Edgell of Green Villian to paint MPI 48-58 Sip Avenue

Jersey City, NJ Margules Properties Inc., (MPI), a New York-based real estate investment firm, has turned to local graffiti artists to bring art and color to a downtown building they purchased earlier this year. Margules Properties CEO Eric Margules hired Gregory Edgell, founder of Green Villian, a local arts organization that has painted over 22 murals in Jersey City, Paterson, New York City and Brooklyn, to paint a mural on the 5,000 s/f storefront property at 48-58 Sip Ave. Margules also owns the adjacent 60-64 Sip Ave., a 64-unit multifamily building with eight retail stores on the ground floor. Combined, the two buildings take up over 280 feet of retail frontage on Sip Ave., less than two blocks from the PATH train in Jersey City. “Greg and his artists are known for turning bleak building fronts into attractive and colorful cityscapes,” added Margules. “Teaming up with Greg, we thought our conspicuously bland building could really make a statement.” On each property, Edgell’s artists paint a hashtag (for example, #GVM004) which allows people to learn more about the works, interact with the artists and other photographers, geo-tag and find other murals close by, and most importantly create a thread of continuity through the project as a whole. “We want to create an outdoor gallery experience,” said Edgell. “We are in the early stages of developing a mobile app as well.” Edgell strongly believes he has a social obligation and creative vision to change Jersey City. He hopes that the Green Villain global level art program he created in Jersey City can be executed in other cities going through similar redevelopment phases like Paterson, Newark and Trenton. “The urban renewal process in post-industrial cities is fascinating for us,” said Edgell. Margules, an avid art lover who plans to buy more properties and build his company’s presence in Jersey City,  also purchased art from one of the artists who painted his building. “These artists are amazing,” said Margules. “I wanted to showcase their work and bring back a piece of Jersey City to my New York office on Park Avenue.” “Both of these properties are in a great area, near several new residential and commercial developments in Jersey City, ” said Margules. “The fact that it is adjacent to a building we already own, will enable us to combine lots to significantly increase the development potential. We will look to buy  more properties to further build our presence in Jersey City.”