Daewoo E&C has finalized an investment in a residential development in Palisades Park, New Jersey, marking its full-scale return to the U.S. real estate market after approximately 20 years. The company stated it is shifting its North American strategy from acting as a contractor to participating directly as a developer through investment.
The firm will invest roughly $291 million in the West Ruby Avenue area of Bergen County. The project involves constructing an 18-story apartment complex containing 540 homes, along with parking facilities and neighborhood commercial spaces. DUSAI, Daewoo E&C’s U.S. investment subsidiary, will serve as a co-general partner alongside New York-based developer Tamares. The two entities plan to establish a joint venture and acquire the land by the end of July, with construction expected to begin in 2028 and the project complete by 2031.
The site is located approximately 30 minutes by car from Manhattan’s central business district and offers access to Newark International Airport and LaGuardia Airport. It sits adjacent to New Jersey’s Koreatown, one of the largest Korean communities in the United States. Company officials noted the location can attract both Manhattan commuters and residents from the local Korean community.
Daewoo E&C previously engaged in U.S. housing projects starting with a senior housing facility in Seattle in 1988 and the Trump World Tower in Manhattan in 1997, before effectively withdrawing from the North American market. The company established a local corporation in New York in 2023 and signed a memorandum of understanding last year for a mixed-use development in Prosper, Texas. Prosper is about 6 miles north of Frisco. The firm plans to pursue investment in that Texas project during the second half of the year.
The Palisades Park development represents an expansion of the housing capabilities Daewoo E&C accumulated in Korea and overseas mixed-use experience. The company has built housing business competitiveness centered on its Prugio and Summit brands in Korea and demonstrated overseas developer capabilities in Starlake City in Hanoi, Vietnam. A company official described the New Jersey project as the first to bring its domestic housing competitiveness and overseas experience to the U.S. market, aiming to operate as a global developer rather than a simple contractor.
