New Hoboken Residential Building Expects To Be City's First With Leed

4/27/2009

HOBOKEN - Garden Street Lofts - a new mixed-use complex comprising 30 luxury condominium units and 7,500 square feet of retail space - officially opened last week in the Mile Square City. The $16.8 million project is expected to win LEED Silver certification in three months, which will make it the first luxury residential development in the state to receive such a rating, according to Del-Sano Contracting Corp., the Union-based general contractor in charge of the project's construction.

Garden Street Lofts, which was developed by Teaneck-based Bijou Properties, also will be Hoboken's only LEED-certified residential building upon certification, Del-Sano said.

LEED, which stands for Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design, is the U.S. Green Building Council's national green building rating system that establishes criteria for the design, construction and operation of sustainable properties.

Sustainable features of Garden Street Lofts include using 24 percent less energy in heating, cooling and lighting, and 20 percent less water than a traditional building, and deriving 100 percent of its electrical power from wind and other sources.

The project - which is the redevelopment of a former coconut processing plant and storage warehouse - took 25 months to complete and has sold 50 percent of its units, according to Del-Sano; Bijou declined to disclose how many of those units had actually closed.