20 acres of ick to be gold patch

Thursday, December 20, 2007
By PAUL KOEPP
JOURNAL STAFF WRITER

The state will give Jersey City up to $15 million to clean up a 20-acre parcel next to the Jersey City Medical Center for eventual development as a mixed-use community, city officials said yesterday.

Under the grant - set to be announced this morning at City Hall - the city will receive $5 million each year for the next three years from the state Department of Environmental Protection's Hazardous Discharge Site Remediation Fund, through the Jersey City Redevelopment Agency, officials said.

The site, called the Grand Jersey Redevelopment Area, is envisioned as a "gateway to Liberty State Park" with housing, retail and open space, officials said. Located just west of the 80-acre Liberty Harbor mixed-use project, it's bounded by Grand Street, the New Jersey Turnpike and Jersey Avenue.

The Environmental Protection Agency performed an initial cleanup in April, removing more than 2,200 tons of contaminated soil and debris - including hundreds of buried and abandoned barrels of waste - according to the EPA's Web site.

In addition, barrels removed from the site in the early 1990s - some of which had leaked - contained hazardous substances including laboratory wastes, sludge, powdered dyes, scrap metal and petroleum products, according to the EPA.

"The city stands to gain a tremendous land asset which has been dormant for years," said JCRA Executive Director Robert Antonicello in a news release.

Mayor Jerramiah T. Healy added that the cleanup "is pivotal to the success of the entire area."

The JCRA's plans for the site include a parking garage, more than 1,000 residential units - in three 30-story high-rises and two five-story buildings - and open space, according to the JCRA Web site. The JCRA is also considering a restoration project for nearby Mill Creek.

City officials said the state's designation of the parcel as a Brownfield Development Area elevates it to high-priority status.

That area is a dump. Clean it up asap. The marina smell can be overpowering at times.

Quote:

Great. More speeding cars on Jersey and Montgomery.

This will open up and complete the road and car access along Jersey Avenue.

thats good news. I was wondering why no one was scooping that site up as fast as possible.

City to get $15 million for development near Liberty State Park

Jersey Journal
by Paul Koepp
December 19

The state will give Jersey City up to $15 million to clean up a 20-acre parcel next to the Jersey City Medical Center for eventual development as a mixed-use community, city officials said today.

The grant will make the city eligible for $5 million each year for the next three years from the state Department of Environmental Protection's Hazardous Discharge Site Remediation Fund, through the Jersey City Redevelopment Agency, officials said.

The site, called the Grand Jersey Redevelopment Area, is envisioned as a "gateway to Liberty State Park" with housing, retail and open space, officials said. Located just west of the 80-acre Liberty Harbor mixed-use project, it's bounded by Grand Street, the New Jersey Turnpike and Jersey Avenue.