Standing in the bright sunlight, Ironstate Development President David Barry had a lot to smile about. The topping out of URL Harborside 1 at 713 feet on Sept. 27 made the new multi-family tower on the Jersey City waterfront the tallest residential building in New Jersey.
When the joint venture between Mack-Cali Realty Corporation and Ironstate Development Company broke ground last year, Barry believed he was creating something more than just another residential development. Even erecting the tallest residential tower in New Jersey didn’t quite capture what he was trying to do.
For years, he’d been contemplating a whole new kind of urban living. Key to this was his new 69-story multi-family residential building. Labeled URL (Urban Ready Life) Harborside, the project will provide 763 contemporary rental residences.
Barry’s concept was to provide residents with compact, environmentally-friendly residential units in a structure that also included a number of public areas. Fully integrated with the internet, the units would allow residents to interact through social media. But the building itself would provide numerous public spaces.
“This building is a dream come true.” – David Barry
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Barry, who had been working on this concept for years, said the idea was to provide public spaces where people can gather and interact in an age when many people feel isolated.
A dream come true
“This building is a dream come true,” he said. He said he hoped URL Harborside would create a standard for other development. He said he is building a “vertical neighborhood,” not merely a residential building.
Designed by acclaimed Dutch architecture firm Concrete, he said when completed URL Harborside will be a flagship property with a distinctive tower reflective of its waterfront landscape.
The new tower has been constructed on a vacant parcel adjacent to Mack-Cali’s Harborside Plaza 5, and is expected to provide a new east-west connection of Bay Street within Harborside and add public spaces and retail vibrancy to the neighborhood.
It is located near public transportation via the Exchange Place PATH station, the Hudson-Bergen Light Rail, and nearby ferry.
Although first proposed under former Mayor Jerramiah Healy, Mayor Steven Fulop said the project incorporates many of the elements his administration is seeking as it emphasizes “community.”
The concept is that smaller “micro units” are more affordable to many people seeking to live in Jersey City. But the building would still provide the amenities associated with luxury rentals.
Barry’s idea was to recreate the old neighborhood concept fundamental to Jersey City’s past. But instead of having that neighborhood spread out horizontally, he decided to build a vertical neighborhood instead.
The design, he said, breaks away from the box design of past high rises. At the same time, it also attempts to break away from the social isolation previous high rise development imposed upon its residents.
Barry said the idea was to create an urban, neighborhood-like setting that has been lacking in many new facilities, and yet still provide those amenities that new urban dwellers expect, such as Wi-Fi, more storage, door locks opened with smart phones, roof deck, fitness center, and a filtered water system and other modern features while providing smaller, less expensive and more energy efficient spaces.
“We’re trying to create a place with a soul,” Barry said.
The $330 million project known as URL Harborside 1 is expected to admit its first residents by late 2016, he said.
“Today we acknowledge the combined efforts of our construction and design teams and skilled tradespeople who got us to this point,” Barry said in a statement. “We’re proud to have collectively created a new landmark that will enhance the growing Jersey City skyline while providing majestic, panoramic views of New York City and New Jersey for miles in every direction.”
Al Sullivan may be reached at asullivan@hudsonreporter.com.