Jersey City, New Jersey

Developer Joseph Panepinto ’66 recalls a time in the not-too-distant past when Starbucks, the upscale coffee retailer, refused to consider locating a franchise in Jersey City. Today, a Starbucks on 14th Street near the Hudson River waterfront is far from the only thing that’s hip and trendy in Jersey City.

Once an aging metropolis ravaged by rising crime and a shrinking industrial base, the city is now the state’s hottest urban market.

Like the mythical Phoenix Jersey City has risen from the ashes of abandoned buildings and time-worn neighborhoods over the past two decades and transformed itself into a world-class destination for business, residents and college students like those attending Saint Peter’s.

The redevelopment effort, initially confined to the area fronting the Hudson River, has swept across the river like a great wave of promise resulting in thriving business centers and residential enclaves for both upscale and working class families.

“The whole city has been exploding in a good sense for the last five years or so,” said Mayor Jerramiah T. Healy. “Ten years ago we had vacant lots and abandoned buildings. Right now there are five or six bidders lined up for each vacant lot and building. A decade ago you couldn’t give some of these things away.”

The Economic Engine of New Jersey

Today, Jersey City is the nation’s seventh largest Class A office market, with financial giants like Fidelity Investments, Charles Schwab and Goldman Sachs now calling the Hudson River waterfront home.

In fact Hudson County, and Jersey City in particular, have been responsible for a healthy chunk of the state’s growth in jobs in recent years, according to Hudson County Executive Tom DeGise ’72.

A report from the New Jersey Business and Industry Association found the city accounted for 90 percent of new jobs produced by the state’s urban centers.

The former Jersey City Medical Center will soon become The Beacon, a complex of elegant residences.

“We’re the economic engine that drives the State of New Jersey,” said DeGise, who served on the Jersey City council from 1993 to 2001. “The great majority of job growth has occurred in Hudson County, particularly Jersey City.”

The buzz about Jersey City contributed to an impressive spike in admissions over the past few years, as students flock to Saint Peter’s College to take advantage of the many educational, cultural and career benefits the area now offers.

“Students are very hot about the Jersey City, Hoboken and New York areas,” explained Virginia Bender ’78, Associate Vice President for Enrollment. “They know this metropolitan area has so much to offer.”

Companies like Fidelity Investments and Lord, Abbett & Co., an investment firm that relocated to Jersey City in 2000, tapped into the pool of talented local labor trained at Saint Peter’s to fill internships and full-time positions.

“It’s good to find good quality people in your own backyard,” said Robert Morris, a partner and Director of Equity Investments at Lord, Abbett & Co.

Other Jersey City institutions are also experiencing a rise in fortunes. In July 2005, the William E. Simon Foundation announced a one-year, $1 million match grant for Jersey City’s Catholic elementary schools at Saint Peter’s College. Designed to help local schools stimulate new ideas and fund-raising techniques, the pilot program was a huge success. Within six months, the 11 participating parochial schools quickly approached the $1 million mark and the Simon Foundation raised the grant to $2 million.

“The William E. Simon Foundation has great faith in Catholic education in general, and in Jersey City’s Catholic schools in particular,” said J. Peter Simon, Co-Chairman of the Foundation.“We believe they are some of the bedrock institutions of the Jersey City community and have been honored to partner with them on various initiatives over the past few years. It is our hope that the $2 million challenge grant the Foundation issued to the Catholic elementary schools will bring much deserved attention to the schools and help make each school even stronger.”

Gateway to Opportunity

When Joe Panepinto, '66 came up with the idea of building New Jersey's tallest residential complex in Jersey City, people thought he was crazy.  Today, he's partnering with the Trump organization on HarborSpire.

The outlook was very different for Jersey City back in the mid-1970s, when Panepinto first wet his feet as a developer.

He eyed Journal Square as a site with real potential for development and sunk $10,000 into a project to purchase and renovate 634 Summit Ave., which is now occupied by the New Jersey Superior Court.

As plans progressed along the waterfront, other projects in the area soon followed, including the construction of One Journal Square Plaza, the corporate headquarters for Maher Terminals.

“I just felt that there was a real opportunity to develop Journal Square,” said Panepinto, who is now President and Chief Executive Officer of Jersey City-based Panepinto Properties.

Jersey City’s business and residential markets have weathered several downturns through the past two decades of development. Experts say the city’s location and ample transportation into the city has played a key role in helping markets to rebound stronger than ever.

“Our key is our location,” Healy said. “We’re a gateway to the commercial, financial center of the world, New York City. With four ferry sites and multiple PATH train stations, you can access New York in minutes.”

The Hudson-Bergen Light Rail transports thousands to jobs and destinations in Jersey City

Infrastructure improvements played a vital role in fueling Jersey City’s renaissance.The Hudson- Bergen Light Rail began operating in 2000 and now provides ready transportation from Bayonne to North Bergen.The system currently serves 34,000 riders a day and New Jersey Transit increased service frequency and doubled passenger capacity to keep up with demand.

As a congressman and now as a U.S. Senator, Robert Menendez ’76 played a critical role in securing state and federal funding for the $2.2 billion project.

“We were able to create an economic engine that continues to fuel new businesses and create new jobs,” said Menendez. “The Hudson- Bergen Light Rail has become a vital part of the region’s transportation network and a model of how we can thoughtfully link communities and provide transportation options while achieving our shared goals of reducing pollution, easing traffic and encouraging smart growth.”

While redevelopment of Jersey City’s Hudson River waterfront, dubbed the “Gold Coast,” has earned the lion’s share of attention, other areas are also forging ahead with transformations of their own.

Residential markets are particularly hot in the city, especially among upscale professionals who want to live near their jobs and empty nesters looking for convenience and proximity to world-class cultural centers.

As other urban centers continue to experience population declines, Jersey City saw its population spike by more than five percent between 1990 and 2000.

In fact, residential development in Jersey City is steaming full speed ahead with 8,000 units under construction and up to 85,000 more predicted to be built within the next 25 years, according to New Jersey Business magazine.

Jersey City's renaissance isn't limited to it waterfront.  New restaurants, outdoor cafes and shops are cropping up in neighborhoods throughout the city.

Panepinto’s State Square project transformed the Journal Square area that once housed the State Theater into a 12-story, 130-unit rental residence boasting 13,000 square feet of commercial and retail space and a 400-car parking garage. Completed in 2005, the project is the area’s first major residential project in 30 years.

On the waterfront, Panepinto is partnering with Donald Trump and several other firms to construct HarborSpire, which will become the state’s two tallest luxury residential towers.

“When I came up with the idea of the tallest residential complex in New Jersey eight or nine years ago, people said I was crazy,” said Panepinto, who recently inspired other Saint Peter’s alumni to donate some $300,000 to the College through an extremely generous challenge gift of his own. “Now Trump loves the idea.”

On the city’s west side, large-scale residential development is in progress in several spots, including on Mallory Avenue and at the former Jersey City Medical Center, slated to become a complex of elegant residences with sweeping views of the Manhattan skyline.

“The development had not hit our west side until very recently and now that’s a hot area,” Healy said, noting that recreational and cultural offerings like the new Liberty National Golf Course and the extensive renovation being undertaken at the Liberty Science Center, both in Liberty State Park, enhance the city’s appeal.

Built on a former toxic-waste site, Liberty National Golf Course — a private course modeled on the challenging links found at Royal Troon, Scotland — opened in June. With spectacular views of New York Harbor and the 18th hole less than 1,000 yards from the Statue of Liberty, the club’s principals tout the course as one likely to lure major PGA championships to the area.

Liberty National Golf Course may lure PGA championships to Jersey City.

Meanwhile, construction continues on a new wing that will add more than 100,000 square feet at an estimated cost of $104 million to the Liberty Science Center. Expected to re-open in 2007, the museum’s exhibitions will continue to center on health, invention and the environment, but with more focused learning activities and greater attention to the science of the metropolitan area.

State Senator Joseph V. Doria ’68 was instrumental in securing state financing for the expansion.“ Liberty Science Center is a vital resource for Jersey City and the entire region,” said Doria.“ Investing in its future will mean more education outreach to schools, more teacher training and more opportunities to inspire a love of scientific inquiry and interest in science-related careers among young people.”

Saint Peter’s Place in the Renaissance

As a Partner at Lord, Abbett & Co., Morris believes Jersey City’s business community has a significant role to play in furthering the area’s institutions, and took initiative by directing a generous gift to Saint Peter’s College. A philanthropist who also serves as Chairman of the Board of Trustees at Elmira College, Morris made the gift shortly after meeting two Saint Peter’s officials — President James N. Loughran, S.J., and Chairman of the Board of Trustees Frank Ziegler ’63 — at a conference three years ago. Morris was motivated by their enthusiasm and purposefulness in moving the College’s mission forward, as well as a desire to help a local institution.

As Jersey City’s business community grows, Morris anticipates more firms will recognize the importance of supporting community institutions. “I hope all of this development means something for the totality of Jersey City,” he noted. “Getting people involved in Saint Peter’s College is one way to help the broader community.”