JERSEY CITY -- Just call it Kushner Square?

Kushner Companies announced today that it has bought the vacant One Journal Square in Jersey City, the site of a long-delayed project that was once set to house 1,500 rental units and 150,000 square feet of retail space in two 60-story towers mere steps from the Journal Square PATH station.

Kushner, headed by CEO Jared Kushner, partnered 50/50 with KABR Group to purchase the property for $27 million, the companies announced today. The two entities are also developing a site across the street -- 30 Journal Square, the former headquarters of The Jersey Journal -- into a 40-story residential tower.

The One Journal Square project had previously been called City Centre Towers, located on a 1.5-acre site that was once home to the Hotel on the Square. The hotel and surrounding structures were demolished in 2009 to make way for the two towers.

At the time, then-Mayor Jerramiah Healy said the City Centre Towers would be a "great step forward" for Jersey City, but the lot has remained vacant since then.

Mayor Steve Fulop said his administration has been working for a year on getting plans moving for One Journal Square. New renderings haven't been released yet, but Fulop said he's confident that new ownership for the site will lead to construction soon.

"We couldn't be more excited, it's a huge thing," he told The Jersey Journal. "We don't expect people to be doing cartwheels, because they've heard this story before."

Jared Kushner and KABR are also developing a 50-story, $194 million luxury residential tower at 65 Bay St. Downtown.

Around the corner from One Journal Square, KRE Group, headed by President Jonathan Kushner, is building Journal Squared, a three-tower project at the top of Magnolia Avenue. The first phase of that $666 million development, a 53-story tower, is set for completion next year. In total, the three towers will house over 1,800 units and 36,000 square feet of retail space.

Jared and Jonathan are first cousins, sons of feuding brothers Charles and Murray. Murray Kushner is chair of KRE Group.

One Journal Square, the property now owned by Kushner and KABR, is a different site than One Journal Square Plaza, located on Kennedy Boulevard and Cottage Street.

Terrence T. McDonald may be reached at tmcdonald@jjournal.com. Follow him on Twitter @terrencemcd. Find The Jersey Journal on Facebook.