A divided City Council approved a $3 million budget for the newly-established Exchange Place Special Improvement District on July 19, despite only getting the actual details just prior to the vote.

The SID will aim to promote more cultural programming, make capital improvements, and energize the Jersey City waterfront. This could include paving of streets that are currently in what one council person called “deplorable” condition, and other improvements.

The sixth SID to be established in Jersey City, the Exchange Place funding will differ from the others. It will come from property owners based not on square footage along the main shopping districts such as on Central Avenue in the Heights or Journal Square, but on the total assessed value of property in the district.

The Exchange Place SID covers an area that includes the Goldman Sachs tower at Essex and Hudson Streets, Harborside Plaza 10 on Second Street, and 70 Hudson, 90 Hudson, 101 Hudson, 30 Montgomery St., the Harborside properties, and the Hyatt Hotel, as well as others.

The vote was not without controversy. Councilmen Michael Yun and Richard Boggiano voted no, saying they needed time to look at the spending portion of the budget, which they received just prior to the public meeting.

Even though the action could trigger a lawsuit, the City Council adopted an ordinance at its Dec. 14 meeting establishing a new Special Improvement District for Exchange Place.

The Exchange Place SID will be funded differently from other SIDs in the city, in which businesses pay into a fund via a special tax. Traditional SID taxes are based on the square footage of a business. Exchange Place is home to numerous skyscrapers housing large banking and real estate companies and the new SID will base its tax on the property values of those buildings.

According to the ordinance, the SID will clean and maintain the area and make capital improvements to create an inviting place to live and play.

Representatives of owners of the former Palmolive Colgate properties at the southern end of the proposed SID have raised objections to the ordinance. They asked to either be excluded from the SID or to become members of its advisory board.

Colgate Properties, which is comprised of eight property owners, already maintains some of the waterfront walkway at about $500,000 annually, and questioned their estimated $600,000 annual contribution into the SID.

HUDSON REPORTER - Apr 20, 2016 |

JERSEY CITY – Mayor Steven M. Fulop announced on April 20 that he has created an advisory board, the first legal step required, in order to codify the creation of the Exchange Place Special Improvement District – the sixth SID in the city.

The goal of the Exchange Place SID is to change the Jersey City waterfront from a community that is mostly active only 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. on weekdays into a place that attracts visitors regionally.

Special improvement districts support the business growth of an area while providing maintenance services, capital improvements and event programming for the district they serve. They create an added assessment for membership which is used to enhance programming. For example, many of Jersey City’s special improvement districts host farmers’ markets, concerts and other community building events that promote the city as a destination for commerce and culture.