Western edge development continues

‘The Vine’ opens with a public park, is steps from light rail

The opening of The Vine at 900 Monroe St. this past week serves as a significant step in realizing Hoboken’s vision for its western edge. The new 11-story, 135-unit rental residence is nestled in a bustling commuter neighborhood adjacent to the city’s Ninth Street Hudson-Bergen Light Rail Station.
There was a time in the 1990s that new residents tried to avoid the “presidential streets” on the westernmost side of Hoboken, but with development blooming in every part of the city, old housing and factories are being transformed into new neighborhoods.
Last July, Hoboken-based developer Bijou Properties opened the doors to Park + Garden at 1450 Garden St. connected by a 373-car parking garage. The 12-story residential mixed-use development’s garage, referred to as an automated vehicle storage and retrieval system, consolidates a 10-story conventional parking garage into four stories.
Residents may also have noticed a large development at the corner of Willow Avenue alongside the 14th Street Viaduct, built close to the corner. That’s the Advance Realty luxury residential development known as Willow14. The seven-story complex, which is slated for completion this year, will include 140 luxury apartments.
The high-end development will have a chain store at its ground floor, and sources say the store will be a Trader Joe’s.

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More transit and recreational opportunities may follow the development beginning to sprout on the northwest side of town
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Bijou Properties got the go-ahead last year to construct a development at Willow Avenue and 15th Streets, which will replace a vacant single-story warehouse with 14,000 square feet of small office space, a retailer, and The Gravity Vault indoor rock climbing gym.
New services and restaurants are also rising. The Mile Square Theatre plans to open a performing arts center at 1400 Clinton St. in March.

The Vine

The Vine held a ribbon cutting for its grand opening this past Thursday, Jan. 28. Mayor Dawn Zimmer joined fellow municipal officials, union leaders and development principals in celebrating the opening of the building. In addition to the new residences, the building will feature 13,500 square feet of street-level retail space, partly occupied by a daycare center.
The developers have also built a 7,000 square foot public park abutting the property, which will open soon.
Intercontinental Real Estate Corporation and Bijou Properties headed the project.
“We are very pleased and excited to open the doors to ‘Vine,’ the newest luxury apartment development in the Hoboken neighborhood,” said Peter Palandjian, chairman & CEO, Intercontinental Real Estate Corporation, in a statement. “We are fortunate to have partnered with Bijou Properties in this deal and look forward to more New Jersey development projects on behalf of Intercontinental’s union and public pension partners, for whom we are grateful to work, seek to create investment returns and fair wage and benefit jobs.”
Upscale one, two, and three-bedroom apartments will be available for immediate occupancy.
“We’re delighted to introduce Vine to Hoboken and to see our collective vision for this new residential offering become a reality,” said Larry Bijou, managing partner of Bijou Properties.
Developed by Hoboken-based architects Marchetto Stieve & Higgins, the building offers rental residences with energy-efficient features, including sustainable bamboo flooring, oversized windows, kitchens and baths with modern fixtures, granite countertops and modern cabinetry. The automated parking facility will have room for 135 cars.
“People from throughout the region are drawn to live in Hoboken, and what drives us as a company is taking a broader approach to neighborhood development by creating properties and complementary amenities and services that promote a healthy, sustainable, transit-oriented -lifestyle that benefit our residents and the community at large,” said Bijou.
At the ribbon-cutting, Zimmer said she wants The Vine to serve as a model for future buildings in the city in regard to its energy efficiency.
“Thank you for choosing the city of Hoboken and thank you for choosing northwest Hoboken and making this an even hipper place to live,” said Zimmer. “Vine includes green features that are really important. This building has a green roof, a co-generation system and a backup generator, and I’m looking forward to it becoming a role model for our city, our state, and our country.”

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