WEEHAWKEN, NJ-A crew of public officials gathered at the construction site of the 280-unit RiverParc rental building at Port Imperial here, paying attention as Mack-Cali's first residential project since it acquired multi-family developer Roseland gets under way.

Work was halted briefly and the booms stopped moving across a backdrop of the Palisades Cliffs as Mack-Cali CEO Mitchell E. Hersh spoke about creating an "amenity-rich environment" and "luxury finishes" for residents.

For decades that sort of terminology had been the provence of Roseland's president Carl Goldberg, who stood at Hersh's side Wednesday. It still is, since Goldberg heads the Mack-Cali subsidiary, but as Hersh guides the parent REIT through a portfolio shift from commercial office into residential - Hersh is talking the luxury-apartment-building lingo too.

"RiverParc commpletments Mack-Cali's portfolio of premier, class A multi-family communities and respresents significant value creation," Hersh said. With the acquisition of Roseland last October, Mack-Cali gained nine multi-famly residential properties with over 3,300 units as well as considerable land for new development.

At Wednesday's groundbreaking ceremony, Hersh said that a deal will soon be announced with a major hotel brand for a facility to be built above the parking garage now under construction at the site next to RiverParc at Port Imperial.

Hersh said Mack-Cali plans to charge ahead with "urban infill development" of multi-family properties. "The market wants it," he said.

"You can have an incredibly amenity-rich environment like this," added Goldberg, sweeping a glance around the site, "with the river and Manhattan views, the ferry and the Light Rail, the restaurants and spa, fitness center, pool, indoor movie theater, golf simulator - everything you can think of - and it still costs 60% less than it does a mile across the river."

The RiverParc building is also designed to achieve a LEED for Homes Silver certification from the U.S. Green Building Council.

Instant Insights /

Mack-Cali's Roseland Builds at Port Imperial

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