Wednesday, October 31, 2007

love me render love me true


Here are some fresh renderings of Metrostop. This first one above, is of the south end, where Amelia's Bistro will be. I have a few questions:

1 Will there really be an access point to the light rail from this area, or will residents have to walk around the block? There are pretty tall permanent black iron fences up along the light rail, which will probably stay put for safety reasons. Will we have another Maxwell Place park fence debacle on our hands come springtime?

2 Are those really grass plants going in along the sitting stairs? I hope so, we at HH are totally obsessed with grass plants.

For the record, I have to say it is awesome to see the developer putting so much effort into creating public common areas on this property. It will go a long way towards creating more of a community feeling back there. Lord knows we need it.

Below are images of the two interior finishes available - shaker and contemporary. I like the contemporary with the dark wood and light counter tops.






Below is a living room rendering looking east towards Manhattan. I'm assuming this is from the top floor perspective? The view is so spectatular you can almost see our new 45K northwest Hoboken redevelopment plan from up there!

Tu che!


In case you've been living on another planet and have not heard of this new 'green' condo building going up in northwest Hoboken, here is the link to their official website:

www.metrostop.com

garage level concrete is finished!


800 Madison has finally finished its concrete flooring! First floor exterior walls are up too. This week they have been delivering the upper floor framing, which is being installed as we speak. More pics soon...

Tuesday, October 30, 2007

Hoboken in AM New York

Great piece in AM New York a few days ago - I've reproduced it below. Click here to read the full story, with 7 additional pages of recommendations on eating, drinking, playing, sleeping, relaxing, indulging, buying, selling, etc:

CITY LIVING: HOBOKEN
By Miranda Siegel | Special to amNewYork

October 25, 2007

Long-time Hoboken residents relish the opportunity to rattle off a list of their hometown's firsts: the city's lore includes the first baseball game, the first ice cream cone, the first zipper, the country's first brewery and the world's first ferry service.

As if that weren't enough, Hoboken was the shooting locale for "On the Waterfront" and the boyhood home of Frank Sinatra -- there's even a street named for ol' blue eyes himself.

New Jersey's "Mile Square City" was purchased by the Dutch and Flemish settlers from the Lenape for a few wampum, blankets and guns in 1630. After changing hands several times, it was bought by Colonel John Stevens in 1784, who developed it into a waterfront vacation spot for wealthy Manhattanites. Stevens also founded the Hoboken Land Improvement Company, which laid out the street grid that still exists today.

In the latter part of the 19th century, Hoboken found itself in the center of a number of shipping routes, which allowed it to sprout into a thriving industrial center. In its heyday, the city was home to Maxwell House, Lipton Tea, Hostess, Bethlehem Steel and Todd Shipyards.

Things became difficult for Hoboken after the war, when it became more common to build factories outside of congested urban areas. A number of Hoboken residents packed up for the suburbs and the city fell into decline. It was until the 1970s and 1980s that the area began to revive itself, as artists, musicians and young professionals -- recognizing the charm and good quality of the existing structures -- began relocating there.

Today, Hoboken is largely home to professionals, recent college graduates and families.

"There are college kids all over the place," explained resident Andrew Lang. "You can tell because everyone walks around still wearing their college sweatshirts." Resident Brian Vermeulen observed, "I'm seeing a lot more strollers out on the sidewalks these days."

Though the population has changed, much of Hoboken's history is present in the architecture that has been proudly preserved by the Hoboken District Commission, which must approve any changes made to an historic building. The city's main artery, Washington Street, is a toybox cute commercial strip decked out in wrought-iron street signs and characterized by a series of carefully updated and preserved historic storefronts.

Aside from that, "It's all nail salons, dry cleaners and sushi," mused Vermeulen. According to Lang, "it's all Irish pubs, real estate agents, and restaurants."

But the old population hasn't been completely replaced-yet. "Things are changing, but there are still a few long-time residents around," said Lang. "A lot of older Italian women who sit on their steps and just watch everything happen. It still does have that old feeling sometimes."

Monday, October 29, 2007

"hoboken ... where? what?! what are you talking about??"

Be proud of where you live! Check out this video from www.intothebox.tv about Hoboken and why we were voted the #1 place to live by Money Magazine. All you Manhattanites, listen up!

Tuesday, October 23, 2007

the leaning tower of pizzastop


How's this for a cool shot? The above pic is taken from the south portion of Metrostop, looking east. From this angle, you can see the wide open space that will be used for socializing, lounging, sculpture viewing, and drinking bottle after bottle of vino at the future home of Amelia's bistro. You can also see the slanted upper portion of the building that is currently being put together with metal framing. Not sure what's going to cover this area.

Below you can see another shot of the south end, the rounded end. Most of the slider windows have been put in, and most of the brick work is finished as well:


Here's a closer look at the slanted southeast portion:


And this is the middle of the facade along Jackson Street. This empty portion is where floor to ceiling glass will be installed. Very cool. Also not very common in Hoboken, which lends a sense of uniqueness to the area. Those middle units are going to be sweet.


Here is a closeup of the brick being used. I've read many comments from people who've noted that the brick being used on this project is much darker and redder than on the initial rendering. I happen to agree, however in certain light, they do cast a lighter tone. At the end of the day it looks pretty good though:


Here's a first level door that was installed a few weeks ago along Jackson Street. Looks to be a service entrance?


Here's the north end - the gray end, covered mostly in grey tone brick. My partner is obsessed with this side of the building, and wishes they had covered the entire building in this color. He feels there is too much red brick in this area of town, and we could have used something a little more modern. To each his own...



The construction crew is hard at work framing the condos inside. They really have picked up speed these last few weeks. And they've really lucked out with the great weather we've been having. Here's to hoping they get all those windows installed before the weather turns cold. Otherwise those upper floors are going to turn into one giant freezing cold wind tunnel!



Enjoy the day today everyone, before it rains later on...

Monday, October 22, 2007

mums the word


You may be still wearing shorts and flip flops, but Fall flowers are starting to pop up everywhere...

Sunday, October 21, 2007

self guided artist studio tour starts now!


Want to explore over one hundred different artist studios today? Well now's your chance. With a very cool self guided walking tour of Hoboken's creative community, today is the perfect Fall day to get inspired. For more information click here!

And just in time, the Monroe Center for the Arts has finally finished their sidewalks, so go ahead and brings the kids, they now won't have to run the risk falling into unfinished sidewalk ditches!


Monroe has also planted some new trees, however they are currently being strangled by low hanging utility wires. So until someone fixes that little unsightly problem, I'll spare you the horrendous pictures.

Enjoy the day today!

Monday, October 15, 2007

sw6 tonight @ 6pm: a greener, greater hoboken


If it is important to you that we have open park space in Hoboken, then I urge you to attend tonights City Council meeting at the Multi Service Center located at 124 Grand Street in Hoboken. It's open to the public and begins at 6pm.

Tonight you will be treated to such interesting topics such as storm water retention technology, sustainable design, LEED accreditation for new development, and everyone's favorite: The North Hudson Sewerage Authority!

In case you haven't heard of SW6 until just now, it's a comprehensive action plan for southwest Hoboken that including a six acre park, flooding solutions, and other interesting ideas for the future of SW Hoboken.

Click here to download the SW6 official master plan in pdf form.

Or visit www.hobokenspc.org for more info.

Although this is normally out of HH's territory, we felt it was important to bring to light. And besides, Hoboken is a total slacker in the green open space department. It would be a shame to miss out on such an interesting opportunity to completely transform a corner of our city into something truly revolutionary.

And even if you're not up for a revolution, wouldn't you at least like the opportunity to try and spot HH in the crowd?

Tuesday, October 9, 2007

landscaping excellence award, oct 2007 goes to...


Seemingly back from the dead, the landscaping around Fields Crossing has been completely reinvigorated. At last count, 30 dying to totally dead dead deadsky (Beatlejuice reference) plants were pulled out of the ground to make room for lively replenishments. After a summer of looking as if Fields was in the midst of a landscaping labor strike, things seem to be back on track. Here's another shot of the front:


The north side of the building is a continuous line of shrubs:


The Jackson street side is now home to a slew of new cypress!


All new mulch was layed down:


To give you a small glimpse of what everyone in the neighborhood has been staring at all summer, here's a little unfortunate taste:

HORROR!


TRAGEDY!


SHEER TERROR!


There was also a slight weed problem:


But those nightmarish images are now a long distant memory. Keep up the good work, Fields. Now break out the water hose!

Monday, October 8, 2007

45k = northwest hoboken transformed into heaven on earth!

Our City Council recently voted to pay 45K for the creation of a new northwest Hoboken redevelopment plan. The article from The Jersey Journal is below. HH would have done it for 10K. Then we could have then used that extra 35K to buy trees for our new 4 acre park. Or something.

* * * * * * * * * *

Friday, October 05, 2007

By CHARLES HACK
JOURNAL STAFF WRITER

HOBOKEN - The City Council has approved a $45,000 contract to create a plan to develop 10 acres at the western edge of the Mile Square City.

The City Council, which passed the resolution by a 5-3 vote at Wednesday's meeting, awarded a contract to create the West Side Redevelopment Area study to Manhattan-based planners, Phillip Preiss Shapiro Associates, Inc.

Once complete, the plan will detail how a developer for the area will have to deliver mixed-use residential and retail buildings with a new recreation center, swimming pool and a four-acre park running alongside the Light Rail tracks, Community Development Director Fred Bado said.

As envisioned, the park will include playground equipment, a dog run and a bike-and-pedestrian path. The city's Master Plan calls for the path to one day circle the entire city.

On July 18, a council resolution designated the area - roughly bounded by the railway tracks between Ninth and 14th streets - as the Western Edge Redevelopment Area, based on a study authored by the same consultants.

The area includes the west side of Monroe Street from Ninth to 12th streets, the west side of Madison Street from 12th to 14th streets and the west side of Jefferson Street between 12th and 13th streets.

Apart from a new 12-story condominium development at 900 Monroe St., the area is comprised mostly of vacated industrial buildings, with one trucking company still operating there.

The designated developer will build and then convey the completed pool, recreation center, and possibly the park, to the city, officials said. And the project will also follow the state requirement of making 10 percent of the new housing as affordable housing units.

The planning process will take up to six months before an ordinance goes before the City Council for a first reading.