Developers plan to bolster Jersey City waterfront

Originally appeared in the Star Ledger on Friday, June 02, 2006

BY STEVE CHAMBERS

Nearly two decades to the day after they broke ground on a questionable gamble to transform Jersey City's waterfront, members of the LeFrak and Simon families un veiled plans yesterday for four more buildings in the Newport complex.

Top government officials in attendance, including Gov. Jon Cor zine and U.S. Sen. Frank Lauten berg (D-N.J.), praised the influence of the families in transforming the northeast corner of Jersey City into the leading edge of the Hudson River Gold Coast.

Richard LeFrak, son of the late Samuel LeFrak, who along with Melvin Simon started Newport on June 4, 1986, said the family was committed to completing the 500-acre project all the way to the Hoboken border.

"Twenty years ago, my father and Mel stood on this land and made a public promise to transform Jersey City's eyesore -- its abandoned and deteriorated Hud son River waterfront -- into a beautiful, vibrant and economically viable, showcase urban community," LeFrak said. "We have kept that promise."

LeFrak said he and his sons, Jamie and Harrison, intend to double the number of residential units to roughly 9,000 and will add 11 acres of parkland, another 1 million square feet of office space and amenities including an ice-skating rink.

The complex already includes more than 4,000 residential units, 5 million square feet of office space and the Newport Centre Mall.

He said $2.5 billion in private capital has already poured into the site, and the new buildings represent an investment of another $750 million. New construction includes three residential high-rise towers and a Westin hotel and conference center.

The jewel will be the Ellipse, a 460-foot tower of steel and glass that will contain 325 apartments.

The LeFraks have long been sensitive to criticism that their complex has an antiseptic feel, despite its coming of age in recent years with the addition of ethnic restaurants and a private elemen tary school. The Ellipse is being designed by a well-known architec tural and planning firm, Arquitec tonica, which has built space-age creations from Miami to Manila.

The LeFraks spared no expense at an anniversary celebration yesterday, trotting out a mini-documentary on the complex that vividly contrasted the waterfront of the 1980s -- with dilapidated rail yards, construction debris and packs of wild dogs -- with the thriving complex of today. It fea tured tributes from three governors -- Corzine and predecessors Jim Florio and Tom Kean -- and re membrances from Sam LeFrak, who died in 2003.

A commissioned study by Rutgers University's Bloustein School of Planning and Public Policy reported that the complex had paid $870 million in taxes and generated another $430 million in income-tax revenues and $291 million in other taxes. The same study found the complex created 22,500 construction jobs and houses 30,000 business-operations jobs -- 10 percent of Hudson County's job base and nearly one-quarter of all jobs in the city.

Richard LeFrak also acknowledged the assistance of government funding in the success of the project, most notably the Hudson- Bergen Light Rail, which runs between Newport Centre Mall and the residential and office properties that line the waterfront.

The complex also benefited from tax abatements and, most re cently, state legislation that will allow the LeFraks to recoup up to $20 million from an environmental cleanup fund that didn't exist when they were building the development.

Corzine said public investment is justified, because Newport has become an economic engine and job creator that has benefited the entire state.

"This is one of the most exciting places in all of New Jersey," he said.