\"Either we move the substation and save the Powerhouse, or we leave the substation and lose the Powerhouse,\" Antonicello said. \"Every day that the Powerhouse sits vacant and is open to the elements, we lose a little bit more of the building.\"


Here we go again! If developers are able to squeeze
the city into demolishing the powerhouse, then the entire
historic preservation leg of the biulding department should
be eliminated along with it. Its a waste of taxpayer money.
Why are home owners in vv park ,hamilton park, paulus
hook expected to follow the rules when the developers
dont have to.


Does anyone know or wonder why the powerhouse is
SLOWLY being picked apart, such as windows being
removed to expose the structure to the elements.

this is what happened to 110 first st. Remove the windows
cut a few holes in the roof and let mother nature do the
rest.

It seems that if this administration was concerned AT ALL!
about preserving this landmark they would be boarding
it up to preserve the structure and protect it from the
elements.


This is not happening for a reason and should be considered as NEGLECTING TO PRESERVE THIS STRUCTURE!

Looks like it works both ways - people post fragments of stories here and the JJ gets some great ideas for stories from here. I think both helps the other. Greatly.

I have no problem with the posting of articles on JC List. I think they are important and as long as the papers don't object then I don't see the problem. The news articles and ensuing discussions are the main reasons I come to JC List.

I know there has been talk on JClist about wanting to keep the bulletin board from being taken over by postings of newspaper articles. But I will post this one article of mine to spur comments, questions and the like, encouraged by WEBMASTER (a.k.a. Dan Falcon) to do so. Take care and enjoy reading.

Ricardo

New developments rising from the ashes

Director of Redevelopment Agency discusses Powerhouse, Journal Square, other projects

Ricardo Kaulessar
Reporter staff writer

For Robert Antonicello, his first 18 months as the executive director of the Jersey City Redevelopment Agency have seen a flurry of activity across the city.

The Jersey City Redevelopment Agency is an autonomous agency created in 1949 to revitalize blighted and economically depressed areas in the city to promote economic growth.

The city can designate an area as in need of redevelopment, then find developers to fit a certain plan. Formerly industrial districts are converted to vibrant communities.

"I think the last 18 months for the Redevelopment Agency, we have tremendous progress," Antonicello said in a recent interview. He was named the executive director in April 2006 by Mayor Jerramiah Healy after spending over 20 years as a real estate broker and consultant.

That "progress" has included designating a developer for Journal Square near the PATH Station, choosing a developer for the old Hudson/Manhattan Powerhouse on Washington Boulevard, spurring long-stagnant development on Martin Luther King Drive, and receiving a $99,290 Smart Future Grant from the state's Department of Community Affairs to study parking for redevelopment areas in downtown Jersey City.

But the activity was almost derailed recently when Antonicello was considered to head the city's Department of Housing, Economic Development and Commerce. However, Antonicello decided to stay with the Redevelopment Agency. Mayor Healy's former chief of staff, Carl Czaplicki, instead was given the nod for the other job. "I love my job of being in a critical role for the residents of Jersey City," Antonicello said.

How it works

A redevelopment plan provides for the reuse or redevelopment of property within a municipality. The Jersey City Planning Department designates an area in need of redevelopment, then drafts a redevelopment plan.

After that, the plan is introduced in front of the Planning Board for their consideration. If the plan is approved, then it goes to the City Council, which introduces the plan at a council meeting, where it is read into the record.

At the next council meeting, the council holds a final vote to either approve or not approve the plan.

The JCRA then sends out requests for developers to bid on the area. The agency designates a developer or developers for the redevelopment area.

Future redevelopments

Antonicello said among the long-term projects for the JCRA is the development of 15,000 residential units on property behind the new Jersey City Medical Center, located off Grand Street and near Garfield Avenue.

The projects will be known respectively as Canal Crossings and Harbor Place.

Also, the Redevelopment Agency is working with Bayonne developer Lance Lucarelli to eventually develop Holland Park, to be built on Jersey Avenue near the Jersey City-Hoboken border, near the Holland Tunnel.

If built, it would be a mixed-use project that would include residential housing, retail, park space, and a light rail station.

Developing the Powerhouse

In July 2006, Baltimore-based developer David Kordish was designated by the Redevelopment Agency as the developer of the Powerhouse. The Powerhouse is a steel-framed 200,000-square-foot edifice with 28-inch thick brick walls that once provided electricity for the massive Hudson Manhattan railroad (the precursor to the PATH system).

Kordish developed the old Baltimore Power Plant into the ESPN Zone Restaurant and a Barnes and Noble bookstore on the waterfront, and the city would like to see similar development of Jersey City's Powerhouse.

The huge building is the cornerstone of the Powerhouse Arts District, a redevelopment zone that runs from Washington Boulevard to Marin Boulevard.

The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey still uses it as a power substation. Antonicello said the Redevelopment Agency has been negotiating with the Port Authority to relocate the power station equipment in order to move forward development of the Powerhouse District.

He also said the Port Authority is currently doing a study on the best site for the substation. They are considering either a triangular piece of land located about a 100 feet north of the Powerhouse, or inside the old Butler Brothers building located across the street from the Powerhouse.

"Either we move the substation and save the Powerhouse, or we leave the substation and lose the Powerhouse," Antonicello said. "Every day that the Powerhouse sits vacant and is open to the elements, we lose a little bit more of the building."

Journal Square taking new shape

Whenever there's discussion of Journal Square redevelopment future, one name comes to mind - Harwood.

As in the Harwood Family, who has maintained businesses in Journal Square for the last 70 years. They were designated in March 2006 by the Redevelopment Agency as developers near the Journal Square PATH Station, on the site of a dilapidated set of buildings torn down last summer.

The Harwood Family plans to build a $500 million two-tower development with a seven-story base of retail and parking, and two residential towers - a 58-story tower and a 38-story tower - springing from the base. There will be a total of 1,500 units when the project is completed.

The project is to be built by the Harwood family under their development arm, Harwood Properties, as well as The Multi-Employer Property Trust based in Bethesda, Md. and the Fairfield, Conn. development firm Becker + Becker. Antonicello said the project is expected to break ground early next spring and will be vital to Journal Square's future.

"Journal Square is an important part of Jersey City and it has been forgotten," Antoncello said, "and we are basically going forward with the framework for how Journal Square should be developed."

A HUB-bub of activity

The HUB (Holistic Urban Building), as it is known to most people, is a six-block 83,000-square-foot plaza located along MLK Drive and bordered by Virginia, Ocean, Kearny and Ege Avenues in the Bergen-Lafayette section of the city.

The major tenant is Extra Supermarket, with other tenants including Burger King.

From its opening in December 1999, it was expected to jumpstart the revitalization of Martin Luther King Jr. Drive. But it then became mired in red tape and bickering amongst the partnership that helped develop and run the HUB, the nonprofit Neighborhood Development Corp. and the Jersey City Economic Development Corporation. And several retail tenants over the years left the plaza, creating a financial decline.

A new partnership replaced the old one in recent months, consisting of the JCRA, the Neighborhood Development Corp. and two Philadelphia-based builders, Universal Companies and Brandywine Construction & Development Services.

Antonicello said that he hopes to get the HUB operating on the right track, pointing out that there will be a groundbreaking next month of the Harriet Tubman Homes, eight units of affordable housing within the HUB, part of a plan by the new partnership to develop 230 units of low, moderate and market rate housing in the HUB area.

He also cited the opening of offices in the HUB in December for the city's Division of Commerce and the Police Department's Community Relations Unit.

For comments about the story, contact Ricardo Kaulessar at rkaulessar@hudsonreporter.com