South Korean builder Daewoo E&C is launching a return to the United States property development sector by investing in a major residential project in New Jersey. The company announced that its board approved the investment in the Palisades Park housing development in Bergen County on 30 June. This move represents the first North American real estate development project for the firm in approximately 20 years.

The total cost for the Palisades Park development is estimated at $291 million, which is around 437.4 billion KRW. Plans for the West Ruby Avenue site involve building an 18-story apartment block containing 540 residential units, alongside dedicated parking spaces and local retail amenities. Located a 30-minute drive from the central business district of Manhattan, the site sits near New Jersey Koreatown and is within a 20-minute drive of LaGuardia and Newark International airports.

Daewoo USA Investment, the firm’s American investment arm, is participating as a co-general partner alongside Tamares, a specialised real estate developer based in New York. The entities intend to execute their joint venture agreement and finalise land acquisition by the end of July. Following investor recruitment and permitting, construction is scheduled to begin in 2028. The build process will take roughly 32 months, aiming for completion, operation and eventual sale in 2031.

This project marks a revival of the company’s US operations, which began with a senior housing project in Seattle in 1988 and included the Trump World Tower in Manhattan in 1997. The builder operated across New York and Texas until the mid-2000s, later setting up a new York subsidiary in 2023 to prepare for this return.

Additionally, Daewoo E&C plans to start the Prosper Mixed-Use Development Project in Texas during the second half of this year. Located in an affluent area with a median annual household income of approximately $190,000, that complex will feature luxury homes, hotels and corporate offices.

The business aims to build up its operational capacity as an international developer rather than acting as a traditional contractor. “The Palisades Park residential development project is highly significant as it is the first project to expand our top-tier housing business competitiveness, accumulated domestically, and our proven overseas real estate development capabilities through Vietnam’s Starlake City into the U.S. market,” a Daewoo E&C official said. “Going forward, we will continue to expand our development projects in major overseas real estate markets, including the U.S., based on strategic cooperation with excellent local partners, and secure new growth engines as a global developer.”