Jersey City councilman calls zoning change 'windfall' for foe's political donor

October 09, 2012, 9:18 PM
By Terrence T. McDonald/The Jersey Journal

A proposal that would nearly double the maximum number of units in a proposed hotel/residential facility in Downtown Jersey City led to a heated exchange at tonight?s City Council caucus.

The lot, known as the Tramz Hotel property, would see its maximum number of allowable units rise from 470 to 900 thanks to zoning changes in a measure up for adoption at tomorrow?s council meeting.

Ward E Councilman Steve Fulop tonight called the change a ?windfall? for New York based developer Brian Fisher and his brother, who are partnering with developer Turrunumn Murad to build the facility on the formerly city-owned lot.

?The Fisher brothers are just getting a free 450 units,? Fulop said.

Brian Fisher is a big contributor to local campaigns, giving $11,275 to Mayor Jerramiah Healy and Healy-backed candidates since 2006, according to campaign documents. He also contributed $400 to Fulop in 2009, the documents show.

Murad purchased the property from the city for about $12 million in 2009, and then received a city-backed loan for about $7 million to clean up the property. Murad?s intentions were to build a roughly 300-room hotel by April 2014.

But the plan stalled until this year, when Murad said she planned to partner with the Fisher brothers to finally construct roughly 700 residential units and 200-room Hilton hotel. Under that agreement, the city would receive an immediate repayment of its loan.

Attorney Jim McCann, representing the Fisher brothers, tonight objected to Fulop?s characterization of the deal, noting that the size of the property remains at 1.2 million square feet, despite the added units.

?The units are going to be smaller than they were before,? McCann said. ?There?s not any more square footage being allowed. The Fishers are not getting a windfall here.?

Fulop believes the city should seize the property because Murad is in ?technical default? of her redevelopment agreement with the city, in the words of Jersey City Redevelopment Agency chief Bob Antonicello, and then sell it for its current value.

Antonicello told the council tonight that the process outlined by Fulop could take years, but Fulop told The Jersey Journal it would be ?worth it.?

The property could be worth tens of millions more now than it was when the city sold it, he said.

Healy and Fulop are facing each other in next year's mayoral race.

http://www.nj.com/hudson/index.ssf/20 ... y_councilman_calls_z.html

The backhoe is for an apartment building being put up by Applied, the group who put up 225 Grand. My understanding is that as soon as remediation is complete they will begin construction. The hotel is on hold, perhaps indefinitely. Hilton is putting up a Conrad next to the new Goldman, Sachs building in lower Manhattan, so that is out. Hilton may be out altogether. Financing remains tight. Don't look for anything on that site in the near term.

I saw a backhoe operating on the lot south of Gull's Gove this week. Will construction begin?

Any updates on the Hilton financing?

Is Jersey City ever going to get its very own Hilton hotel?

what's the latest? It looks like they have finished the remediation. When does JC get its luxury hotel?

Well, they already got their financial goodies from the city - should make financing a lot easier...

The clean up has begun. We'll see if the financing comes through for construction of the hotel.

Figured it was the Hilton. So I'm assuming that the hotel project is actually happening? I was under the impression that the hotel was just a proposed idea.

Yes, the lot you are referring to is the Hilton site. There is a lot between there and Gull's Cove which, at some point, is supposed to be another 16-story rental apartment building.

For quite a few weeks there has been work going on down Marin Blvd, just south of Gull's Cove and west of the marina. Is this the hotel that is supposed to be built? Anybody have any insight?

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Light Rail doesn't go to Manhattan. I've wondered the same thing about the practicality of the location - this isn't just a Hilton, it's the up, up, upscale "Conrad" version. Five stars. You think someone staying there is going to want to take the PATH to the Light Rail? The only thing I can figure is that they will either run their own ferry or subsidize NY Waterway the way Goldman does. Even if people take a cab or car service, you never know about traffic getting into the tunnel. Getting out of lower Manhattan can often take a half hour - again, not in keeping with the clientele. This thing has disaster written all over it.

On a separate note - the guys taking out the trees aren't wearing masks of any sort. Odd, since there is about $3.5 million of the $8 million the city is guaranteeing that is allocated to remediating all the chromium, etc. that is buried there.

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This thing called the Light Rail...

If people are in the area for business, how will they get back to the hotel at night? Cab from Manhattan? The ferry is not going to run all night.

Team Healy will stay there. They backed the 8MM loan so now they need to support the hotel.

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Who would stay at a hotel at that location? I can understand the Westin at its location. But why would a person stay at this particular location? There are more convenient options for both business in Newport and NYC.

Construction has started for the new Hilton Hotel. Today I noticed them cutting down and removing the trees.

The reason for approving this are complete political BS. The jobs will not be given to JC residents. Just like how the paving was given to a contractor from North Bergen, contractor jobs will be given to the lowest bids and most likely not to JC contractors and very few JC residents will be working on the site. As far as the hotel jobs go, Hilton is known for hiring illegal immigrants who do not pay income taxes. You know the condos will get an abatement is these JC politicians have anything to say.

Council splits on hotel project's federal loan backed by Jersey City

Thursday, April 29, 2010
By MELISSA HAYES
JOURNAL STAFF WRITER

A hotel developer will get an $8 million federal loan backed by Jersey City.

The City Council voted 5-3 last night to guarantee the Section 108 loan from the federal Department of Housing and Urban Development for the Tramz Hotel Group, which wants to build a Conrad Hilton Hotel on Marin Boulevard.

Council members Steven Fulop, David Donnelly and Nidia Lopez voted against the city backing the loan, while Michael Sottolano, Mariano Vega, Bill Gaughan, Peter Brennan and Willie Flood supported the measure.

Councilwoman Viola Richardson was absent.

If the developer defaults on the loan, the city can lose its federal Community Development Block Grant funds, which are distributed through HUD.

"I'm just not comfortable with this," Donnelly said. "The project has been sitting around for 10 years through good times. Now we're in tough times."

But supporters noted that the developer has put $1.25 million in a reserve fund, which would cover three years of payments should Tramz default. Supporters also said the project would create construction jobs and long-term hotel jobs.

"The economic impact is needed more now than ever," Vega said. The project has been in the works for 10 years. It calls for two phases, the first being a 300-room Conrad Hilton Hotel with a parking garage and retail space. The second phase is a 470-unit condominium building with additional retail space.

Attorneys for owner Tarrunumn Murad have said work to remediate contaminants at the site would begin as soon as the loan is approved. Murad has already hired a contractor.

Fulop noted that the city had guaranteed a $7 million federal loan for Tramz in 2000, but the money wasn't used so the loan expired.

He said the council had to fight to get its own appraisal on the property, which came in at $27 million, far below the developer's appraisal of $50 million.

In addition, he said the city sold the developer the land in 2008 for $15 million, $12 million below the appraised value.

Did you expect anything less from Michael Sottolano, Mariano Vega, Bill Gaughan, Peter Brennan and Willie Flood, Healy tells them how to vote and they vote that way. The developer contributed to the Team Healy Campaign. Did you think they would would vote any other way. Wake up Jersey City Residents....stop voting for them..and for those that did not come out to vote them out...Shame on you and you also have no say at all, so stop complaining and show up to vote in the next election to rid ourselves of Healy and his 5 clowns.

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Evidenced by the fact that the city's hotel tax revenue Ltm is flat to the prior year even though Ltm has Westin and the prior year does not.

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They'll mind less in the face of the re-eval.


The hotels may be booked solid, but that's partially due to the fact that a hotel will slash a room price last minute, or negotiate low rates with regular business customers rather than keep a room vacant.

Walk by the Westin Hotel on almost any night. It's brightly lit. The bar is busy. You can see weddings going on up above the lobby. Fire & Oak does a great business.

People do spend money in Jersey City at other restaurants & bars. During the Barclay's PGA tournament last year, lots of people walked over to Komegashi too for Japanese food from the Westin & the Courtyard Hotels.

I know 2 people in the last year who stayed at the Marriott in Newport for their NYC trip. One his business booked for him, the other got the cheapest deal he found online.

Neither spent any time (therefore money) in JC. Maybe it would of been different if it was summer instead of winter and they walked to the waterfront or something.

I guess more hotels could bring some jobs for the hotel staff, but it seems like the hotels at the waterfront are mostly cheap bedding for NYC tourists.

Fulop was wrong - the waterfront hotels have been booked solid. There is room to add a Hilton to the mix.

Ugh! As much as development for JC is a good thing. This is not a responsible venture to get involved with right now given the economic climate.

Didn't Fulop also say recently that the existing hotels in the Newport area were reporting lower than average occupancy rates.. if so, what economic value does another hotel add to the city right now?

Also, if this does get approved, (which given the contributions to Healy's and the council's campaigns, it pronanly will) there should be some height restrictions on the building. I don't think anyone in the neighborhood wants the Paulus Hook/Downtown JC area to turn into Newport II.

If the developer donated to the Team Healy campaign, he probably won't have a hard time convincing them. It's most likely a done deal.

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City Council may vote tonight to back $8 million federal loan for hotel, other development Downtown

Wednesday, April 28, 2010
By MELISSA HAYES
JOURNAL STAFF WRITER

The developer of a Jersey City Downtown hotel may have a hard time convincing the City Council to back an $8 million federal loan.

The city's appraisal of the site came in at nearly half as much as the developer's. The council is expected to vote on the loan tonight.

The city hired appraiser Hugh McGuire, of Jersey City-based McGuire Associates, who in an April 1 report values the 2.2-acre parcel at $27.55 million.

In his 78-page report, McGuire also said, "Based upon present economic conditions, the timing for this development is not at hand, future redevelopment of the site for a mixed commercial/residential development as approved is feasible and the property should be held until such time as development is financially feasible."

The appraisal is important because owner Tarrunumn Murad, CEO and founder of Tramz Hotel Group, is asking the city to guarantee an $8 million Section 108 loan from the federal Department of Housing and Urban Development for the project.

If Tramz fails to repay the loan, Jersey City could lose its federal Community Development Block Grant funds, which are distributed through HUD.

Ward F Councilman Steve Fulop, who represents the Downtown, has fought the loan saying it's too risky.

City Corporation Counsel Bill Matsikoudis argued that the developer has set aside $1.25 million that the city can use to repay the loan should it fail to make payments. Tramz would also place $1 million of the loan in a reserve fund.

"We would be adequately protected in the unlikely event that they're going belly up here," Matsikoudis said at Monday's council caucus meeting.

In a letter to the city, Christopher Walrath, an attorney specializing in public finance, said the city would be protected because of the reserve funds.

Ward A Councilman Michael Sottolano noted that $3 million of the loan would be used to remediate the site, therefore improving the property site for this or any future developer.

The two-phase proposal calls for a 300-room Conrad Hilton Hotel with a parking garage and retail space, followed by a 470-unit condominium building with additional retail space.

Tonight's meeting is 6 p.m. at City Hall, 280 Grove St.