Weehawken's 12 Highest Assessed Properties

Weehawken's 12 Highest Assessed Properties

NJ.com, 11-Mar-15

By Kathryn Brenzel

Over the past year, Weehawken's waterfront has grown--and so has its average property tax bill. 

The average bill was $12,250 in 2014, a nearly $2,000 increase from the previous year and the highest in the county, according to data released by the state Department of Community Affairs.

Mayor Richard Turner told The Jersey Journal that the average is "skewed" by the waterfront. "If you get rid of the waterfront, we wouldn't be highest," he said.

Over the past year, a number of new large-scale projects have joined the township's waterfront--such as The Estuary--meaning that there are more, higher- assessed properties to spike the average, Turner told NJ Advance Media.  

"The average tax bill is meaningless to the average homeowner," he said. "We have a booming waterfront, so it skews all the numbers."

A majority of the highest assessed properties are located along the Hudson River, according to the township tax assessor's office. The top two assessed properties are 1000 and 1200 Harbor Boulevard, massive 10-story office buildings at Lincoln Harbor.

The buildings--whose central tenant is banking giant UBS --are owned by Hartz Mountain Group, which started buying up property along the waterfront in 1985, said Allen Magrini, senior vice president of land use and development at Hartz. He said the waterfront has dramatically changed in the last 25 years, transforming from a train terminal to a destination that is accessible by ferry, light rail, bus and car. He said Hartz's two office buildings are largely responsible for the change.  

"They were the anchors. They allowed us to bring a lot of the infrastructure that wasn't there," he said. "Those buildings were really the catalysts."

NJ Advance Media obtained a list of the highest assessed properties in Weehawken through an Open Public Records request to the township tax assessor's office. Here are the top 12, rounded to the nearest decimal:  

1. 1000 Harbor Boulevard:$80.5 million1000 and 1200 Harbor Boulevard are two 10-story office buildings in Lincoln Harbor. These blue glass buildings, owned by Hartz Mountain Group, are home to several different restaurants and businesses, including UBS.  

2. 1200 Harbor Boulevard: $53.8 million 

3. 300 Boulevard East: $49.3 millionThe office building overlooks the entrance to the Lincoln Tunnel, and has multiple tenants. The building functions as a data center and telecommunication facility.

4. RiversEdge, 1500 Avenue: $35.6 million This 236-unit luxury apartment building opened in 2009. It is one of several of Mack-Cali Roseland's projects at Port Imperial. The developer just opened another building nearby, RiverParc. 

5.The Estuary, 1600 Harbor Boulevard B: $27 millionDevelopers Roseland and Hartz Mountain opened the first of its three buildings in April 2014. Building B was the second phase of the luxury apartment complex. 

6. 1919 Park Avenue: $23.9 millionThis office building is located next to 300 Boulevard East, and is home to a number of businesses, including CenturyLink. 

7. Sheraton Lincoln Harbor Hotel, 500 Harbor Boulevard: $22.4 millionThe Sheraton Lincoln Harbor Hotel is located along the waterfront, just steps from the ferry and a light rail station.    

8. The Estuary, 1600 Harbor Boulevard building A: $22.3 million

9. The Estuary, 1600 Harbor Boulevard building C: $21.9 million

10. The Avenue Collection, 700 Avenue at Port Imperial: $18.1 millionThis is the future sight of the third building to be constructed as part of the waterfront condominium community, The Avenue Collection. In July 2014, developer Lennar opened the first of its planned five buildings at Port Imperial. Condos in the seven-story, 74-unit condominium building, 1000 Avenue, range from $1.1 million to $3.9 million, according to the community's website. The second building, 1200 Avenue, is already under construction. 

11. 1500 Harbor Boulevard: $11.8 millionLocated at Lincoln Harbor marina, the office building is home to the Lincoln Harbor Yacht Club. 

12. Tower Plaza, 4100-4106 Park Avenue: $8 millionThis shopping center lies in the shadow of the iconic water tower and includes a Pathmark, an A&P, a Supercuts and several other businesses.