“It’s too good to be true right now,” said Lino Silva, 63, a partner at TIBO Construction, describing his second career of flipping houses in Harrison, which began six years ago after 35 years of owning a liquor store and deli in neighboring East Newark. “You buy a property, knock it down, build it up, and it’s sold. Most of the time it’s being sold without it even being built yet.”

David Antunes recognized the potential in Harrison years ago, when he was living in Brooklyn and doing celebrity hairstyling at NBC. “I saw the renaissance was going to take place, and I totally wanted to be part of it,” said Mr. Antunes, 49, who grew up in Newark and bought a two-bedroom riverfront condominium in Harrison in 2007 for $485,000, opening a hair salon in town as well.

“It did take a while to get here,” he said. “But I’m so glad I’ve been a part of it.”

What You’ll Find

It’s a tale of two towns in this Hudson County municipality of close to 18,000 residents. North of the Interstate 280 overpass, the neighborhoods largely retain the feel of older urban towns in North Jersey: tightly packed blocks lined with two- and three-family homes (although many are being rebuilt), mixed with small apartment buildings, churches, shops and ethic restaurants. Harrison’s multifamily zoning makes single-family houses relatively scarce.

Image 117 CROSS STREET | A two-family house with a total of five bedrooms and five bathrooms, built in 2019 on 0.06 acres, listed for $715,000. 973-204-0861 Credit... Laura Moss for The New York Times

South of the overpass, on Frank E. Rodgers Boulevard (named for a former mayor who served for nearly 50 years), are mid-rise, glass-and-steel rental buildings with names like 330 Harrison Station, Urby, Cobalt Lofts, Vermella and Steel Works, where residents enjoy outdoor pools, firepits, yoga classes and cafes. This area, sometimes called SoHa, also has two hotels and the mushroom-shaped Red Bull Arena, home to one of the area’s professional soccer teams.

Luis Pinto, a real estate agent with the Bixler Group, grew up in Harrison and has seen the town go through various changes over the years. “It’s always been an immigrant place — Peruvian, Portuguese, Spanish, Irish, Chinese, Italian, Pakistani, Nigerian,” said Mr. Pinto, 44, who is part of the once-predominant Portuguese community. “It’s very diverse, and everybody really likes each other.”