"Port Authority: Screwing the people of Jersey City in creative new ways since 1962".

The City is not delaying this project, it's the Port Authority. The Cordish Companies will develop the Powerhouse as soon as they gain ownership of the property. They've been waiting YEARS!

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Does anyone know if the plan to transform the warehouse confirmed and done deal or just a pipe dream at this point?

I have been looking at this building directly outside of my window for 3+ years, the progress has been snail paced. They would do a bit work for a few weeks, then the whole thing would stop for 6+ months, followed by another few weeks of work etc..

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I'll bite - what does this discussion have to do with "the Walmart mentality"?

Secondly, what exactly is "the Walmart mentality"?

Lastly, how does this mentality fit into the problem with "Jersey"?

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Make them smoke stacks/cell phone towers. Problem solved.

I disagree. It's a beautiful brick building. The multi-story arched windows are distinctive and are going to look terrific from the interior when the space is renovated. It's a shame the smokestacks can't be saved, but I don't think the renovation plans should be scrapped.

If the towers are coming down, I'm not really sure the point in wasting that time, money and land with what amounts to an ordinary brick building. That site was unique holistically, but the individual elements aren't all that special.

that's the problem with jersey - the walmart mentality. i would argue that replacing the towers, even if expensive, has numerous intangible benefits.

I think the loss of that architectual element is sad... and I agree with an earlier post... would be cool if they could inexpensively replicate the stacks - even if it's just two of them.

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Do you have an inside scoop as to who the winner will be in this year's J.C. mayoral race ?

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Correct. Perhaps Fulop will be able to do better with the Powerhouse Arts District than the dismal Healy administration has. A less perverse abatements policy could have helped fund work to develop the district.

I wonder if there is a lot of old stuff still inside?. http://www.jcpowerhouse.org/


This place in LA is cool looking? http://www.edisondowntown.com

I think it looks cooler with the smokestacks then it would without, but if they are unstable/unsafe, they have to go. I wonder if there is any way to replace them to emulate the originals? Or maybe that's a waste of money.

I have been in the restored powerhouse in Baltimore. Is our Powerhouse going to contain some of the same elements, such as retail, bars, and restaurants? I recall the Baltimore powerhouse being MASSIVE. I could be wrong but I don't think ours is as big...?

I'm all for historic preservation but those stacks do nothing for me. Is it considered an iconic emblem of JC?

(too bad..I am still pissed off that the big iconic Brunswick Laundry chimney was removed for the condo project years ago. Also a sad loss was the Trust Company of New Jersey sign up Journal Square)

Historic Jersey City smokestacks to be removed


By Terrence T. McDonald/The Jersey Journal The Jersey Journal
on March 26, 2013 at 3:19 PM,
updated March 26, 2013 at 3:40 PM

The iconic smokestacks on an historic warehouse in Downtown Jersey City are being removed, a development that city officials say leaves them saddened but hopeful about plans for the warehouse's future.

The Jersey City Redevelopment Agency is hoping to transform the H&M Powerhouse, on Washington Boulevard between First and Bay streets, into a $100 million arts mecca. But the smokestacks on the 100-year-old building could not be saved, officials said.

"Unfortunately, the removal of the smokestacks is something that is unavoidable at this time," said JCRA Executive Director Bob Antonicello. "The years of deterioration have undermined the stability of the stacks."

This week workers began erecting scaffolding on a side of the historic warehouse in anticipation of the removal of the smokestacks, which should be complete in about six weeks, officials said.

Mayor Jerramiah Healy said in a statement he?s confident the renovation of the warehouse will be a ?lynchpin? for the city?s Powerhouse Arts District.

Healy likened the structure to Baltimore?s Pratt Street Power Plant, a former factory in the city?s bustling Inner Harbor that was transformed into a home for businesses such as Barnes and Noble and Hard Rock Caf?.

"I was disappointed when advised that the smokestacks would have to come down, but encouraged by the hard work the agency has done in preserving this historic treasure of our city's industrial past," Healy said.

The Cordish Companies, which developed the Pratt Street Power Plant, is the designated developer of the Powerhouse.

JJ piece?.

http://www.nj.com/hudson/index.ssf/20 ... okestac.html#incart_river