Developer reimagines Jersey City waterfront as a vibrant cultural district, blending beautiful public spaces, premier offices, and locally-inspired dining and retail

Mack-Cali Realty Corporation (NYSE:CLI), an owner, manager and developer of premier office and multifamily properties on the NJ Waterfront, today unveiled its plan to invest $75 million toward transforming Harborside into a vibrant cultural district along the Jersey City waterfront. With the initiative, the company is embarking on the next step of its plan to modernize Harborside’s existing class A office buildings – spanning 4.3 million square feet – and drastically upgrade its public and retail spaces.

New York City-based SJP Properties, one of the region’s foremost developers of class A commercial properties, will serve as the project’s development manager. SJP will oversee and execute the ambitious architectural overhaul, which was designed by Elkus Manfredi Architects to reflect the site’s past as an industrial shipping and rail terminus. Earlier this year, Mack-Cali announced its plans to develop a new 1.2 million-square-foot, build-to-suit office tower at Harborside in partnership with SJP adjacent to its Harborside complex.

Since announcing a consolidation of its office portfolio in 2015, Mack-Cali launched a multi-phase improvement plan for Harborside. With these improvements, Mack-Cali is charting a course for Harborside as a walkable and easily accessible cultural district, and catalyzing the Jersey City waterfront’s continued evolution into a destination neighborhood on the banks of the Hudson River.

Mack-Cali began the initiative with the reinvention of the Harborside Atrium, which now doubles as a cultural space that hosts music, dance, art performances, and ‘foodie’ fests. Additionally, in May, the company announced the opening of Lutze Biergarten, an outdoor venue offering a variety of craft beers, cocktails, great food, games, and breathtaking views of Manhattan. This September, it will also celebrate the opening of Piggyback Bar at Harborside, a restaurant owned by famed NY chef Leah Cohen and partner Ben Byruch, serving a menu of elevated American bar fare fused with Asian flavors.

Key components of the current transformation phase include:

• Revamping of the buildings’ lobbies and adjoining internal passageways to the Harborside Atrium, creating pedestrian routes to the lobbies. The hallways and built-in lounge areas will be refinished with a raw, industrial aesthetic that pays homage to Harborside’s industrial past, including dark metal finishes that directly reference the railroads, and intricately detailed wood planks that reference the shipping piers.

• Overhauling the current food court into a grand European-style food hall known as The Marketplace. Kiosks will be leased to a rotating roster of local vendors, with an eye toward making the public space a day-and-night dining destination that constantly offers exciting and fresh options. New dining tables and chairs will be installed on the waterfront esplanade.

• Installing new interior design features which reflect the themes of openness and efficiency with the creation of collaborative meeting spaces featuring modular, modern furniture that’s perfect for meetings or independent work, but comfortable enough for true rest and relaxation.

• Reskinning of Harborside’s office buildings, including reskinning the east side of the eight-story Harborside 1 building and the first three floors of Harborside 2 and 3 with state-of-the-art, floor-to-ceiling glass and steel, designed to increase natural light and views of the Hudson and New York City.

“Together with the addition of a new NY Waterway ferry terminal, serving the Hudson Yards and World Trade Center, coming this fall, the capital improvements will facilitate far greater connectivity at Harborside,” said Michael J. DeMarco, Chief Executive Officer of Mack-Cali. “In order to activate the waterfront and energize the neighborhood, it’s integral that we create a seamless experience for residents, workers, and daily visitors.”

About Mack-Cali Realty Corporation

One of the country's leading Real Estate Investment Trusts (REITs), Mack-Cali Realty Corporation is an owner, manager and developer of premier office and multifamily properties in select waterfront and transit-oriented markets throughout the Northeast. Mack-Cali is headquartered in Jersey City, New Jersey, and is the visionary behind the city's flourishing waterfront, where the company is leading development, improvement and place-making initiatives for Harborside, a master-planned destination comprised of class A office, luxury apartments, diverse retail and restaurants, and public spaces.

A fully-integrated and self-managed company, Mack-Cali has provided world-class management, leasing, and development services throughout New Jersey and the surrounding region for two decades. By regularly investing in its properties and innovative lifestyle amenity packages, Mack-Cali creates environments that empower tenants and residents to reimagine the way they work and live.

For more information on Mack-Cali Realty Corporation and its properties, visit www.mack-cali.com.

About Harborside

Mack-Cali has reimagined Jersey City’s waterfront with the creation of Harborside, a one-of-a-kind cultural district that blends premier offices, luxury living, locally inspired shopping and dining, and public spaces for the community to enjoy.

By investing in office renovations, amenity upgrades, and public infrastructure improvements, and by attracting a diverse mix of upscale restaurants and retailers, Mack-Cali is continuing to transform Harborside into a true destination – one that harnesses the distinctive character of Jersey City while cultivating its own unique arts, dining, and lifestyle scene.

Against the backdrop of New York City’s famed skyline, Harborside is a major crossroads for transportation, including the Exchange Place PATH station, the Harborside Light Rail station, and a brand-new NY Waterway ferry terminal, allowing for unsurpassed access between Midtown and Lower Manhattan and the greater New Jersey Gold Coast.

Currently, Harborside spans 4.3 million square feet along the waterfront – with an additional 1.2 million square feet planned – including class A office and retail space in addition to Jersey City Urby, the unmistakable 69-story apartment tower designed for the contemporary urban renter.

For more information on Harborside, visit harborsidejc.com.