You know I'd actually like to see the City and County work together on this. Why not move the County building, courts, etc from Newark Ave, and perhaps sell that property off for private development, then invest it in the rebuild of court, County offices and City annex around the hub on MLK?

Boggiano doesn't want the county redevelopment in his ward - why not move it somewhere that could really benefit?

The first reading for this came before the city council. The city will lease this property for 25 years at the end of the lease the city will buy the property for $1.00 but then we would have paid $45 million. I still think we should lease space from the County Plaza. We already are paying the bonds and that place is half empty. Plus it has parking.

$20 million Jersey City City Hall annex could bring life to Hub, but should be better planned: Morgan's Corner

By Earl Morgan/For The Jersey Journal
August 13, 2014 at 6:38 AM

Jersey City Councilwoman-at-Large Joyce Waterman and her colleague Ward F Councilwoman Diane Coleman asked the 30 or so people attending a community meeting Saturday at Mt. Olive Baptist Church for their support for a proposed $20 million Jersey City City Hall annex to be constructed on what?s currently a portion of the strip mall, commonly known as the ?Hub? on Martin Luther King Drive.

The meeting was sparsely attended even though Coleman said she and her aides had distributed hundreds of fliers n the ward. The meeting, according to the councilwomen, was held to gauge community support for the project, but the already announced groundbreaking slated for this fall, a mere few months from now, seems to render the matter a foregone conclusion.

Not so, the meeting conveners declared, saying nothing is written in stone despite the fact that the project developers, Brandywine Construction, who were on hand, said ground has to be broken for the building this fall in order to take advantage of historically low interest rates line and facilitate other issues concerning the building.

Coleman reminded those in the church that the Hub was conceived as a centerpiece for the revitalization of the Drive, which was once a flourishing shopping center then known as Jackson Avenue.

Brandywine, which is also the developer for the Hub, has struggled to find and retain businesses for the strip mall, which remains a money loser.

It?s expected the 250 city employees who work in a plethora of city agencies currently located in expensive, commercially owned office space will spur additional pedestrian traffic in the Hub. The mayor, public safety director chief of police and fire chief are among the officials slated to move into the new building. Whether that will result in a much-needed reduction in crime in the area, as city officials believe, remains to be seen.

Hopefully, the annex will do all the things the administration says it will, including creating some construction jobs for minority workers on the site.

What was said Saturday makes the project look like a rush job.

No traffic study has yet been conducted, little thought seems to have gong into how parking at the Hub will be impacted once the expected horde of municipal employees and residents seeking the services they dispense begin flooding the area.

On another note: One of a number of recommendations included in a city commissioned study documenting disparities in the awarding of city contracts to minorities suggests revision in the method and manner the city spends a year by dividing projects into several prime contracts to increase minority participation. Asked Saturday, Brandywine officials said while they?ve participated in such efforts on occasion but declared it too late to do that on this project.

That?s to bad because the Hub is located in the heart of the city?s African-American community. If the administration wants to put flesh on the bones of those promises, it needs to give minority developers a stake in the millions of construction dollars the city spends annually.

Earl Morgan's column appears here every Wednesday.

http://www.nj.com/opinion/index.ssf/2 ... anned_morgans_corner.html

"By moving several hundred jobs to the south of the city, including the permitting and development offices, we are committed to putting our money where our mouth is and taking steps to return Jackson Avenue to being a bustling business center," Mayor Steve Fulop said in a statement.

Jackson Avenue is the former name of MLK Drive.

Councilwoman at large Joyce Watterman, a Fulop ally who attended the meeting, calls the annex plan "a good idea."

"I think it'll bring businesses to the community," Watterman said. "They're been trying just to get retail in there, but this might be a better way to attract retail."
It's not clear how the city plans to pay for construction of the annex, which the presentation says will be "secured at no tax increase to taxpayer." Watterman said the plan is for a developer to build it and the city to lease the property.

http://www.nj.com/jjournal-news/index ... hall_an.html#incart_river

The new P.S # and P.S4 cost $70 million to build, granted some of that cost was due to contamination of land but there is a great deal of contamination of land in Ward F too.

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Pretty clear where the $20m number came from. Nothing to do with cost. It's the max the City can raise without risking a hit to debt rating (and rise in future cost of debt).

[url]http://www.cityofjerseycity.com/uploadedFiles/Public_Notices/Press_Releases/Moody's%20Upgrades%20Jersey%20City's%20Bond%20Rating%20Press%20Release[1].pdf[/url]

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We do have deep pockets, especially when we give out massive tax abatements to "develop" an already developed area.

Park baby, park!

There is a $852 million gross municipal/county general obligations bonding debt. We are still paying for debt refinance in the early 1990s, Fiscal Year Adjustment Bonds, 1991. We are paying for retirement bonds for cops and firemen that have left government a long time ago. Every year, we bond $9.5 million terminal leave. It is amazing, people think we have deep pockets.

Condemned buildings on Montgomery do sound charming

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The proposed building on MLK will NOT be a new city hall! It is an annex building for City Hall.

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If that's your criteria, everywhere is inaccessible from parts of the city. Areas near the Light Rail are more accessible to more areas of the city than any other parts of the city.

a real museum in the basement of city hall

It was suggested not too long back that the city was thinking of relocating some blue collar DPW workers to the basement of the present City Hall but after examining the Sandy damage and residual effects it was determined it would take a few million to bring the building back to a safe level. What should happen once that restoration is completed is that the City should continue to hold Council meetings there as there is adequate parking as well as re-establish the Jersey City Museum. Further they could hold public events in the building as it could accommodate large groups.

good first step, but it won't solve that area's problems. just look at how disturbing communipaw is and there's a police station on communipaw

The previous administration condemned property on Montgomery Street, now parking for city workers for a municipal annex. A small church was on that site. But let's be realistic, $20 million for a municipal plaza? When the county created County Plaza on Cornelison Avenue, the purchase price was $14 million and $15 million was earmarked for renovations. But renovations increased an extra $30 million to $45 million or $59 million for a county complex. I don't believe $20 million will be the final price. Let?s use some of the space of the county.

I think this is a great idea. I live in Greenville, and agree that the way to attract business to the area is to create a more positive economic environment. Having a coupe of hundred city workers buying lunches, etc will be a help.

More importantly, we know that these workers will demand a safe area to work in, and they will get it. In the three years i have lived in Greenville, I have not personally experienced a problem, but for sure, drugs and crime are rampant here.

As far as transportation goes, the light rail provides excellent service, there are several bus routes, and there is lots of parking.

its time to bring development to the south end of Jersey City, and what a better group to start with--the very people that are engaged in making ALL of Jersey City a better place to live

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Nothing, the one on MLK will only be an annex... or if they are creative 280 Grove will become condos

So - what's going to happen to the current city hall on Grove? Will they keep 2 city halls, or the one on Grove will eventually be "retired"?

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Yes, however this area is also serviced by 6 buses that go from Bayonne, Heights, JSQ and DTJC,

Here is the map of the lite rail station, it is only available to parts of the city. https://www.njtransit.com/pdf/LightRail/sf_lr_hblr_map.pdf

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I also like the MLK station, it makes sense to me. Most people who need to do business with the city can take the lite rail, no one needs to drive there.

has the city done a study as to where to best locate a new city hall?

the obvious answer may be journal square.

where will residents and businesses be best served?

which area would provide the best access, non-motor vehicle to the most residents?

The lite rail does not serve the majority of the city. The reason I suggest the County facility, massive parking.

This makes much more sense transit wise though, as it's right next to the MLK light rail station. I think it's a great move and will help develop an area that is in dire need of it. If you want a good laugh, check out the comments section on the article. You can't make this stuff up!

I always felt the city should rent or buy some space at the county facility on Cornelison Avenue. The place is under utilized and there is plenty of parking. Besides, we are already paying the bonds on that space. The space is tremendous.

Terrence T. McDonald | The Jersey Journal

Jersey City is planning to build a $20 million City Hall annex on Martin Luther King Drive, one that city officials hopes will bring benefits to one of the city's most economically distressed neighborhoods.

The annex, planned for the Hub shopping center, would bring about 250 city workers to the area, and it would include offices for the mayor and the police and fire chiefs. The plans were revealed during a meeting with Ward F community leaders yesterday.

The new building would be called the Martin Luther King Jr. City Hall Annex. Groundbreaking is scheduled for this fall.

The city believes the annex will bring new foot traffic to the area, benefiting local shops and creating a demand for more businesses, according to a seven-page presentation obtained by The Jersey Journal that was given to community leaders at yesterday's meeting.

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