At Jersey City Urby, curated amenities are the draw, not an add-on

After opening its amenity-packed rental on Staten Island’s North Shore last summer, Urby has made a name for itself as a Utopic destination where renters need not stray from the premises to source local produce or partake in activities like cooking classes. The all-inclusive atmosphere is accomplished to a T, down to the lobby-as-community-coffee-shop. Ironstate Development and Roseland Residential Trust, a subsidiary of Mack-Cali Realty, have extended their vision for this kind of communal living to Jersey City, where the first of three Urby towers now stands at 713 feet.

The 762 existing rentals of Jersey City Urby hit the market in late February, with studios priced from $2,000/month. That price point has long since expired as the building’s leased inventory now teeters around 50 percent. Available rentals now start at $2,500/month for studios, $3,100/month for one-bedrooms, and $3,800/month for two-bedrooms. The apartments aren’t spacious, with floorplans ranging from about 400 to 1,000 square feet, but they are efficient, owing to perfectly executed design direction by Dutch firm Concrete.

Zoe Rosenberg

The point with Urby is to enjoy, in equal parts, both your own private quarters and the building’s communal amenities. In a tour of the property, Ironstate CEO David Barry lauded the lobby’s coffee shop, operated by Jersey City purveyor Bar 9, and accompanying space as an extension of a private living room, where Urby residents and their visiting friends can relax in a low-pressure atmosphere.

These kinds of spaces are available to Urby residents and their guests throughout the building: An outdoor deck on the ninth floor offers a heated saltwater outdoor pool and seating, cabanas, a fire pit, and a grilling station. On the same floor, a gym with a stretching area, and a communal kitchen that will host events like cooking classes and wine tastings can also be found.

On the 68th floor, with stunning views of Lower Manhattan and New York Harbor, is the Urby Creative Lab, a corner one-bedroom that’s staged as a space for small workshops like flower arranging and Feng Shui. Some of the amenities may border on kitsch—the Scientist-in-Residence, for example—but it all fits together in the perfectly curated wonderland that Concrete has created. The building will also become home to the first Ample Hills ice cream shop outside of New York City.

Urby will expand its portfolio with Urby Harrison, due to open later this year just outside of Newark.

Jersey City Urby

• Rentals at Urby's Jersey City skyscraper hit the market from $2,000/month [Curbed]
• Amenity-Packed Staten Island Rental Hopes to Lure Priced-Out Brooklynites [Curbed]