Brooklyn buyers do not call me about towers. They call because someone told them there is a neighborhood of brownstone squares on the other side of the harbor with a PATH station in the middle of it, and they want to know if it is real. It is. Downtown Jersey City has two 19th century squares, Hamilton Park and Van Vorst Park, with brownstone blocks around each, and a third historic district, Paulus Hook, on the water with a ferry to Brookfield Place. I have closed 30 homes across those three districts, including two houses above $2.4 million, and this is how I explain the move to a buyer from Park Slope, Cobble Hill, or Brooklyn Heights.
The neighborhoods, translated
Hamilton Park is the Park Slope of the comparison: a square with a farmers market, tennis courts, and playgrounds, brownstone blocks on every side, restaurants on the park’s edges, and, in Hamilton Square, the neighborhood’s one doorman building. Van Vorst Park is the Cobble Hill version: a smaller square south of the Grove Street PATH, quieter, with the Newark Avenue restaurant row two blocks away and Dixon Mills, the pencil factory loft complex, and Columbus House, the new boutique building, on its edges. Paulus Hook is Brooklyn Heights: the historic district on the water, with the Promenade replaced by the waterfront walkway, the ferry at the end of Sussex Street, and the Exchange Place PATH four minutes from the World Trade Center. Its condo anchors, Montgomery Greene and Clermont Cove on the Morris Canal basin, have their own guides. Harsimus Cove and the Powerhouse Arts District, between Hamilton Park and Newport, are the Gowanus and Dumbo of it, with the warehouse conversions and the newest towers, from Waldo Lofts to the 2024 tower at 151 Bay.
What the money buys, from my own closings
| Budget | Brooklyn, typically | Downtown Jersey City and Paulus Hook, from my closings |
|---|---|---|
| $500,000 to $800,000 | A one bedroom in a walk up or a small condo building | A one bedroom brownstone condo in Van Vorst (258 Barrow $540,000 and $780,000) or a one bedroom in the Paulus Hook mid rises (253 Washington $690,000; 149 Essex $745,000) |
| $800,000 to $1.2 million | A two bedroom condo in a newer building or a floor of a brownstone in a farther neighborhood | A two bedroom floor through in Historic Downtown (256 Montgomery $860,000; 243 Third $995,000) or a two bedroom with parking in Paulus Hook (126 Dudley $985,000; 25 Hudson $915,000; 149 Essex 6K $1,150,000) |
| $1.2 million to $1.8 million | A two bedroom in a prime neighborhood, or a townhouse needing work farther out | New construction full floors in Hamilton Park and Harsimus Cove (323 Fourth $1,250,000; 319 First $1,400,000; 58 Coles $1,480,000; 397 Third $1,550,000; 125 Erie $1,600,000; 331 York $1,670,000), a Sugar House loft ($1,320,000), a Columbus House home ($1,795,000) |
| $1.8 million to $2.5 million | A townhouse needing work in a prime neighborhood | A new construction duplex on a Hamilton Park block (319 Fifth $2,150,000) or a renovated rowhouse (295 Pavonia $2,480,000) |
| $2.5 million to $3.5 million | A renovated townhouse in a good but not prime neighborhood | A renovated house on a Van Vorst Park block (101 Mercer $3,250,000) or a combined tower home at 77 Hudson ($2,550,000) |
The gap is largest for whole houses: a renovated brownstone on a park block here trades where a townhouse needing work trades in Brooklyn’s prime neighborhoods.
The commute, which is better than Brooklyn’s
This is the part Brooklyn buyers do not expect. From the Grove Street PATH the World Trade Center is about eight minutes and 33rd Street about 20; from Exchange Place the World Trade Center is about four minutes and Brookfield Place is five minutes by ferry. From most of Historic Downtown and Paulus Hook the door to desk time to the Financial District is 15 to 25 minutes, which beats most of brownstone Brooklyn on the 2, 3, 4, 5, F, or R. Midtown is the longer trip, 25 to 35 minutes by PATH to 33rd Street, which is comparable to Park Slope on the F or Q. The commute times article on this site runs the numbers building by building.
What changes at the closing table
Start by confirming the ownership structure of the specific property. Jersey City offers condominiums, co-ops and whole houses, and their purchase documents and responsibilities differ. Condominium associations have boards; purchase requirements, transfer charges and rental restrictions depend on the governing documents. Have your New Jersey attorney explain the contract and attorney-review process before you sign, and ask your lender and closing team for a property-specific estimate. The condo versus co-op guide covers the ownership questions to resolve.
What the buyer gives up
The restaurant depth of Brooklyn, the subway’s 24 hour service (the PATH runs all night on a reduced schedule, the ferries do not), the borough scale of the parks, and the Brooklyn idea of walking to a different neighborhood for dinner. Jersey City is also a city that is still being built: cranes in the Arts District and Journal Square, new towers on the waterfront, and a school system that is zoned by address and changes, which is why I confirm the assignment for every buyer I work with.
How I would spend the money right now
For a couple who works Downtown: a Paulus Hook two bedroom with parking in one of the mid rise buildings, or a tower home at 77 Hudson with the abatement modeled. For a buyer who wants a floor of a brownstone: Hamilton Park or Van Vorst, on a park block if the budget reaches, with the Grove Street PATH inside ten minutes. For a buyer who wants a whole house: the Van Vorst and Hamilton Park blocks, where the renovated houses trade between $2.4 million and $3.5 million and the ones needing work start near $1.8 million. The first call is where we match the budget to the block.
Related
The relocation hub · Manhattan to Hoboken, what $1.5 million buys · Real commute times from 12 buildings · Condo versus co-op · The Paulus Hook, Hamilton Park, and Exchange Place neighborhood pages · The 77 Hudson, Sugar House, Columbus House, and Dixon Mills guides
Written by Anthony Vetrano, Associate Broker, Hudson Agents team at Weichert, Realtors (Hoboken, NJ). NJ License #2076762.
Anthony works with buyers and sellers in Hoboken, Jersey City and surrounding Hudson County communities. View his transaction history and professional background.
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