Excavation is underway for Artwalk Towers, two residential skyscrapers designed by Handel Architects at 808–813 Pavonia Avenue in Journal Square in Jersey City. Rising 49 and 55 stories, the development will deliver 1,189 rental units, a 6,194-square-foot gallery, and a café, with landscape design by Melillo Bauer Carman. The site, set against a steep eastern cliff overlooking the PATH tracks, is envisioned as a cultural and residential anchor for the district.
The project will be built in two phases: the southern tower at 813 Pavonia Avenue will contain 595 units, 244 parking spaces, and a café, while the northern tower at 808 Pavonia Avenue will house 594 units and 125 parking spaces. Excavation and foundation work are expected to continue into early 2026, with completion anticipated by late 2027. Architecturally, the twin skyscrapers share a cohesive massing of tiered rectangular forms rising from multistory podiums to rounded crowns that incorporate amenity and mechanical spaces. Brass-hued spandrels, PTAC windows, and metal louvers define their façades.
The project’s name, Artwalk Towers, reflects its integration of public art and open space, including an amphitheater, clocktower, and pedestrian walkway connecting Magnolia Plaza to the Lowes Jersey Theatre and John F. Kennedy Boulevard. Two sky bridges will link the base of the southern tower to the planned Centre Pompidou x Jersey City museum, reinforcing the area’s emerging cultural corridor. Financing was secured last fall through a US$175 million senior construction loan from Kennedy Wilson. Around the same time, KRE consolidated multiple parcels in Journal Square in a US$48.5 million acquisition, and committed US$3.5 million to the Journal Square Cultural Arts Fund, enabling the project to exceed the district’s 37-story height limit.
Replacing a former parking garage, Artwalk Towers is positioned within walking distance of the Journal Square PATH Station and will introduce new public plazas to enhance pedestrian access and cultural vitality at the heart of Jersey City’s ongoing urban resurgence.
Read more at New York YIMBY.