Last week, the investment advisory firm CPR USA Inc., signed a 36,994 square foot, 12-year lease at the Waterfront Corporate Center on the southern waterfront in Hoboken.
CPR is the third company to sign a lease for the new waterfront buildings. They join publishing company John Wiley & Sons Inc., who last year committed to 383,128 square feet of office space for their worldwide headquarters. That lease cleared the way for an October 2000 groundbreaking for the first of two 13-story 550,000 square foot Class A office towers planned through a public/private partnership of SJP Properties, the City of Hoboken, and The Port Authority of NY/NJ.
SJP Properties is a developer, investor, owner, and manager of corporate campuses in Class A investment grade commercial properties. The company’s client base consists primarily of major multi-national and national tenants with a strong presence in the tri-state region.
CPR will join Suitomo Japanese Bank in the second tower. Within the last four months, Suitomo signed a lease for just under 40,000 square feet.
While Wiley & Sons will be responsible for occupying the entire first tower, CPR and Suitomo will have one floor a piece in the second tower. The remaining floors in the second tower are still available to be leased.
CPR USA and its wholly-owned subsidiary LibertyView Capital Management, Inc. plan to relocate their investment service operations from their current location at 101 Hudson St. in Jersey City. Currently, CPR USA has a workforce of approximately 40 employees and plans to keep that number relatively stable throughout the transition. The Waterfront Corporate Center is currently under construction and will be ready for tenant occupancy by the first quarter of 2002.
“As a prominent financial services firm, CPR USA required a location which would continue to strategically position our firm near the major worldwide financial firms and capital markets of the world,” said Steven Rogers, the Chief Operating Officer of CPR USA. “The Waterfront Corporate Center not only achieves this through its waterfront location, but will provide our employees the best and most efficient office space. [It] is only a one-block commute to Hoboken’s PATH trains and offers an ideal setting and amenities.”
Rogers added that he believes the waterfront will continue to blossom in Hoboken as well as in Jersey City. “I certainly see a bright future,” he said. “Hoboken is different than Jersey City in that in Jersey City there is still plenty of room for growth. Hoboken does not have the same type of room, but in terms of amenities, Hoboken is far superior to those in Jersey City.”
When asked what he believed would be the impact upon his firm moving to Hoboken, Rogers believes that while they may hire a few new employees, they would have little impact upon the community. But he did add that the entire complex would provide a boost for the local economy.
The Waterfront Corporate Center represents one phase of a mixed-use development plan for the Hoboken waterfront that will include a full service hotel, residential, and other retail components. The Port Authority paved the way for this first phase in 1999 by upgrading the surrounding infrastructure including road improvements and the renovation of a pier, which was converted to Pier A Park. When the property is fully developed, it will consist of 1.1 million square feet of Class A office space and 50,000 square feet of ground floor retail space with a variety of other amenities. The site plan for the development calls for the rehabilitation of river frontage areas.
The Port Authority continues to renovate the Hoboken waterfront with plans to include restaurants and other services on the pier in front of the new office complex for office tenants and residents. The entire Hoboken waterfront plan envisions a 2.3 million square foot mixed-use development on 50 acres, encompassing three city blocks next to the Hoboken Terminal.