Canco Lofts, Journal Square

[Soshin]

You would think the one thing that would work well at Canco would be the can.   

[susansmt7]

My review of Canco Lofts.  The building is absolutely beautiful.  However, I notice two very disturbing things.  Observation number one, the superintendent is rude!  I watched him talk down to a homeowner, the homeowner had to speak forcefully before he shut up and listened to the complaint.  How can someone react so ill-mannered to the person who is paying their salary.  It was a horrible.  Second, thanks to my weak bladder, I was forced to use the bathroom in one of the display models.  When I flushed the toilet, I was astonished to see the lack of suction pressure.  There is no power pressure, it took several flushes just for the tissue to go down.  I can only imagine how many flushes are needed to dispose of human waste.  I could not believe the toilet bowl pressure was so low, so I asked a homeowner and I was told that every toilet bowl works that way.  I was also told that the homeowners have complained for months with no solution.  Those were the two problems I found with Canco, I hope you enjoyed my review.

[MCA™]

New park across from CANCOlofts in Jersey City will brighten whole neighborhood when it opens next month
Thursday, September 09, 2010
By BRETT WILSHE
JOURNAL STAFF WRITER

In the shadow of the Pulaski Skyway in Jersey City a park is rising.

The new CANCOpark will replace the unused asphalt parking lot across the street from the CANCOlofts condominiums at 50 Dey St., said Jodi Stasse, director of sales and marketing for CANCOlofts. "It's part of our master plan to enhance the whole neighborhood," Stasse added, noting the park will be open to the public.

Ground was broken on the park that will take up about a third of an acre on Aug. 11, said Stewart Osborne, director of development for Coalco, the builder of the loft complex.

The park, to be completed next month, will feature an "orchard" of trees that will be lit up at night by ground lighting, park benches, and a terraced layout, he said, noting that the park's perimeter will be lined with bamboo shoots in raised planters.

New York developer Coalco, which converted the American Can Company factory into CANCOlofts, is building the park in exchange for the city allowing a higher density in the development than is typically allowed.

This translates into taller buildings, and will secure extra floors on future towers, Jersey City Assistant Planner Maryann Bucci-Carter said at a City Council caucus in March.

Rodney Hadley, the city's director of the Division of Parks and Forestry, sees the park as a welcome addition to the neighborhood.

"There are not enough parks in that area, so it's ideal," he said. "Green space is needed there."

[croft]

i stay at canco a lot. i must say that if i had to live in that part of jersey city and could afford a canco loft, i'd buy one.

[propscene]

Psych!
Kind of.
The siren sound of lots of expensive imported chocolate at the new Zeytinia in the bottom of Canco has been disrupting my creative process. Am seeing many days lost to sitting in the park tapping into resident's wireless now too.
CANCOslack.

[MCA™]

More CANCOhype from the CANCOparamuspost.


Jersey City's Popular Condominium Development CANCOlofts Announces Construction of CANCOpark
CANCOpark to Offer Residents and Neighborhood an Outdoor Oasis
By Mel Fabrikant
Thursday, September 02, 2010, 02:01 PM EDT   


CANCOlofts, an industrial-to-residential condominium conversion located at 50 Dey Street in Jersey City, N.J., recently announced that construction has commenced on CANCOpark, a lush, shady haven that will be located across the street from CANCOlofts. CANCOpark, which is expected to be complete by the end of October 2010, will add to the appeal of living at CANCOlofts, the former American Can Company factory. The park, which will be open to the public, will offer 15,000 square feet of relaxing green space with park benches, a walkway and beautiful scenery.

"This is an exciting time for CANCOlofts' residents, future buyers and for the CANCOlofts neighborhood," stated Jodi Stasse, director of sales and marketing at CANCOlofts. "The addition of CANCOpark will further enhance a neighborhood that has already been revitalized by the presence of CANCOlofts." CANCOlofts has announced that there is a limited opportunity to purchase the remaining homes in the CANCOparkview collection, which will overlook the park. The CANCOparkview collection includes two-bedroom, two-bathroom lofts, as well as one-, two- and three-bedroom penthouses ranging in size from 1,200 to 1,646 square feet. In addition to the CANCOparkview collection, CANCOlofts offers one-bedroom homes starting in the low $300,000s, as well as one bedroom plus homes, the most popular design, which include an area that many buyers use as an office, starting in the low $400,000s. A limited number of two-bedrooms are available starting in the mid-$400,000s.

All of the lofts feature oversized windows ranging in height from 11 to 14 feet that let in an abundance of light, and all have at least one column structure, some in the mushroom-capped style on view in the building's public spaces. Also included in all CANCOlofts' homes are wide-plank white oak flooring, glass tile accents in the kitchens and bathrooms, engineered stone countertops and gleaming white-lacquered custom cabinetry.

With the completion of CANCOpark, CANCOlofts will offer more than 25,000 square feet of luxury amenities, including CANCOchill, a resident's lounge with billiard tables, card table, large-screen TVs, seating areas and a large service bar; CANCOparty, a rentable space for private parties; and health and fitness facilities including CANCOsweat, a fitness center; CANCOpow, a boxing area; CANCOstretch, a floor exercise, yoga and light weights area; and CANCOhoops, a half basketball court.

Additional areas for work and amusement are CANCObiz, a business center; CANCOkids, a children's play area; CANCOfun, a table game area; CANCOflicks, a home theater equipped with surround sound, a 10-foot projection screen, reclining seats and an extensive collection of movies; CANCOpooch, an outdoor dog run adjoining an indoor pet spa; as well as outdoor picnic and sundeck areas CANCOgreen, CANCOgrill and CANCOrays.

Convenience is another factor that makes this property a top choice for prospective purchasers. For those seeking an easy commute to Manhattan, CANCOlofts offers immediate access to public transportation via a morning and evening shuttle service to and from the nearby Journal Square PATH station. In addition, the building is close to Interstate highways.

Residents also have the convenience of other on-site amenities including a 24/7 concierge service and Zeytinia Gourmet Market, a unique combination of fresh country market, gourmet shop, informal eatery, coffee bar and food-bar take-out that allows CANCOlofts residents to shop within the building. Zeytinia, which also serves the surrounding neighborhood, features a private entrance for residents.

CANCOlofts' Wells Fargo mortgage specialists are available on site every Saturday and Sunday to provide financial guidance on current mortgage rates and financing programs. The building has been approved by the FHA (Federal Housing Administration) and Fannie Mae, which means that qualified buyers can obtain mortgages with lower down payments and lower interest rates than are available through conventional mortgages. As well, CANCOlofts has been awarded a 30-year tax abatement, which translates to lower property taxes for residents.

For more information, visit the website at http://www.cancolofts.com, call the sales center at 201-876-8686 or e-mail info@cancolofts.com. The on-site sales center, located at 50 Dey St. in Jersey City, is open seven days a week from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. Morning and evening hours are available by appointment.

[MCA™]

The NYT loves them some Canco:

Selling Cities Despite Bad Images
By ANTOINETTE MARTIN
Published: August 22, 2008

PLACES like Newark, Trenton and even parts of Jersey City still carry the weight of reputations that soured long ago and never really recovered. Through boom times and bust and housing market highs and lows, and even as developers began seeing potential in urban locales as commuter hubs, the rap on such cities as less-than-savory places to live defied erasure, like graffiti in a hard-to-reach spot.

[snip]

In Jersey City, whose waterfront area already has upscale housing, the push is on to do the same inland, and developers of the huge Canco Lofts project are trying to clean up their neighborhood’s image — literally. Canco is being created at the former American Can Company site, which long moldered, empty and abandoned, underneath the highway overpasses southeast of Journal Square. [Ed. note: close; try northwest of Journal Square]

“There’s a nice little blue-collar neighborhood already here,” said Marco Tartaglia, director of sales for Canco, “a great Indian restaurant, a fabulous bakery, and little convenience shops along the way to Journal Square and the PATH station — but the factory property was neglected, and there is still a lot of graffiti on the streets around it, and litter.”

The Canco developer, Coalco New York, has “deputized” employees as graffiti removers, Mr. Tartaglia said. “We also fixed up the beat-up basketball court on St. Paul’s Avenue,” he added. “These are things that matter to people when they come to a neighborhood and look it over. Whatever they’ve heard, or might remember about the area in its darker days, we want them to get a picture in their minds about its best side now.”

[skwirrlking]

I think I saw a subway ad for Canco that said, "10 minutes from Manhattan."

[Soshin]

From the NYT:

Retail shop space and a public park are also part of the plan to revitalize a 10-acre site that Steve Lipski, a local councilman, said once “looked like Dresden after the war.”

(more)[/size]

Seems like Mr Lipski spends too much time reading jclist.     Please pick a less sensitive historical analogy.  Dresden looked like this after the war:

[LadyDi]

Can we please just talk about their advertising?

Dumbo, 1998/Canco, 2008
Tribeca, 1992/Canco, 2008
SoHo, 1986/Canco, 2008
Prices starting in the $350s

I'm sick of these fancy places trying to sell art chic when the rest of us can't afford anywhere to paint anymore.

As for the tax abatements, I learned fighting Rodolfos up here in the Heights.  It's going to take a completely new admin to change things on that score.

[jimiayler]

i live two blocks from canco and can attest to its dresden-esque flavor  -- as a former 111 resident, the neighborhood reminded me of the pre-development, post-industrial quality of the "powerhouse arts district" prior to the arts being residenced out of the same. i personally cannot imagine what would possess someone to drop several dimes for a view of the pulaski skyway, but i guess i'll find out shortly. hope i can still hold on to my place!

[MCA™]

From the NYT:

Ambitions Expand at Canco Lofts
By ANTOINETTE MARTIN
Published: June 29, 2008
Jersey City

AS the first 200 condominium units at Jersey City’s Canco Lofts approach completion, with 60 of them already sold, the project’s developers disclosed last week that they plan to create an entire new neighborhood encompassing the site of the former American Can Company factory.

The development by Coalco New York is to expand to more than 1,100 units — about half of which will be new construction, and the rest lofts in the converted factory buildings, which closed in the 1970s — according to Coalco’s president, Mikhail Kurnev.

Retail shop space and a public park are also part of the plan to revitalize a 10-acre site that Steve Lipski, a local councilman, said once “looked like Dresden after the war.”

Coalco, a division of a Russian-based company with diversified interests, will invest a total of about $350 million in the project, said Mr. Kurnev in an interview last week. He detailed expansion plans even as the city moved to grant an improved tax abatement to jump-start sales at the Canco Lofts.

[snip]

The first 202 condos are being created in two center towers of the can factory, which has five towers. They range in size from one to three bedrooms, and in price from above $300,000 to about $750,000.

More than 300 condos will be created in the second phase of construction, along with about 10,000 square feet of retail space, which will house a day spa, a dry cleaner, a cafe and automated teller machines, the developer said in an interview last week.

A separate powerhouse building adjacent to the complex will most likely be turned into a minimarket, he said, adding that two new condo buildings would then be built across Dey Street from Canco Lofts.

The final, and recently announced, phase of construction — to be completed by 2011, according to Mr. Kurnev — will include the neighborhood park, between the new condo buildings, and a rental building with ground-floor stores, which will be built on the site of a vacant warehouse. (more)

[ianmac47]

I think "a little bit of intervention" in the mortgage market is like a "little bit of medical intervention" in childbirth. Once you allow "a little of intervention," plenty of other intervention is likely to follow.

 There really is no such thing as the invisible hand. Its a theory, that does not  happen in the real world.

BDLAW edit to clean up code

It is absolutely preposterous to state that the invisible hand is just a theory that does not happen in the real world. What causes prices to go up and down in our economy?

The problem with an invisible hand is that it requires perfect conditions. Buyers and sellers need perfect and accurate information, buyers and sellers must be rational, and there cannot be any interference at all. None of these things are true. Information is never perfect, people are irrational beings, and as long as the transaction is in a government currency, than there will be government interference. So, really, i think its preposterous to suggest that the invisible hand exists at all.

[MCA™]

Condos get better tax deal
Friday, June 27, 2008
By KEN THORBOURNE
JOURNAL STAFF WRITER

The Jersey City City Council voted Wednesday to give the Canco Lofts, a condo complex at the old American Can factory on Dey Street, a better tax abatement deal, responding to claims by the developer that sales had stalled.

James McCann, the attorney representing New York-based Coalco, the developer, said the change would save condo owners a total of $6.7 million during the first 10 years of the abatement.

In a 7-0 vote, the council voted to stick with a 30-year term for the abatement, but reduced the payments in lieu of taxes due the city from 16 percent of gross annual revenue to 10 percent for the first 10 years, 12 percent for the next 10 years and 14 percent for the final 10 years.

Coalco had agreed to the original terms of the abatement two years ago.

Out of 202 condos on the market since November, 57 have signed contracts, Coalco spokeswoman Christa Segalini said. More than 500 units are planned for the site.

Two members of the public - Yvonne Balcer and Catherine Grimm - urged council members not to give Coalco a new deal.

"The public is being asked to subsidize them," Balcer said. "Who subsidizes me? If someone wants a guaranteed profit, that is not my job as the taxpayer (to give it to them)."

Coalco representatives have offered varying accounts as to whether they reduced the price of units to spur sales.

Segalini insists prices have never budged from between $300,000 and $800,000. Asked about this Wednesday, Coalco president Mikhail Kurnev responded, "It's not a simple question."

"I think the project should succeed at this point," Kurnev added, in light of the new abatement deal.

[MCA™]

New tax deal on the table for American Can condo development
by Ken Thorbourne
Tuesday June 24, 2008, 10:25 AM

Apparently the "shake down" worked.

Two weeks ago, developers of the old American Can Factory on Dey Street in Jersey City came to the City Council hat in hand, asking for a better tax abatement deal than the one they signed two years ago to help spur condo sales at the renovated building.

Council members were open to giving the project -- in the shadow of the Pulaski Skyway and next to the roadway leading to the Holland Tunnel -- a better tax break.

But in return for the help, Heights Councilman Bill Gaughan asked the developer, New York-based Coalco, to donate $150,000 to help run a recently started construction apprentice program in the city.

In the midst of a back and forth at a council caucus, Downtown Councilman Steve Fulop branded Gaughan's suggestion a "shake down."

Gaughan went ballistic.

"That's a bad word to use," Gaughan exploded, as he wagged his finger at Fulop. "Don't use 'shake down.' I resent his comment."

But the "shake down" - or hard-ball negotiating, or whatever you want to call it - worked.

Last night, Coalco representatives offered to donate $100,000 to the city's apprentice program.

Instead of paying 16 percent of revenue in lieu of conventional property taxes over the next 30 years, owners would pay 10 percent for the first 10 years, 12 percent for the next 10 and 14 percent for the final 10 years.

The new terms of a 30-year abatement is up for final adoption at tomorrow's council meeting, 6 p.m., Middle School 4, 107 Bright St.

[MCA™]

Surprise, surprise:


Council votes to reduce payments for condos
Friday, June 13, 2008
By KEN THORBOURNE
JOURNAL STAFF WRITER

By a 6-1-2 vote, the Jersey City Council introduced an ordinance Wednesday to lower the payments buyers of the Canco Lofts condos would have to fork over to the city.

The action was taken to spur sales at the old American Can factory on Dey Street in the shadow of the Pulaski Highway. Out of 202 condos on the market since November, only 55 have signed contracts, representatives of the developer, New York-based Coalco, told the City Council on Monday.

Two years ago, Coalco received a 30-year tax abatement for the project, with condo owners paying 16 percent of their units' adjusted gross revenue in "payments in lieu of taxes" to the city.

The new deal, up for final adoption in two weeks, would drop the PILOT amounts to 10 percent for 10 years, 12 percent for the following 10 years and 14 percent for the last 10 years.

"We know you are not obligated to change the terms of the abatement," James McCann, Coalco's attorney, told council members Monday. "The problem is they can't sell units."

"Adjusted gross revenue" for condos is roughly calculated by adding a year's worth of mortgage payments (principal and interest) with a year's worth of maintenance fee payments.

Ward A Councilman Michael Sottolano has called for a "check valve" that would trigger a rise in the PILOTs coming to the city if the economy improves.

At-Large Councilman Peter Brennan and Ward D Councilman Bill Gaughan abstained because they believe a side agreement with Coalco to hire 10 Jersey City residents over the next three years - a nod to the "project labor agreement" in place with other developers - provides too few jobs. Gaughan suggested Coalco help fund the program with a $150,000 contribution to the city.

The Canco Loft units, ranging in size from studios to three-bedroom apartments, are selling for between $300,000 and $800,000, said Coalco spokeswoman Christa Segalini.

[alb]

It is absolutely preposterous to state that the invisible hand is just a theory that does not happen in the real world. What causes prices to go up and down in our economy?

I think the answer is that the invisible hand is always there, but it might do weird things at times when central bankers are rigging the markets.

Also: in the real world, very few markets are every completely free, and no market is every completely, perfectly controlled. But I think there's obviously a lot more government manipulation in the housing market than, say, in the market for downloadable music.

Also also: there might be ways for the government to help unfreeze the condo market by encouraging private companies to start private mortgage lending operations.

If, say, there's an obvious gap in the Jersey City private condo mortgage market, maybe the mayor or someone could eliminate that gap by simply pointing out to local bankers and investors that a gap exists. So, the government (or WiredJC, or the Jersey Journal) could play an important role simply by making sure that the economic players all understand what the situation is.

[TheFang]

Personally, I probably would do better if the government simply lets the market crash.

I'm a tenant. For me, the best real estate market would be one messed up enough that sellers would have to lower their prices a lot, but stable enough that I would keep my job. Of course, if a real estate market is so bad that we all end up unemployed, that's bad for me, too.

No, this is bad for renters too, because if people can't afford to buy homes, then they have to rent. Which means more people looking for rentals, which means rental prices go up.

[alb]

Personally, I probably would do better if the government simply lets the market crash.

I'm a tenant. For me, the best real estate market would be one messed up enough that sellers would have to lower their prices a lot, but stable enough that I would keep my job. Of course, if a real estate market is so bad that we all end up unemployed, that's bad for me, too.

[beachmaster]

I think "a little bit of intervention" in the mortgage market is like a "little bit of medical intervention" in childbirth. Once you allow "a little of intervention," plenty of other intervention is likely to follow.

 There really is no such thing as the invisible hand. Its a theory, that does not  happen in the real world.

BDLAW edit to clean up code

It is absolutely preposterous to state that the invisible hand is just a theory that does not happen in the real world. What causes prices to go up and down in our economy?

No its not preposterous. The context of my statement was within financial crisis. During financial crisis the invisible hand does not exist because countries' central banks intervene to make sure their economy does not go down the tube. This is not to say that countries economies have not gone down the tube anyway, but it is due to the intervention failing, not non intervention.

[Kindelan]

I think "a little bit of intervention" in the mortgage market is like a "little bit of medical intervention" in childbirth. Once you allow "a little of intervention," plenty of other intervention is likely to follow.

 There really is no such thing as the invisible hand. Its a theory, that does not  happen in the real world.

BDLAW edit to clean up code

It is absolutely preposterous to state that the invisible hand is just a theory that does not happen in the real world. What causes prices to go up and down in our economy?

[beachmaster]

I think "a little bit of intervention" in the mortgage market is like a "little bit of medical intervention" in childbirth. Once you allow "a little of intervention," plenty of other intervention is likely to follow.

Governments will always intervene in the markets during time of financial crisis. That's why we have central banks. There really is no such thing as the invisible hand. Its a theory, that does not  happen in the real world.

BDLAW edit to clean up code

[MCA™]

The lobby looks nice, though (A Lot-Ek Solution, via the NYT). A few snippets:

In fact, LOT-EK — which was a finalist in this year’s National Design Awards — has been making architecture out of industrialized society’s detritus for more than 15 years, turning the drum of a cement mixer into a media lounge, or the tank of an oil truck into the bedrooms and bathrooms of a loft apartment, or recycled shipping containers into mobile clothing stores, offices and apartments. Unlike architects who envision a perfect world of jewel-like buildings in meticulously planned settings, Tolla and Lignano love the messy layering of ad hoc, incremental urban growth; they’ve described their aesthetic as being more “Blade Runner” than “2001: A Space Odyssey.” Olympia Kazi, the director of the Institute for Urban Design, a New York nonprofit, says of LOT-EK, “The way they deal with urban reality is just to accept it.”

[snip]

LOT-EK’s design for the lobby of the CanCo lofts in Jersey City (a former American Can factory) includes stacks of Douglas fir planks that become upholstered benches on the floor and that contain lighting when suspended from the ceiling. A wall of electrical conduit forms the backdrop for rows of video screens. The idea was to create a place where residents would congregate, not simply pass through. Mikhail Kurnev, the president of Coalco New York, the company that developed the project, described LOT-EK as an unorthodox but appropriate choice for a project that was aimed at young professionals. “We wanted to position ourselves as up and coming, not like every other building,” he said. LOT-EK’s design, he continued, “definitely put the project on a different pedestal” and got the firm the commission to design the apartment interiors for the development’s next phase.

[bdlaw]

Personally, I probably would do better if the government simply lets the market crash.

[alb]

Is this not America? Do we not depend on the invisible hand of the market to make these kinds of adjustments? Where is the outrage against government handouts?

I don't have a strong opinion one way or another. Personally, I probably would do better if the government simply lets the market crash.

On the other hand: the truth is that the U.S. mortgage and residential real estate markets have not been genuinely free, unsubsidized markets in my lifetime, or my parents' lifetimes. The markets have been rigged markets partly run by the federal government at least since Congress passed the Federal Home Loan Bank Act in 1932.

I think "a little bit of intervention" in the mortgage market is like a "little bit of medical intervention" in childbirth. Once you allow "a little of intervention," plenty of other intervention is likely to follow.