All renderings courtesy of Kushner unless otherwise noted

Construction is finally underway at Kushner’s huge One Journal Square project in Jersey City. The nearly $1 billion mixed-use development consists of two 710-foot-tall towers with more than 1,700 rentals and 45,000 square feet of amenities and public space, including a new Target location as its anchor tenant. The developer was joined by Jersey City Mayor Steven Fulop during a groundbreaking ceremony at the Journal Square site on Thursday.

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Photo by Eden, Janine and Jim on Flickr

Joshua Kushner and Karlie Kloss are in contract to buy the largest penthouse at the historic Puck Building, a condo project in Nolita developed by the venture capitalist’s family’s real estate company. As first reported by the Wall Street Journal, Penthouse 1 measures an incredible 7,241 square feet and contains five bedrooms, seven and a half baths, and sprawling outdoor space. The final sales price hasn’t been released, but the home was last listed for $42.5 million.

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All renderings by Woods Bagot

After sitting vacant for over a decade, a large site in Jersey City’s Journal Square will soon be home to two 710-foot towers with over 1,700 units of housing. The Jersey City Planning Board on Tuesday approved Kushner Companies’ controversial One Journal Square project, signaling the beginning of the end of this development saga. The approval came after the city and the developer reached a settlement agreement last October over a lawsuit filed in 2018 against the city by Kushner Companies, run by the family of White House advisor Jared Kushner, that claimed officials stalled the project over “anti-Trump” sentiment.

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Left: Photo by David Shankbone on Wikimedia; Right: Rendering by Hayes Davidson for Brookfield Properties

Hoping to start a new chapter for the problem-plagued tower, Brookfield Asset Management has unveiled its plan to overhaul 666 Fifth Avenue. The 41-story Midtown office building will undergo a $400 million overhaul designed by Kohn Pedersen Fox Associates, including a new glass exterior, floor-to-ceiling windows, revamped rooftop spaces, and updated mechanical systems, as the Wall Street Journal first reported. And separating itself further from its past, the building’s address will now be 660 Fifth Avenue. New details this way

Image by Jorbasa Fotografie / Flickr 

Recent news of Kushner Companies’ filing of false documents outlining the residential makeup of their buildings in order to get construction permits has prompted a closer look at the practice, which, according to Politico, has been rampant among New York City property owners for years with few consequences. Last month the Department of Buildings fined Kushner Companies $210,000 for repeatedly submitting inaccurate paperwork. Tenant advocacy group Housing Rights Initiative (HRI) will release a report Monday outlining how landlords filed more than 10,000 deceptive PW1s (Plan/Work Applications) in the span of two and a half years.

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237 Henry Street via Google Earth

Kushner Companies, run by the family of Donald Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner, allegedly falsified construction permits as a way to remove rent-regulated tenants from their New York City buildings, the New York Times reported. The city’s Department of Buildings on Monday fined the Kushner Cos. $210,000 for 42 violations of submitting false applications across 17 buildings. According to a tenant activist organization, Michael Cohen, Trump’s former attorney, also falsified documents at three of his properties in Manhattan at 237 Henry Street, 172 Rivington Street and 235 East 27th Street.

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Rendering via Morris Adjmi Architects

Gov. Andrew Cuomo on Monday launched an investigation into allegations of tenant harassment by Kushner Companies at the Austin Nichols House in Williamsburg. The announcement comes on the same day a group of 19 current and former residents of the building are set to file a $10 million lawsuit against the company for creating unlivable conditions from construction noise and dust and pushing them out to make room for condo buyers. The company, run by the family of Donald Trump’s son-in-law and senior advisor Jared Kushner, purchased the 338-unit property at 184 Kent Avenue in 2015, and has since sold or emptied 75 percent of the rent-stabilized apartments, the Associated Press reported.

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Old rendering of One Journal Square via KABR Group

A partnership headed by Charles Kushner filed a lawsuit in federal court in Jersey City Wednesday, blaming the mayor’s “political animus” toward all things Trump–and, therefore, Kushner–for sending the company’s residential complex into default earlier this year. According to the New York Times, the suit claims that Jersey City Mayor Steven Fulop issued a default against the $900 million development in order to “appease and curry favor with the overwhelmingly anti-Trump constituents of Jersey City.”

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Google Street View of 666 Fifth Avenue

Kushner Companies has agreed to purchase the remaining 49.5 percent stake in 666 Fifth Avenue from Vornado Realty Trust for $120 million, nearly wrapping up the drawn-out saga of the problem-plagued condo tower. According to the Wall Street Journal, Vornado said the contract with Kushner is expected to close in the third quarter of this year and is conditional and “there can be no assurance that this transaction will be completed.”

Kushner Cos. first purchased the 41-story building in 2007 for a record $1.8 billion, but the economic recession created enormous financial strain for the company. To help restructure the building’s major debt, they brought in Vornado, which purchased the stake in the building for $80 million and the assumption of half the property’s $1.2 billion mortgage in 2011.

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Google Street View of 666 Fifth Avenue

Update 4/9/18: Vornado announced on Friday that it reached a “handshake” deal to sell its stake at 666 Fifth Avenue back to the Kushner Cos, according to the New York Times. It remains unclear if the Kushners have found a new partner. Steven Roth, chairman of Vornado, in the filing, said the payment would cover the company’s investment: “The existing loan will be repaid including payment to us of the portion of the debt we hold.”

Kushner Cos. said this week it is in talks to buy the remaining 49.5 percent stake in 666 Fifth Avenue from Vornado Realty Trust, furthering the drama at the 41-story Midtown Manhattan office building, according to the Wall Street Journal. The tower has remained one of Kushner Cos. most financially troubled projects. In addition to its debt and high rates of vacancy, the building has been mired in controversy, mostly due to Jared Kushner’s role as a senior adviser and son-in-law to President Donald Trump. While Jared divested in the property to avoid conflicts of interest, investors have been reluctant from entering a deal with Kushner Cos.

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