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Well, they've already taken the Arts out of the Powerhouse Arts District.

You take out the Powerhouse and what have you got left?

The District?

Can the Real Estate agents sell that?
That's the question.

Now this is a landmark I'd love to see saved. The problem is the building is in absolutely terrible shape. Years of neglect and exposure to the weather because of the open (gone) windows have left the structure of the building terribly unsafe.

I remember talking to some of the construction workers there years ago the last time they were inspecting it for whatever reason (light rail construction maybe?) and asking them about it. Pieces are constantly falling, the supports are badly rusted and worn, and with the trees going on the roof, the roots are eating into the top of it pretty seriously. In their opinion (take that for whatever you think it's worth) the building would fall down on its own in a couple of decades, tops.

The design is awesome, and it would be great if something could be done to restore it, but given the restoration costs and the hazards involved in simply being inside the structure, I don't think anything will end up working in its favor.

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didnt trumps casinos go bankrupt? besides, AC has a strangehold on casinos in the state.. theyre doing bad enough as it is, i dont think they'd want any competing business from up north

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Cordish did a great job with that Powerhouse on the Inner Harbor in Baltimore. I visited their offices their. Amazing space.

Turn it into the worlds biggest dollar store, this would fit in perfectly.

Tear it down and build! a basketball court!

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Yeah.

Look at the great things Casinos have done for Atlantic City!

Or Las Vegas.

Maybe a portion of the profits could go toward supporting a first-class public school system, like the state lottery does.

Several goals could be accomplished if you segment it into different bits:

* Turn it into a first-class greenhouse, like Kew Gardens. I will not use this forum to give my full spiel on how much I love greenhouses, and how the Powerhouse-to-Greenhouse idea, whatever its financing and practicality, is the most poetic re-use of former industrial space I could imagine. The naming alone presents a succinct and beautiful face-lift. Also, the suggestion that power - political, economic, and power for production - can be gained from greens, that is, from solar, biofuels, and "smart development" makes a perfect transition from America and Jersey City's industrial past to the promise of it's green future. I could go on about this, but will not. Such a plan could incorporate some of the ideas below, and you see the building already has lots of windows, and the roof could be glass I'm sure, like any greenhouse or the Bundestag.

* A library. Knowledge is power.

* Rooftop gardens and/ or restaurant, which can be rented and catered for parties, banquets, weddings, etc.

* Indoor farmers market sounds like an interesting idea, but perhaps cannot stand alone. The Cleveland example looks good. This could be part of the greenhouse.

* Or, try to do a model like the Baltimore set-up or the Chelsea Market. http://chelseamarket.com/history

* There ought to be a balance of commercial and public space, and I could see office space geared for particular industries (architects, engineering firms, graphic designers, etc.).

* Not a Barnes and Noble. So boring an idea.

* Or, a casino. Yes, I'm serious. It is next to the Trump bldg, so the idea isn't so far-fetched. It would fill our hotels, restaurants, and etc. with tourists, and New Yorkers would be throwing their money around. Of course, there are downsides.

Make the space a destination that people want to come to from outside the city.Then they eat in nearby places and shop in our stores.It could have multi uses but as an anchor i think
it would make a great venue for a curc de solei (mis spelled i know) type show.
Imagaine passing by those giant windows and catching a glimpse of the performers on trapeze.

We Need Entertainment Venues in Jersey City.The Loews,the Stanley and the Powerhouse could be some of those things.

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Great idea, like the JC Museum that no one goes to, or LSC that needs $2.5M to stay afloat.

Bull-doze it - it has so many fractures in it that it would cost a siht load to repair.
The land could be converted into a state of the art, City gallery with studio space, supplies etc. The building could be some trendy thing like the Science Museum and a tourist draw card.

Turn it into a wallmart or a NASCAR race track.

Yes, The Cordish Company will be the developer of the Jersey City Powerhouse. Their corporate offices are the top floor of the "Powerplant" on the Inner Harbor in Baltimore, MD.
www.cordish.com

Condos with granite counter tops and stainless steel appliances...

I thought that the same company that renovated the powerhouse in Baltimore were also doing the one in JC. Is this not happening anymore?

http://www.jclandmarks.org/campaign-powerhouse.shtml

Since the mayoral candidates of Jersey City have been posed the question ?What would you do with the Powerhouse?? I?m curious to know what we local residents would like to see done with this historic space.

It could be the new center of downtown, drawing residents walking from Newport/Pavonia, Hamilton Park, VVP Park, Harsimus Cove, Paulus Hook, plus the adjacent light rail station would provide access to Hoboken/Bayonne and all other lightrail points north and south.

If anyone knows the square footage of the powerhouse, please post it, as this would be helpful in possibly breaking up the space into multiple uses.

My personal opinion is the following:

1.) Allocate 30% of the space to a permanent, year round indoor farmers market. Since NJ is the Garden State, shouldn?t we have access to year round locally grown and produced products? I?m not suggesting boutique high-end specialty market (as in Soho) but rather a basic, cement floor, hose it down at the end of the day, rentable space by week or month, for tri-state based farms and purveyors of meats, fish, cheeses, fruits, vegetables, plants and flowers. Similar spaces exist in many other major cities, and many have thrived for over 100 years. Perhaps start it as a weekend only market, and expand to additional days once it catches on. In the meantime, the local small weekday downtown park farmers markets could continue to operate during the summer months. I?ve visited Eastern Market in Detroit many times, and am jealous we don?t have something like this here. The prices are cheaper then supermarkets, since you cut out the middleman, and the sheer volume of competitors creates a nice supply and demand fair pricing system.

For examples, please look at:
West Side Market in Cleveland http://www.westsidemarket.org/tour.html
Eastern Market in Detroit http://www.detroiteasternmarket.com/

2.) Allocate 30% of the space for artists and craft people, woodworkers, candlemakers, again with temporary rentable space, and/or tables, as is done in the Christmas Markets in Manhattan.

3.) Rent out 20% of the space for 2 anchor restaurants with outdoor seating.

4.) Allocate 20% of the space for a performing art venue.

Again, not knowing the actual square footage, or construction options, this is just an estimate, which of course would need to be adjusted. But oh, to dream.

So what would you do?