And a plus is that the Hudson
County residential market in general continues to out-perform other
submarkets in the region, even during the current slowdown. Why?
“The market in general depends
on people selling their current
homes, and people can’t sell their
homes right now,” Jogodnik says.
“We have a relatively high mix of
people who buy without being
dependent upon selling their current home—whether it’s an empty-nester who doesn’t necessarily have
to sell their current home because
they have sufficient assets to buy
another home, or wants to rent for a
certain period, or it could be a
young professional who might be
buying their first home.
“The other factor is that we’re
closely tied to Manhattan,” he says.
“From the down-sizer, to the new
family, to professionals who are
being priced out of Manhattan, this is a
spectacular lifestyle solution. We see lots of
families and baby strollers here all day long.
And many of our residents have
connections to Hudson County.”
He suggests, as well, that even in a challenged market, it’s possible to create what
he terms a “destination” that rises above
market conditions. “In tougher times, buyers definitely flock to quality,” Jogodnik
says. “When there are fewer buyers out
there, taking up the chairs in the game of
musical chairs, they’re going to choose the
chairs that have the best location and the
best view.”
And even with a relatively full plate, Toll
is continuing to look for opportunities.
While Hudson Tea and the adjacent
Harborside Lofts, Maxwell Place and 700
Grove are all either done or well along in
the process, the newest baby, as mentioned,
is Provost Square in Jersey City.
“Within the company, we say that we like
to be at Main and Main,” Jogodnik says.
“That describes Provost, and location is
important in times like these.”
Toll has received approval from the city
council for an amendment to Jersey City’s
Powerhouse Arts District, an arts-oriented
redevelopment zone, allowing the site that
is bordered by Warren St. and Marin Blvd.
and bifurcated by Provost St. to be treated
as a single site rather than two. Plans call for
Hudson Tea was converted from luxury rentals to condos.
a mix of residential, retail and an arts-oriented public plaza at the entrance to the
performing arts center. It also includes the
preservation of the old Manishewitz matzo
factory’s ornate façade, which inspired the
overall design motif.
And public plaza and open spaces in general are also part of Toll’s modus operandi
for its urban projects.
Maxwell Place’s 14 acres
will include between five
and six acres of parks, and
of Hudson Tea’s 17 acres,
more than one-third is set
aside as parks.
“North Hoboken was a
big canvass of former industrial buildings on the
water,” says Jogodnik,
pointing from a rooftop to
one of the vacant industrial
buildings nearby that still
remains.
“Another opportunity?”
one asks.
“Could be,” he responds.
In any case, Toll’s contribution to the
local park inventory has been substantial.
“For Hoboken alone, what we’ve done in
partnership with the city is to increase the
park space in the city by 30 to 35%,” Jogodnik says. “Our partner was the city itself,
which had a vision of what it wanted to cre-
ate and was also willing to let us contribute our thoughts as an experienced developer.
“The result is tremendous,” he
enthuses. “An entirely new way of
life has been created.”
And the general openness around
Hoboken, located in the most
densely populated, urbanized county
in the country’s most densely populated state, is carried out in other
ways. Toll’s various properties also
include everything from gyms and
community rooms, to child playrooms, expansive roof decks and
other common areas.
And Toll is likely not finished
here just yet. “We’re always in the
market, whether it be suburban or
urban opportunities,” Jogodnik
says. “We’re one of the few builders
that has a decent cash position, and
we earned that by being judicious
in our decisions. And we’ll continue to be that way.”
What about barriers to entry—New Jersey
is known for some of those, just a bit?
“That’s one thing we actually appreciate,” Jogodnik says. “There are a lot of barriers to entry, not only in New Jersey, but
in the region in general. It’s not easy to
develop here, and we enjoy that, because
once you bring something
through the process, you
have very little competition.
“So we’re willing to take
the time, the effort and energy to clear those hurdles
and get over those barriers.
The areas of the country
where we excel the most
are the areas where the barriers to entry are high.”
And while the primary
focus of his division within
Toll City Living is Hudson
County, perhaps extending
north to the GWB and into Westchester
County, would he consider other cities in
New Jersey, say Newark?
“Newark has areas that we would consider,” Jogodnik says. “But we have no plans
right now. Honestly, Jersey City is our future. Jersey City is a spectacular city, and we
have a fantastic project on the boards there
right now in Provost Square.”–RENJ
JOGODNIK:
“Neat urban places.”
