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Actually the commercial space at m650 is up for sale, not the the building.

But I'm looking forward to see what the Bruncon guys do with that firehouse, it's sure to be impressive.

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These guys do great work. I'm glad to hear they got it and will be preserving the exterior.

View Larger Map Old Jersey City firehouse on Central Avenue will be reborn as father and son builders turn it into spectacular new headquarters Tuesday, October 12, 2010 By MELISSA HAYES JOURNAL STAFF WRITER The tin ceilings are rusty, the second flood is sagging and there's a layer of dust just about everywhere. But when Alfonso Carrino and his son Anthony stand inside the old Jersey City Hook and Ladder 3 at 218 Central Ave. in the Heights, they see potential. The pair, who own Brunelleschi Construction on Montgomery Street, plan to restore the facade of the 114-year-old building and convert the interior into their new office. The Carrinos have been eyeing the building for about six years, ever since they renovated Bricklayer Lofts a short distance away at 69 Franklin St. The city had put the building up for sale and they thought they lost their chance to buy it, but the sale fell through and the firehouse was one of four properties the city auctioned in March. The Carrinos' $290,000 bid did the trick. The men have begun gutting the building's interior and are in the process of obtaining permits to do the renovations, which should take about three months, they said. The men have a knack for finding new uses for old sites. They converted the 1915 Calco Chemical Co. warehouse on Montgomery Street into m650 flats, which has 22 residential units and one commercial space, which they use as their office. That building is now up for sale. The Carrinos want to maintain the exterior of the Central Avenue building as a firehouse, including keeping the Ladder 3 and Engine 18 signs. "We didn't want to change the character of the building," Anthony Carrino said. Fire Department historian Ira Rubin said the building was the third home of Ladder 3 and in the late 1960s Engine 18 moved in after its firehouse on Palisade Avenue was closed. The plans call for repointing and cleaning the brick and cornice. They also plan to keep the original spiral staircase and bring back the fire pole, though it won't be operational. The inside will be noticeably different. The basement will become storage space and the first floor truck bay will become a parking garage. The upstairs will be transformed into a modern office space with a roof deck on the back of the building, and skylights to flood the room with natural light. "The interior will be nothing short of spectacular. It's all about design," Alfonso Carrino said.

Wow 290!! That is such a nice looking building from the outside. But I guess like someone said it needs a lot of work.

Thanks for the info.

218 Central went for $290,000 (starting bid at $200,000). Five bidders.

Awww, missed it by 35 minutes.
Wouldn't it have been nice to have the auction on-line with a deposit paid by PAY PAL?

What does that last paragraph mean:

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After 18 months you must STOP making repairs or pay a fine? Or You MUST find the place awful and change it?
Supppose you think its great as-is?

Jersey City to auction 4 firehouses, 4 other properties on Tuesday

By Melissa Hayes/The Jersey Journal
March 27, 2010, 8:30AM

The Jersey City Fire Department's Arson Unit moved from its building at 666 Summit Ave. so it can be sold, officials said.
Four Jersey City firehouses, a Greenville three-story residential and commercial building, and three vacant parcels will hit the auction block Tuesday.

The city owns the properties and is putting them up for a public sale. The minimum bids range from $140,000 to $600,000. If all the properties sell for the minimum prices, the city stands to make $1.86 million.

The auction starts at 10 a.m. in City Hall, 280 Grove St.
Two of the firehouses -- 218 Central Ave. and 106 Boyd Court -- are vacant and need substantial work.

"We had hoped in the past to rehab them, but unfortunately it didn't work, so the city has them on the block for sale," Fire Director Armando Roman said.

The unions representing the firefighters and supervisors have occupied the firehouse at 139 South St., which is also being sold.

Roman said the city has offered the unions office space in Journal Square so that the firehouse can be sold.

The Fire Department's Arson Unit will be moved so its building, at 666 Summit Ave., can be sold, Roman said.
Jersey City Mayor Jerramiah T. Healy announced in January he was closing four fire companies and reducing the arson unit from 13 to two members to cope with a budget gap.

Since the start of the year, the Fire Department has seen about 50 firefighters and officers retire in order to collect about $5 million total in unused sick and vacation time they accrued.

The Firemen's Credit Union also occupies the Summit Avenue building.

In addition to the firehouses, the city is auctioning off a three-story building at 364 Ocean Ave. The first floor has commercial space and there are seven residential units above it. Jennifer Morrill, a spokeswoman for Healy, said the city acquired the building through a foreclosure in 1999.

The city is also auctioning a 3.52 acre vacant parcel on Tonnelle Avenue and vacant lots at 120 and 122 Monticello Ave.

There are stipulations to the sales. Whoever purchases the lots with buildings will have 18 months to repair, alter and improve the properties, according to the resolution adopted by the Jersey City City Council on March 10.

OK. I take it back. I just read about someone in Rhode Island who bought a firehouse only to discover that the mortar between the bricks was made from beach sand (seashells included) in 1902 and had turned to DUST. Gravity alone was holding up the building. They dissassembled and reassembled the entire building--brick by brick. Nightmare!

$500,000?????
That number is suspiciously high. You need a structural engineer to give it a look. We'll see who shows up to bid next week.

That's too bad - the picture of the building from the outside looked really nice.

Did you check out other fire houses? Wonder if the other ones are in the same condition.

Thx.

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Did a walk through at 218 Central this morning with our contractor.
Unfortunately, the building in horrific shape (total gut job, lots of structural/foundation damage).

Our guy estimates 500K minimum for the renovation. It will probably be more economical to demo it and build from ground up again. But that does not interest us.

Oh well! That's life.

FYI - the notice is in today's (3/24/10) print Jersey Journal (JJ) again. Most of the information can also be found in my above post #24. The one with a link to the JC web site.

Does anyone have more info on how this will work, the properties, or any other info?

We are interested too, but we've never done anything like this, and is a bit "intimated".

Any info / tips / advice would be much appreciated.

PS Feel free to PM...

Mr banana grabber (I am not even going to ask)

I was surprised to find it on the official JC website. It has the full notice about the sale. It also has addresses and pictures of the properties.

JC Public Information (property sale)


These are the properties that were listed in the Jersey Journal with the minimum bids.

Location***Desc ***Size***Min Bid

666 Summit Ave***Fire house***88.81 X 120.85IRR*** $275K

218 Central Ave***Fire house***21.1 X 91*** $200K

139 South St***Fire house***25 X 100*** $175K

106 Boyd Ave***Fire house***25 X 168.40 *** $175K


364 Ocean Ave***3S-B-C-7U-NH***30.18 X 103.06 IRR ***$150K


In my first post I left off the vacant lots that were in the JJ notice. I should have also listed them. You hipster ravers could throw one hell of a RAVE on that 3.52 acre Tonnele Ave lot.

Location***Desc ***Size***Min Bid

Tonnele Ave***Vacant Land***3.52 acres*** $600K

120 Monticello Ave***Vacant Land***25 X 145.50 IRR*** $140K
122 Monticello Ave***Vacant Land***25 X 145.60 IRR*** (included with first lot)



KDB ? Gook Luck I hope you have a winning bid. Two of those firehouses are real gems; I don?t like the red stucco ones. I have never been to one of the sales but a friend of mine went in the 80?s. You are going to drop dead with this...he paid $3K for a vacant 4 story brick row house on a numbered street in DTJC!!!! Those were the days. The city would unload tons of houses and lots. I don?t think there is an age cutoff for being a hipster, but you do have to keep up your Jazz record collection. If you do offer pole dancing classes I think you should also set up a viewing section in the firehouse, I would gladly sign up to be a viewer. (this way I wouldn?t have to peek through the window, I?m just saying)


Good luck to all, I hope someone here gets one. (and restores it)

Okay, so I am working nutso hours and I can't seem to get my hands on a JJ with this info. Does anyone know the next time they will print or where/when the auction is?

Thanks!

I don't know what the process is, but anyone who is considering a bid should be prepared to do some type of environmental remediation of the site.
I think that its a good bet that there are oil and gas tanks buried beneath, and that they will have to come out, and possibly a good bit of soil as well, before a C of O is issued.
Just something to consider.

Has anyone attended an auction like this and what was your experience.
We are going to bid on two of the properties. But really what are our chances?

Disclosure: Definitely not hipsters (is there an age cut off), but husband has an arts-related company. I will learn pole dancing, and hold free classes if we get one of properties.

Probably easiest to get a firehouse cheaply if you are a hipster closely realted to the mayor, or a member of the City Council, except Fulop of course, or a member of the Lucchese family.


chanj,

Any newstand.

Where can I pick up a copy of JJ? Sorry, newbie here...

Hi,

The two page notice is in today's Weds 3/17/10 print JJ again.

I hope someone on this site buys one of the fire houses or passes the info on someone. I would hate to see them go to some politician's buddy.

The one at 666 Summit is sweet. Two bay's, a few houses off of the State Highway, and walking distance to JS.

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I doubt condo conversion. Have you seen these properties? You may be able to get 2 units at most out of these properties. They are not huge.

The starting bids are very low, I think they will go for higher but not too much higher.

Don't get why people say condos yuck. I have a bunch of friends that are artists and live in much larger and more expensive spaces, some of them live in dare I say... CONDOS!!

So I didn't get a chance to get a Jersey Journal but I would love to know as much about this as possible. Does anyone know more about this? Will ads be in the JJ again this weekend? I can't keep parking my firetruck on the dang street!

The shame is is that any Artist, Sculptor, Musician, Hipster, or anyone creative that really needs the space will never get a chance ( unless they have tons of cash) Developers with lots of cash will win the bid and turn them into CONDO'S. Yuck!

There should be a stipulation in the sale of these Historic buildings
restricting them from condo conversion.

GP thanks for the link..interesting

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http://www.newforestinstitute.org/ind ... task=view&id=52&Itemid=63

Here is some more info if you didn?t get a chance to pick up the print JJ on Friday (3/12).

...at the Assembly Chamber, City Hall, 280 Grove Street, Jersey City, New Jersey on Tuesday, March 30, 2010 at 10 am in the forenoon.

...for further information about the auction contact:

Division of Real Estate
City Hall, 280 Grove St
Room B-5
Jersey City, NJ 07302
Tel: (201) 547-5234
Fax: (201) 547-5711


...bids will only be accepted from JC hipsters and artists. (pole dancers will be allowed to bid but must submit a performance video along with their bid)


Nice video of a converted JC fire house from the Star Ledger.
(she looks like a hipster to me)


Heads up... in today?s print JJ Monday 3/15/10 there are pages and pages of Hudson County Sheriff Sale notices.

Always reminds me of the movie Omega Man.

hm, i guess i don't get it still.

wouldn't just about anyone want to live in an old firehouse?

because any hipster would love to live in an old firehouse. it's like, authentic, or something.

i understand it being good for an artist, but why is this post for "JC hipsters"?