North Hoboken is about to get a lot taller.
Lincoln Property Company and Hoboken-based Pegasus Partners have started construction on 1300 Jefferson Street, an 18-story residential building that takes up a full block on the city's northern edge. A ceremonial groundbreaking was held Sept. 18 with representatives of both companies and the City of Hoboken, according to Lincoln's announcement.
The building will have 357 rental homes and about 25,000 square feet of retail. Lincoln describes the site as about 1.5 miles from Midtown Manhattan, in a transit-oriented market where there isn't much room left to build. The block is bounded by 14th Street to the north, 13th Street to the south, Jefferson Street to the east and Madison Street to the west.
Foundations first
The first job is getting into the ground. New York YIMBY reported that a piling machine was on site at the groundbreaking and will begin preparing the foundations alongside excavation work over the coming months.
The building, designed by Fogarty Finger, sits on a five-story podium that holds a 304-car garage and the ground-floor retail. Above the podium, a U-shaped tower steps back at the 11th, 16th and 18th floors. Renderings show light gray brick around a grid of floor-to-ceiling windows and glass doors, with recessed and projecting balconies. Windows will be grouped in two-story metal frames, and double-height glass will enclose the entrance and parts of the ground floor.
Amenities will include multiple rooftop terraces, a fitness center and a swimming pool on the 17th floor. Out front, the project will build a new 5,234-square-foot public plaza facing ResilienCity Park, according to Jersey Digs, which noted the project was first approved more than five years ago and went through years of legal twists and turns before getting off the ground.
Affordable units on and off site
According to Lincoln, the project will create 37 affordable housing units: 20 inside the building and 17 more supported through a contribution to veterans housing in Hoboken. Those 17 are planned at 308 Second Street, next to American Legion Post 107, on a lot at the corner of Second Street and Willow Avenue that the post has used for parking. New York YIMBY's story listed the affordable total as 35, but its own breakdown of 20 plus 17 matches the developer's figure of 37.
The veterans building has its own design team. Kitchen & Associates drew up the plans, and the Post's Veterans Center of Hoboken says the planned 20,000-square-foot addition will include 18 new apartments for homeless veterans along with larger meeting, recreation and community event space. The post already has six units for homeless veterans in the flood-resistant building it rebuilt after Superstorm Sandy.
Lincoln and Pegasus lined up an equity commitment from Pacific Life and a construction loan from Truist, with JLL advising on the financing, according to the announcement. The project is the result of 14 years of entitlement work led by Pegasus to turn a formerly industrial part of northwest Hoboken into a mixed-use neighborhood. Lincoln joined in 2024 as co-general partner and development manager.
"After more than a decade of work, this milestone moves our long-envisioned plan for northwest Hoboken into construction," said Mark Luis Villamar, co-founder of Pegasus Partners.
Lincoln's Jared Toothman said the two firms plan "thousands of additional apartments along the New Jersey 'Gold Coast' in the coming years."
No completion date has been announced, and the companies haven't named a general contractor.
Why it matters for Contractors
A full-block, 18-story building with a five-story parking and retail podium is a multi-year job with a long list of trades. Piling and excavation come first, then concrete for the podium, followed by the tower's structure, brick and window wall, balconies, MEP, elevators, fire protection, the rooftop pool and a long run of interior finishes. With financing in place from Pacific Life and Truist, this one is real. No builder has been named, so watch for Lincoln and Pegasus to announce one and start releasing bid packages. The smaller veterans building at 308 Second Street is a separate job that could suit mid-size contractors. And if the two firms follow through on "thousands" more apartments along the Gold Coast, this won't be the last big job they hand out.