A new supermarket is expected to give Jersey City, New Jersey’s central business district, Journal Square, another shot in the arm by helping end its status as a food desert, a neighborhood with few options to buy healthy groceries.
Supermarkets are a crucial amenity for cities and apartment dwellers, and this one will be a draw for those considering living at Journal Squared, a landmark three-building complex with just over 1,800 units that is under construction. The entire complex is seen as a linchpin for the revitalization of Journal Square.
The property: Journal Squared Tower 2 is at 605 Pavonia Ave. The building is the second of three multifamily high-rises completed in the Journal Square area of Jersey City, a busy transit hub. The second high-rise is the tallest, at 68 stories, with the most apartment units, 704. Journal Squared was the first high-rise to break ground in the Journal Square district, with its third and final tower still under construction.
The tenant: Food Story Natural Market.
The broker: Grid Real Estate’s Bobby Antonicello Jr. represented landlords Kushner Real Estate Group and National Real Estate Advisors in the lease, working with the developer’s own Justin Gingeleskie.
The lease: Brooklyn, New York-based Food Story signed a 30-year lease for roughly 10,000 square feet as a retail anchor at the base of Journal Squared’s second tower, with a starting rent of $35 a square foot and 3% increases each year. The tenant is receiving $65 per square foot in tenant allowance money.
Why it matters: The development of KRE Group’s apartment complex is part of a long-term plan to revive Journal Square, whose businesses suffered — like other downtown commercial districts — when a regional mall opened in the city years ago. KRE Group insisted that it needed a grocery store at Journal Squared, as the neighborhood had lost two of them, for its residential tenants. Food Story is slated to open this spring, and the store will front Pavonia and Summit avenues above the busy Journal Square PATH station, to serve not only renters at the property but commuters and local residents.
Search method: In order to court potential grocer tenants, Grid mapped out what supermarkets were located near PATH Stations in New Jersey and New York City, along with the subway stations in the outer boroughs, and approached them, according to Antonicello. Grid received several proposals, and Food Story was chosen as the best fit for Journal Squared.
Fun fact: Journal Squared’s second tower probably has the highest elevation of any man-made structure in New Jersey, because it sits on a cliff area where the Hudson Palisades starts, according to Antonicello.
CoStar’s Impact Awards highlight the commercial real estate transactions and projects that have transformed their markets over the past year. The winners are chosen by independent panels of industry professionals who work in the markets they judge. A list of judges can be found here and the criteria for selecting winners can be found here.