The Cove JC: Global hub for life science, tech and medicine in Jersey City

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The Cove JC, a global hub for life science, tech and medicine, officially launched on April 19 in a joint venture announced between Argent Ventures and H&R REIT.

The offering is set to become a flagship destination for academic and commercial life science, tech and medical entities in New Jersey and the Greater New York Metropolitan Area. Groundbreaking is slated for 2022.

The Cove’s geographic location benefits from the largest concentration of biomedical engineers and scientists in the world. Upon completion, the mixed-use campus will encompass more than 13 acres, comprising 1.4 million square feet of lab/tech office space and 1.6 million square feet of residences with ample room for parking. It also includes a waterfront park that brings the outdoors in and the indoors out — for tenants, residents and the Jersey City community alike. It will be filled with greenery and vertical gardens, eye-catching biophilic design pieces, event spaces and terraces.

The ground-up development is being designed by Ennead Architects with Nancy J Kelley + Associates leading marketing and leasing for the property.

“We are very excited to realize this unequaled vision for a new 21st-century community,” said Clay McPhail, vice president of acquisitions and asset management at Argent Ventures. “The Cove has the scale to be truly transformative not only economically, but also ecologically. The views are phenomenal and the location at the crux of downtown Jersey City and Liberty State Park just can’t be matched. It’s going to be a great place to work and live.”

Connected to New York City and New Jersey and served by three international airports, The Cove is situated on the Hudson River at the mouth of New York Harbor. It reimagines city life by bringing people what they need and want closer together: Flexible, state-of-the-art workspaces alongside residences, expansive parkland, connections to multiple transit options and retail, restaurants and bars.

‘The Cove will be a transformational next generation mixed-use environment, an interconnected smart city hub where live, work and play all take place within a 15-minute walking radius,” said Peter Schubert, partner at Ennead Architects. “Designed as a holistic approach to urban living, outside spaces and terraces are integrated throughout all programs, as are a variety of amenities, including a wellness and business research center.”

The campus will be developed in multiple phases. The first phase encompasses two academic/laboratory/teaching facilities and a commercial life science building totaling up to 833,899 square feet of space. The first academic building will include seven floors comprised of a spectrum of life science and teaching uses, including laboratory/office space for companies at all stages of growth, a state-of-the-art digital conference center, a convergence café, and core facilities designed for biomedical engineering, clinical drug discovery and other translational uses. The commercial building will include laboratory and office space, as well as street-level retail.

The plan also calls for a publicly accessible 3.5-acre waterfront park linked to the Hudson River Waterfront Walkway.

The project’s second phase calls for two commercial laboratory/office buildings totaling 596,000 square feet just north and east of Phase I. Residential construction will be a multiphase development as well.