Developer Breaks Ground on $70M Luxury Residential Building

Fort Lee borough officials joined representatives from developer BNE Real Estate Group Wednesday at a groundbreaking ceremony on a new $70 million luxury residential building near the George Washington Bridge.

The 12-story building—located at 2050 Central Rd.—is called “Twenty50” and will include 194 one- and two-bedroom rental units. The building is slated for completion by September 2013.

Senior Vice President of BNE Jonathan Schwartz, who was joined by BNE partners Howard S. Schwartz, Larry Pantirer and Alan Pines, thanked Fort Lee Mayor Mark Sokolich and members of the Borough Council and Fort Lee Planning and Zoning Boards for attending, and said the company was “thrilled.”

Schwartz said the project, which has “gone through much iteration,” would benefit “the community at large.”

“We believe that the end result is one that will provide a spectacular lifestyle choice for both current Fort Lee residents looking for a new alternative, and those future residents moving into this thriving community,” Schwartz said. “The building will offer a host of upscale amenities like 24-hour doorman and concierge, pool and gathering areas. We hope to be moving our first residents in sometime around the fall of 2013.”

Citing Fort Lee Councilman Joseph Cervieri, Sokolich said Twenty50 is the first new high-rise project in Fort Lee in 22 years.

“It’s been a long time coming, and we’re very, very proud to be the host community for this type of development,” Sokolich said, adding that “even in these economic times, we try to make sure that our community is inviting to projects such as this.”

Sokolich, who also acknowledged that “just across the street” the borough is “trying to get [Redevelopment Area 5] off the books and get that going,” called Wednesday’s groundbreaking an “indication that times are changing.”

“It’s an indication that we are going in the right direction,” he said. “It’s an indication that Fort Lee is still a place to develop and to make sure that folks are in a position to raise their families and live as good a lifestyle as possible.”

Fort Lee Councilman Harvey Sohmer told Patch the project dates back to 2000, when he served on the Planning Board.