Office/Hotel Project in the Works for Waterfront

HOBOKEN, NJ-City officials have long wanted a luxury hotel in this Hudson River waterfront city in Hudson County, and it appears that they’re about to get one. According to a published report, the city is in the final stages of negotiations with a trio of developers who would couple a luxury hotel property with a new office tower. Details of the proposed project have not been released.

The project, if approved, would be developed on a site immediately adjacent to the new two-building, 13-story, 1.1-million-sf Waterfront Corporate Center. Publisher John Wiley & Sons moved its headquarters from its long-time home base of Manhattan to one of the buildings last summer, and insurance broker Marsh & McLennan is slated to move a portion of its operations into the second building by late next year.

Waterfront Corporate Center is owned and is being developed by SJP Properties of Parsippany, NJ and, according to reports, the same company is in line to develop the proposed new office tower as well. Separately, the hotel would be developed jointly by Starwood Hotels and Applied Development Co. Besides the hotel and office building, a city park would also be part of the site, according to reports.

The proposed development site, which is currently vacant, is owned by the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey. Under the terms of the pending development deal, the Port Authority would maintain ownership and would lease the land on a long-term basis to the developers, according to a spokesperson for the bi-state agency. Waterfront Corporate Center itself is being developed on PA-owned land.

Starwood officials could not be reached for comment. SJP officials declined to comment, other than to note that an ordinance was introduced through a first reading by the Hoboken city council last week. A second reading allowing public comment is currently scheduled to take place on November, according to the spokesperson, who added that no further details could be provided.