Jersey City Urby

Jersey City Urby is a residential tower complex in downtown Jersey City, New Jersey, United States, known for its Jenga-like appearance. The first tower was proposed in 2012 as URL Harborside, and later renamed to Jersey City Urby. The construction of the first tower began in 2014, and completed in 2017. At 700 ft, the 69-story tower is the fourth tallest building in New Jersey, as well as in Jersey City. It overtook Ocean Resort Casino in Atlantic City for the title of second place when it was completed, but moved down to fourth after the constructions of 99 Hudson Street and Journal Squared Tower 2 respectively. The company, Urby, also has five other locations such as Staten Island, Stamford, Dallas, Newark, and Harrison.

Originally planned to be a trio of three 69-story towers comprising 2,358 residential units, in 2022 a new proposal was approved which scaled back the Jenga appearance of the second and third towers. The new proposal has the two buildings being 677 feet with 1,606 residences, of which 164 hotel units are included. These units break down into 95 studios, 1,195 one-bedrooms, and 383 two bedrooms. The ground floor of the two towers would contain 32000 sqft of retail space split amongst five storefronts, of which one will face Hudson Street, two will face Bay Street, and two will face the pedestrian walkway facing Harborside 5. A 272-spot garage connecting the towers with valet parking is included, with an outdoor pool and landscaped garden hill on top the roof of the garage. Other amenities include a fitness center and indoor pool In July 2022, the city council gave approval of construction of two similar buildings in the complex.

In May 2024, Jersey City approved some slight changes to the development of Phase Two, which would reduce the number of units to 1,510 units, ground-level retail being reduced from five storefronts to four, some slight façade changes, and the addition of a dog park, outdoor seating with a café, and extra greenery. The plans for 164 hotel units and a 272-space valet parking garage with rooftop amenities remained unchanged. It is predicted that construction will begin in 2024, and that construction will begin with the base of the tower, followed by the construction of Tower Two, which will be followed by the construction of Tower Three once completed.

Similarly, in nearby Journal Square, a 317-unit, 25-story tower called Journal Square Urby was topped out in September 2023. The building will have similar amenities to the already existing tower complex in downtown.

Jersey City Urby Tower One
There are three types of apartments within the tower, including studio, one bedroom, and two bedrooms. The apartments have large windows for full city views. They contain their own washer and dryer, built-in storage, full amenities within the kitchen, and air conditioning. Rentals range from $3,217to $5,460.

Amenities
Most of the building's shared social space features are located on the 9th floor. This includes a 24/7 concierge service, a heated swimming pool, a pool patio, a BBQ, a green space, a fully equipped gym with classes, outdoor lounges with fire pits, a post room, the Urby Kitchen (a space dedicated to classes and events), filtered water stations, cultural events, food tasting and local chef Q&As throughout the year, and currently has two restaurants, Canard Cafe and DOMODOMO sushi.

Transportation
The complex is within a 10-minute walk of three PATH stations: Exchange Place, Grove Street, and Newport. The Harborside Hudson-Bergen Light Rail (HBLR) station is directly in front of the building. The Harborside Ferry Terminal, which operates the NY Waterway ferry, is located right next to the HBLR station as well, in addition to the Paulus Hook ferry terminal being a 10-minute walk away. Two Academy Bus Lines routes stop nearby.

Additionally, several NJ Transit bus lines stop near Urby, all of which stop at Exchange Place.