved to Maxwell Place.
Into the future
Meanwhile, one phase of the three-phase Maxwell Place development is not yet completed.
“The first two phases of Maxwell Place include[d] 545 luxury residences,” said Ben Jogodnik, senior divisional vice president of Toll Brothers. “1025 Maxwell Lane is completely sold out, and 1125 Maxwell Lane is over 75 percent sold and occupied.”
Retailers who have signed leases or currently rent space there include PNC Bank, Bright Horizons Family Solutions, Massage Envy Spa, Local Barre-Core Fitness Studio, and Toni & Guy Hairdressing, among others.
Phase 3, the final phase, will encompass the west side of Maxwell Place. Two intended structures will be located at 1100 Maxwell Place and 1000 Maxwell Place. The scope of this phase has changed several times, with the latest known iteration being a 13-story building.
However, no groundbreaking date has been set for that third phase.
Ultimately, the entire Maxwell Place project is expected to include 832 units.
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