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Developer Proposes Recreation Center Next to Berry Lane Park

August 26, 2020/in Bergen Lafayette, header, Latest News, News /by Ron Leir

Project Would be Part of 17-Story Residential High-Rise

Jersey City could get its first municipal recreation center within the next couple of years as part of a deal being offered by nearby real estate developers.

The facility, a 22,000-square-foot, two-story structure, will include a gym, a rock climbing wall, a sauna, dance studios, music studios, and a food concession. For the more studious it will also feature computer labs and classrooms for STEM instruction. Adjacent to the center will be a 14,000-square foot structure accommodating eight “incubator” commercial working spaces for minority business enterprises (MBEs) anchored by two private retail businesses. Parts of the project will be 17 stories high.

The public package is part of a giveback pitch offered by a North Bergen-based developer seeking Jersey City’s approvals for construction of “Morris Canal Park Manor,” a 3.3-acre, 361-unit residential high-rise and parking garage that would border Berry Lane Park at Communipaw Avenue and Woodward Street in Ward F.

No tax abatements are being sought by the developer, and the part of the property dedicated to what has been tentatively called the Frederick Douglass STEM Recreation Center, valued at $900,000, will be deeded to the city.

As for the residential part of the project, the developer, Skyline Development Group, anticipates that 18 units will be designated as “affordable” as defined by federal income standards; the balance will be market rate.  Skyline’s most recent project is the Solaia, a 70-unit, 14-story condominium tower off River Road in North Bergen which just “topped off,” real-estate lingo for having had its highest story built.

The proposed Jersey City venture, whose development cost is projected to be $175 million, would displace the sprawling MacElroy Steel Co., a 150-year-old business specializing in fabricating steel parts for marine operations and, according to Skyline CEO Lou Mont, that had made the bolts for the George Washington Bridge.

Part of the business is still functioning, Mont said.

According to Mont, if the project is approved, Skyline would preserve one of the MacElroy structures—a two-story brick building fronting on Communipaw—to use as a temporary construction office and then convert it to a “market retail” business, possibly a bar and eatery.

The proposed garage would have a capacity for 284 spaces, including 40 reserved for members of the public using the center.

Mont said that test samples taken at the site showed no evidence of dangerous toxins but that there had been evidence of “some petroleum hot spots.” For this reason, some soil from the site has been removed and “a number of test wells” are being regularly monitored, Mont said.

“The only remaining issue,” according to Mont, “is that there is a minor amount of asbestos in three of the plant’s contiguous buildings that run along Woodward” that will need to be removed.

Also, to comply with environmental standards, Mont said Skyline will arrange for the project’s site to be capped with two feet of clean fill. With these measures, he added, the project “will easily meet the standards for residential development.”

The Church of God in Christ Temple, at the corner of Communipaw and Woodward, and two adjacent residential buildings would be spared from the wrecking ball if the project goes forward, Mont said.

Skyline’s plans call for a pathway through the middle of the Manor complex, leading from Communipaw to Berry Lane Park, along with a one-acre open space off of Woodward that could support such city-organized activities as  farmers’ markets or open-air concerts.

The site is a “federal opportunity zone but is currently zoned for industrial use. Mont said Skyline will ask the Jersey City Redevelopment Agency to consider amending the city’s redevelopment plan for the site to allow for residential and retail use. If the JCRA obliges, the proposed zoning change would go to the city council for ratification, and then the city planning board would be asked to schedule a site plan hearing, Mont said.

“We’re looking to spring or summer of 2021 to secure all our approvals,” he said. “We project this will be a two-year project, so summer 2023 would be the finish date. However, Mont added, once the project starts, “we anticipate the STEM/rec center to be completed ahead of the residential tower and MBE retail center.”

The residential tower features what Mont calls a “step down-tiered” design, calling for portions of the building to rise to varying elevations, from eight to 11 to 17 stories, as a means of being less intrusive on the surrounding neighborhood.

Ward F Councilman Jermaine Robinson said he welcomed the prospect of the city’s getting its first municipal rec complex. “I’ve always said children are our future, and while kids don’t vote, I feel I’m elected to be the voice of the voiceless. The big question is, ‘how do we fund this for the future?’ and the answer is probably going to be grants.”

Robinson said he’s already met with the city’s newly reorganized recreation division, representatives of the JCRA, and the city’s business administrator “to start the ball in motion” identifying grant programs that may be tapped.

As for the types of programs the city will be offering at the center, Robinson said: “The community is going to dictate what goes in there. I’m putting all hands on deck to get input on that.”

For more Ward F news, click here.

Canal Greenway Construction Set For Next Spring

August 17, 2020/in Downtown, Greenville, header, Latest News, News, Westside /by Ron Leir

But Local Residents Fear Loss of Precious Parking Spaces

Jersey City pedestrians and cyclists hoping to enjoy a new inter-county greenway face resistance from some Greenville residents looking to preserve coveted curbside parking spaces.

The project would be the final link in what historians, environmentalists and government planners envision as the Morris Canal Greenway, a continuous pedestrian and bicycle route that would follow the path of the former historic waterway.

That path would extend more than 100 miles—close to 70 miles of off-road trails and 41 miles of on-road or road-side trails—through six New Jersey counties stretching from Phillipsburg in Warren County to Jersey City in Hudson County.

Beginning in 1831, barges on the canal hauled coal and various other products that fueled the Industrial Revolution. The canal, which featured 23 locks and 23 inclined planes, continued in service until 1924 when railroads supplanted water trafficking of cargo. Canal properties were sold to municipalities and private owners.

In recognition of the key role it played in American transportation, the Morris Canal District was placed on the state and federal registers of historic places in the early 1970s.

In 2005, the Morris Land Conservancy and Canal Society of New Jersey set in motion plans for the Greenway by identifying canal properties for preservation. Thereafter, county and state governments began funding plans and studies to implement the proposal. To date, nearly 40 miles of the greenway have been built.

Morris Canal Plaque

Jersey City’s segment of the greenway—about 8.5 miles long—will traverse its western and southern edges in a sweeping loop starting at the edge of Lincoln Park parallel to Rt. 440, passing through part of Country Village and Mercer Park, following Caven Point Road, Garfield Avenue, Gates Avenue, Princeton Avenue, Berry Lane Park, and Carbon Street and ending at the edge of Liberty State Park.

The city has received a $3.5 million state department of transportation grant for the first phase of the project. It also got $800,000 from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to clean up certain areas. Lighting and street cameras will figure in the final design. Work is expected to begin in Spring 2021.

Part of the project’s complexity involves the design of 10-foot-wide bike paths along streets in residential neighborhoods where curbside parking is frequently at a premium. City aides are reviewing different options for configuring dimensions of those pathways as they intersect those neighborhoods.

When the city provided a recent greenway update in a public Zoom presentation, several residents of Princeton Avenue in Greenville voiced fears that the proposed special lanes between Brown Place and Winfield Avenue for walkers and bikers would displace needed parking spaces on the block.

“Biking and walking are great,” said Andrea Spencer, “but those plans shouldn’t be to the detriment of people who live in the neighborhood already. I need my car too.”

Even more emphatic was resident Pam Johnson, who said, “Biking isn’t the answer. We have lots of seniors and retirees who don’t bike who enjoy gathering on our block. We don’t necessarily want to see [strangers] gathering on Princeton. You need to be careful.”

Ward A Councilwoman Denise Ridley said the city recently designated residential permit parking for the area next to the Light Rail station at Princeton and Danforth Avenues to try to save spaces for residents frustrated by people who park there, take the train “and leave their cars there all day.”

For that reason, she said, “I would not favor removing parking spaces” to clear the way for the proposed bikeways.

Other portions of the greenway pose similar threats to neighborhood curbside parking.

The proposed Mercer Park to Caven Point Road link—a route that traverses Merritt Street, Garfield Avenue, Gates Avenue, Princeton Avenue and Linden Avenue—would see its total of 264 currently available parking spaces cut by 22–54 percent; the proposed Communipaw Avenue to Pacific Avenue stretch, which proceeds from behind the Whitlock Cordage plant on Maple Street to Van Horne Street to Carbon Street to Pacific, would take comparable hits to its existing total of 72 spaces, depending on final design choices, city figures show.

To ensure full public participation in the decision-making process, Ward F Councilman Jermaine Robinson said, “We should give all affected neighborhoods advance notice which parking spaces will be impacted because parking is the biggest concern in this city. And the sooner, the better—definitely before it gets to the construction stage.”

One resident excited about the prospect of the greenway’s coming to fruition is Patrick Conlon, president of Bike JC, a nonprofit advocacy group for bicycling. “People will enjoy having this space available to exercise,” he said. And, he suggested, in neighborhoods where bike lanes are located, “property values may benefit.”

In response to questions about the project’s design, time table, projected usage, and cost to the city, mayoral spokesperson Kimberly Wallace-Scalcione said:

“There will be sufficient room to accommodate pedestrians, bicyclists, and the like.  The design of the bikeways depends on each individual street. We expect segments to be paid by the grants.  Plans are still being finalized, but we fully expect the Greenway to be widely utilized as this is a great way to expand opportunities for our residents and all those uniquely connected across the state by the Greenway.”

For more information about the project, readers can visit www.jcnj.org/morriscanalgreenway and http://morriscanalgreenway.org.

For other recent news about public parking in Jersey City, readers can visit this Jersey City Times article.

Photo of Morris Canal courtesy of Morris Canal Working Group.

News Briefs

Jersey City will file an amicus brief with the U.S. Supreme Court in support of Newark’s argument that a Police Civilian Complaint Review Board with proper powers should be allowed in NJ.

 

 

Hudson County Community College has been named the recipient of a one-year, $850,000 investment from the JPMorgan Chase. The investment will be utilized for a program the College developed to address the challenges of the economic crisis in Hudson County that were brought about by the COVID-19 pandemic. The program is designed to provide lasting improvement in the County’s workforce ecosystem.

Mayor Steven Fulop and the Jersey City Economic Development Corporation (JCEDC) have launched the latest round of emergency funding to provide over $2.5 million in direct aid and support to Jersey City’s neediest residents, regardless of immigration status. The city will partner with  York Street, Women Rising, United Way, and Puertorriqueños Asociados for Community Organization. 

Mayor Steven Fulop is joining forces with Uber to announce a new agreement that will expand residents’ access to COVID-19 vaccinations with free Uber rides to and from Jersey City vaccination sites. Phase 1B includes essential frontline workers and seniors 75 years old and over.

The federal Paycheck Protection Program, which offers businesses loans that can be forgivable, reopened on January 11th. The revised program focuses first on underserved borrowers – minority- and women-owned businesses.

Keep abreast of Jersey City Covid-19 statistics here.

Governor Murphy has launched a “Covid Transparency Website” where New Jerseyans can track state expenditures related to Covid.  Go here.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Upcoming Events

Tue 26

Curators Choice 2020 Virtual Exhibition

October 1, 2020 - February 1, 2021
Tue 26

January LSP History Programs: History of the CRRNJ Terminal

January 26 @ 1:30 pm - 2:30 pm
Jersey City NJ
United States
Tue 26

Live From Surgery: Kidney Transplant

January 26 @ 4:00 pm - 5:00 pm
Wed 27

Jersey City Municipal Council Meeting

January 27 @ 6:00 pm - 10:00 pm
Jersey City NJ
United States
Wed 27

Climate Change and Sustainability Youth Forum

January 27 @ 6:45 pm

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