I agree that those cobblestone streets are unique, but the surrounding structures? You can't be referring to the abandoned warehouses or commercial lease properties.

I would hate to see the loss of the cobblestone streets, they're unique just like the structures around them.

Putting the transformers INSIDE the Powerhouse building? I'd rather see them avoid that AND the triangle. It seems as though there is going to be a tug-of-war battle over the PAD Redevelopment plan for quite some time. I picked up a copy of the plan from 30 Montgomery, but I know there are bound to be more adjustments as Toll Brothers continues to leverage changes. Anybody have an opinion on what the fate of those cobblestone streets should be?

Wait, the Journal has a journalist called Hack!
How apt.

Fights over heights, history - and juice

Tuesday, January 15, 2008
By CHARLES HACK

JOURNAL STAFF REPORTER

As Jersey City's vision for a historic low-rise enclave for artists in the Powerhouse Arts District unravels, officials say they are drawing a line at two historic buildings.

The city is determined to preserve the height and character of the national landmark Powerhouse on Washington Street and the century-old Butler Brothers warehouse on Warren Street, said Bob Antonicello, executive director of the Jersey City Redevelopment Agency.

Jersey City's goal is to turn the Powerhouse into a retail and entertainment mecca, but the transformers that power the PATH trains from Newark to New York are currently on the property, owned jointly by the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey and the city.

The city wouldn't mind if the P.A. moved the transformers to city-owned land at Second Street and Washington Boulevard next to the Powerhouse, but open space advocates want that land kept for a park.

The other options are relocating the transformers within the Powerhouse site or relocating them to the Butler Brothers property across the street.

Bob Lehrer, owner of the 1905 brick Butler Brothers warehouse, at 350 Warren St., wants to shelve earlier plans for a single layer of penthouse suites atop his nine-story brick building, and instead build a 40-story residential tower atop the building.

But the city has balked at Lehrer's plan. If Lehrer agrees to relocation of the transformers to his property, the city will allow him an extra 100 feet in height on the development of the site he owns south the warehouse.

The city's focus on saving just those two historic buildings is under fire from both property owners and conservationists.

Jill Edelman, president of the Powerhouse Arts District Neighborhood Association, points to the Toll Brothers plan to build 40-story towers on the Manischewitz building property in exchange for preserving just part of the building's facade, saying it will lead other developers to demand the same.

"The city has shown itself as weak protecting their own laws," Edelman said. "I don't understand why the city is under the delusion that other developers wouldn't want to do the same thing."

Lehrer says he can't understand the city's stance, with Donald Trump's 55-story Trump Plaza, Lloyd Goldman's 52-story tower and now the Toll Brothers high-rise proposal all going up around him.

"Originally, this was the biggest building in the district and now it's going to be the smallest. That changes everything," Lehrer said in his office, at 350 Morgan St. "No one wants a penthouse in a valley."

Although the majority owners at the Port Authority refused to comment, city officials say that the Port Authority has agreed to let the Redevelopment Agency lead how the Powerhouse is redeveloped.

The Planning Board will be holding a public hearing on the development plan tomorrow at 5:30 p.m. at Middle School 4, at 111 Bright St.

=======================

For some only goal is a park

Tuesday, January 15, 2008

A city-owned, undeveloped triangular property next to Downtown's old Powerhouse has become a bargaining chip in the redevelopment of a national landmark and a century-old warehouse, officials said.

Ward E Councilman Steve Fulop says he is committed to supporting a group of local property owners who want the city to create a public park on the 18,000-square-foot site at Second and Washington streets.

But the Jersey City Redevelopment Agency wants the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey to consider the land as an option to relocate their transformers for PATH trains when the Powerhouse is converted into an entertainment and retail center.

Last year, the Port Authority released a draft report that concluded that it would cost $52 million to replace and relocate the transformers either within the Powerhouse or to a 10,000-square-foot space in the Butler Brothers building across the street.

The report did not consider the triangular plot. The Jersey City Redevelopment Agency and Port Authority expect to come out with another report looking at additional locations for the transformers in six months, says JCRA Director Robert Antonicello.

David Weltz, president of the Portofino Homeowners Association, whose high-rise is near the Powerhouse, said the members were promised that the mound of dirt on the site would be converted to a park, and said he is prepared to go to the next City Council meeting to lobby for open space.

"We worked hard to get a park there," Weltz said. "The last thing we would want as opposed to a park is electrical transformers."

Although Fulop backed down from plans to introduce a resolution at two recent council meetings that would add the land to the city's open space inventory, he wants the transformers buried below ground and supports a campaign to keep the land as open space.

CHARLES HACK