<< BACK TO NEWS LISTINGS

A Vision For Urban Development

Mann Report
Friday, February 1, 2008

The genesis of the Hoboken Brownstone Company is a story of two personal friends and their vision for New Jersey's Hudson River Gold Coast.

Nearly 30 years ago, college friends Daniel Gans and George Vallone evaluated real estate market conditions and saw great potential in Hoboken, NJ, thanks to its access to mass transportation options into a major urban epicenter and strong inventory of historic, yet structurally sound residential buildings.

"After graduation, we returned home and began separate careers," recalls Gans, who serves as Cheif Executive Officer. "Two years later, we decided to combine our knowledge and interest in real estate development. We recognized Hoboken was poised for significant growth and the ideal place to start."

The Gettysburg College graduates joined forces and established roots in the historic mile-square city. The varied expertise and talents of Mssrs. Gans and Vallone quickly proved fruitful. Their first project - a renovation of four condominium at 210 Third Street in 1980 - was the perfect springboard to the creation of a diverse real estate company that specialized in development, construction, brokerage and management of urban properties along the Hudson River waterfront and beyond.

The development of large- and small- scale residential and commercial buildings over the past three decades provided Mssrs. Gans and Vallone with great insight into the housing market and strategically positioned the company to identify new urban development acquisition opportunities.

"One of our strengths is a comprehensive background in all facets of the industry," points out Mr. Vallone, who serves as President. "It enables us to keep a keen eye on market needs and adapt our development plans to capture new niches. For example, in the 1990's, we introduced a residential design called "The Brownstone" which filled a void for buyers seeking surburban style living with private garages, large multi-bedroom homes and outdoor spaces in an urban environment."

The concept translated to success at six residential projects throughout the city. Two of the projects ñ 60-68 Jefferson Street and 82-92 Madison Street ñ received the first and second Historic Preservation Awards ever given to new construction projects in Hoboken.

The company is preparing to develop a 438-unit 'green' condominium community on the site of the Van Leer Chocolate Factory in Jersey City that will improve green building practices and change the way environmentally aware buildings are created and measured.

To better incorporate and promote Green Building technologies, Hoboken Brownstone is not only pursuing a LEED Certificatation for the project, but is looking to make dramatic changes in the way "Green" building is done in this region. They have put together a Green Team of specialists and are trying to influence change by meeting with the National Green Building Council ("GBC") in order to establish special LEED categories for multi-family residential for-sale housing with special certification programs.

They Believe that a new perspective is necessary in order for the GBC to recognize two unique challenges. One is the difficulty of incorporating green building technologies into multi-family for-sale housing. Two is the challenge resulting from climatic differences from one region of the country to another that affect the technology of green building design. As these differences are recognized and as the LEED certification system is 'regionally customized' to address these unique challenges, more people will participate in the LEED program.

Those benefits will help New Jersey meet its goals for the redevelopment of its urban areas by building new housing communities that offer lower energy consumption, low-emission, and higher air quality.