In a New Yorker cartoon last month about the real estate boom, one of the word balloons snaking out of a Manhattan apartment read, “Word is, Weehawken is the next Brooklyn Heights.” Whether meant in jest or not, the implication was clear: Every town and neighborhood in the metropolitan area is a hot destination right now, and Hudson County’s towns are among the hottest. The county’s waterfront cities – Hoboken, Jersey City, West New York, Guttenberg, and Weehawken – have burgeoned with residential and retail construction, and the area’s more interior towns, like Union City, North Bergen and Secaucus, are seeing higher real estate prices, renovations, new hotels and more business activity. The county as a whole is benefiting from better services, more parks, and new transportation options.
It seems almost foolish that someone would pay high rents in Manhattan to live a dollar-fifty subway ride away from their offices when they could pay as little as $1 for transportation from Hudson County and have better views, much more space, lower rents, and cleaner streets. Many are realizing the bargain and moving here in droves – in some cases, to work as well as to live. As noted in an article inside this section, Jersey City is becoming known for its ability to lure corporations across the river from Manhattan’s financial district. Office space in Jersey City is going for $23 to $36 per square foot, while in downtown Manhattan it is $40 to $50. Hoboken and Secaucus also are seeing new commercial construction.
As for residential construction, new complexes are glittering all along the waterfront, and housing in the towns that have no room for new development is getting renovated. The towns that do have space in their downtown areas, like Hoboken and Jersey City, are seeing those previously-ignored neighborhoods spring to life.
This can’t be bad for businesses. Store owners along main streets like Bergenline Avenue and Kennedy Boulevard note that sales are up, and people working in those areas are having an effect in several ways, even ordering lunches from local eateries. In Hoboken this summer, the taverns that used to lose business during the warmest months found that more residents were staying in town and enjoying the city’s new waterfront parks rather than racing for the shore.
Hudson County’s 552,819 residents (as per a 1999 U.S. Census estimate) are getting new transportation options all the time. Additional light rail stops, ferry stops and a new train terminal in Secaucus will make everything run more smoothly as the decade marches on.
If all good things must come to an end, and if the soaring economic boom does eventually slow up, it is clear that its effects will not end – for when things calm down, people will still be left with new neighbors, vast parks, convenient trains, nearby hotels, friendly shops, and a lot of pride in Hudson County.