DOWNTOWN SUCCESS STORY

Originally appeared in the on

18 years after $30M investment, a $78M sale Saturday, November 18, 2006

By JARRETT RENSHAW

Jersey City's Downtown looked much different in 1988, before the cranes and construction workers dotted nearly every corner.

In hopes of sparking investment in the then-beleaguered area, the Jersey City Redevelopment Agency issued $30 million in bonds to aid the Morris Company in the renovation of the historic Dixon Mills into an apartment complex with 467 rental units.

Now, 18 years later, the Morris Company paid back the city for the bonds and just inked a deal to sell the complex for $78.5 million - or $168,094 per unit - to a partnership between GoldenTree InSite Partners and Robert Martin LLC.

"It really just shows you how far the city has come in the last 25 years," said Bob Antonicello, acting executive director of the JCRA.

The new partnership group plans to convert the units into condominiums, first offering them to current tenants, according to city sources.

Originally built as the Joseph Dixon Crucible Company's plant and headquarters, the distinctive property is listed on the National Register of Historic Landmarks and was famous for producing Ticonderoga brand pencils.

Roughly 65 of the units were reserved for moderate-income residents, a protection that was set to expire within four years, said Antonicello. However, the Redevelopment Agency helped broker a deal that extends the protection for an additional year, said Antonicello.

The remaining units are not under the city's rent control ordinance, said Antonicello.

The deal was brokered by CB Richard Ellis' New York Tri-State Investment Team.