JERSEY CITY, NJ–Jersey City's continuing development renaissance moved a vacant lot regarded as an eyesore a step closer to meaningful development as Kushner Companies and The KABR Group have acquired the land at One Journal Square in Jersey City, NJ, from the Multi-Employer Property Trust for $27 million.

One Journal Square is a development site at the intersection of Sip Avenue and John F. Kennedy Boulevard in the heart of the Journal Square neighborhood of Jersey City, the city's cultural center and transit hub. The two-acre site is zoned for mixed-use development, including approximately 1,500 multi-family units, and a large retail component with ample parking.

“We are bullish on Jersey City, as evidenced by this investment as well as our strong development history in the market,” says Jared Kushner, CEO of Kushner Companies. “We look forward to unveiling plans for One Journal Square that will help drive the city's continued renaissance. The proximity to Manhattan is a huge draw, and the infrastructure is in place. We will work with the city and state to create a property that will inspire a new life and lifestyle for Jersey City and, when it is built, be a catalyst for the revitalization of Journal Square.”

Jersey City Mayor Steven Fulop echoes Kushner's assessment of the area's potential, and the impact that the development of One Journal Square will have on the area as a whole.

“For the last eight years this lot has been a vacant eyesore,” says Mayor Fulop.  “Our administration has put a great deal of effort to move Journal Square forward and help foster this transition so this lot can be transformed which is major step forward that we are excited about.”

In addition to One Journal Square, Kushner Companies and KABR Group are presently developing a 50-story luxury rental apartment tower called Trump Bay Street located at 65 Bay Street in Jersey City's “Powerhouse District”. This development will offer 447 residential rental homes when completed in 2016. Kushner Companies and KABR Group also own 30 Journal Square, the development site at the former home of The Jersey Journal newspaper. The building will be a creative redevelopment and rehabilitation project by the partnership, to include apartments and retail in a skyscraper designed by noted architect Ismael Levya.

“One Journal Square is an investment that aligns with our tradition of identifying real estate opportunities to apply our entrepreneurial approach to create great value,” says KABR's chairman, Kenneth Pasternak. “Working with Kushner Companies and the city, we will soon share plans for this site that will bring a new 24-7 vivacity and energy to the heart of Jersey City through the development of a truly outstanding mixed-use product, and contribute to the ongoing transformation of this city into a first choice destination.”

“This project will spur economic development on the Square and also open up other projects that have been dormant, bringing the much-needed opportunity for Jersey City apprentices and Hudson County building trades members to go to work,” says Hudson County Building & Construction Trades Council president Patrick Kelleher.