City accepts new offer for 325 Palisade Ave.

Monday, April 02, 2007
By KEN THORBOURNE
JOURNAL STAFF WRITER

Jersey City took a $300,000 bath, but 325 Palisade Ave. is sold.

The Jersey City council voted last Wednesday to allow the sale of the three-story brick building to Due Vecchio, LLC, of West Caldwell, for $2.1 million - $300,000 less than the city paid for the property 18 years ago.

Even though the property is fetching less than it did nearly two decades ago, the selling price represents a $245,000 improvement over the winning $1.85 million bid Due Vecchio made for the property at an auction sale last August.

In October, the council - led by Ward D Councilman William Gaughan - refused to sanction the sale.

But Due Vecchio took the city to court, asserting the company had played by all the rules and won the bid fair and square.

The city filed a successful motion for summary judgment, and the complaint was dismissed in January.

But in February, Due Vecchio appealed to the Superior Court Appellate Division. With that decision pending - and bent on adding revenue to this year's budget - city officials decided to accept Due Vecchio's latest offer.

The city saved nearly $300,000 in rent over the 18-year period it owned the building and it would take hundreds of thousands of dollars to renovate it, officials said. Wednesday's vote to grant the sale was 8-0, with Ward C Councilman Steve Lipski absent.