$210m tower project gets underway in JC.

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Wielding ceremonial shovels, officials broke ground on a $210 million residential project on Jersey City's waterfront--a rare site in today's bleak construction market.

Monaco Towers will consist of two towers totaling 524 luxury residential units and 11,000 s/f of ground-floor retail space. The site sits at Washington Boulevard and Thomas Gangemi Drive near the Pavonia/Newport PATH station.

Behind the project are Roseland Property Company, Garden State Development, Hartz Mountain and seven financial partners.

Making the project, originally proposed as a condominium development, work required some changes. According to published reports, the City Council originally opposed Roseland's push to modify in their favor a 2006 tax-abatement deal that would have found the developer paying 16% of the annual gross revenues to Jersey City over a 20-year period. As the credit crunch increased, the city relented, according to reports.

Under the current agreement, the city is to receive 10% of the annual gross revenues for 10 years, said Jennifer Morrill, press secretary for Mayor Jerramiah T. Healy. Morrill said Jersey City only receives $70,000 a year in taxes from the current land use.

"We're thankful for the investment here," Healy said from the site, which sits next to the Doubletree Hotel that will also be expanded under the plan. "In spite of what's going on in the state and country, good projects are moving forward."

Healy said there may be an "outrageous downturn," but "great things can still happen" when lenders exercise good vision and foresight.

Monaco Towers is expected to provide $700,000 to the city's Affordable Housing Trust Fund. It will also create 400 construction jobs, a percentage of which will be dedicated to city residents in apprenticeships with building unions.

Also included on the 2.5-acre site will be a 558-space parking garage. Tenants are promised a host of amenities, including a fitness and health center with heated pool, a theater and clubroom, along with concierge and valet services available 24 hours, according to Roseland. The apartments themselves will have hardwood floors, stackable washers and dryers and other features.

Carl Goldberg, a Roseland principal, said the project will take 24 months to build out. It is too early to tell how much the units will fetch in rent.

The fact that the project is moving ahead in an unprecedented economic dip is testament to "as the mayor said, the competitive nature of Jersey City in place and resiliency," Goldberg said. Dubbed New York's "sixth borough," Jersey City is home to other Roseland residential projects such as Portofino and Marbella.