JERSEY CITY-After a site clean-up that took more than five years, Fields Developmental Group is set to open a new 131-unit apartment building in Jersey City as this city’s first residential LEED-certified building – and also as one of the state’s first smoke-free buildings.

Construction is nearly complete at the Madox, a seven-story building at 198 Van Vorst Street in the Paulus Hook neighborhood downtown, James Caulfield, Jr., a principal of Fields, tells GlobeSt.com.

“We’re already starting to take names from those wanting first preference at a building that is green, clean, and located right downtown in the historic Paulus Hook neighborhood,” he says.

Rental rates for studios, one- and two-bedroom apartments, and also some two-bedroom units with dens ranging in size to 1,312 square feet, will be announced when leasing starts in September, says Caulfield. The building will be ready for occupancy by October, he says.

Hoboken-based Fields has designed the Madox to achieve LEED Silver certification from the U.S. Green Building Council, which sets standards for energy-efficient and sustainable design and construction. The building is equipped with solar panels and vegetation on the roof, electric car charging stations, and systems to reduce water consumption by 45% and energy consumption by 14%.

A contract has already in place that says more than a third of electricity will come from renewable sources.

“People today are highly aware of their environments,” says Caulfield, whose family-owned company previously built three condominium buildings in Jersey City – the Saffron, Waldo Lofts and Ivy House - and Fields Crossing in Hoboken. “Madox will offer a completely ‘green’ and eco-friendly orientation that we believe will inspire people to set down roots here.”

Paulus Hook already has a strong sense of community, he notes, but says the Madox will be set up and managed to be “sort of a boutique community” within it.

The building, set on the former site of the Bell Fuse factory, will have 4,000 square feet of ground-floor retail space, with landscaped grounds around it.

The environmental clean-up of the site purchased by Fields in 2004 took half a decade, says Caulfield, because groundwater for the entire neighborhood had been contaminated. Fields, run by James Caulfield along with his brother Robert, had to remove soil and replace it as part of remediation.

The decision to make the building smoke-free seemed like a “no-brainer” after the extensive work of clean-up, says Caulfield. Still, it is rare as a housing policy in New Jersey, and Fields says attorneys are now working with environmental officials to determine exactly how it will play out at the Madox.

The Madox will offer an array of amenities including a keyless entry system, 24-hour doorman, gym, a lobby lounge with a library, business center and communal technology table with iPad Station, iMac and PC. In addition, a resident’s-only lounge includes a children’s play area, yoga room, kitchenette, and large-screen TVs.

A landscaped courtyard also has a children’s play area, and caf

Instant Insights /

Fields Nears Completion On Jersey City&#146;s First &#147;Green&#148; Rental Building

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