City, Honeywell to write new West Side story

Saturday, January 05, 2008
By KEN THORBOURNE
JOURNAL STAFF WRITER

Jersey City has tentatively agreed to enter into a joint partnership with Morristown-based Honeywell International Inc. to develop roughly 100 acres of chromium-contaminated land on the west side of the city as residential, commercial, and open space.

The agreement, which city officials announced yesterday and must pass muster with the state Department of Environmental Protection, would resolve a lawsuit the city filed against the company in May 2005.

The city claimed it had lost more than $10 million in tax revenue due to the chromium sites, which Honeywell, as the court-assigned "responsible party," is on the hook to clean up.

The deal would essentially create a new city on the west side of Jersey City with roughly 80 acres dedicated to residential and commercial space and the balance of land devoted to open space, officials said.

Under the terms of the agreement, the land to be used for open space would receive an "impermeable cap," while tainted soil on the parcels slated for commercial or residential development would be dug up and removed.

"This agreement to create a public-private partnership with Honeywell is a momentous event in the history of Jersey City," Mayor Jerramiah Healy said yesterday.

"Honeywell's clean-up of the former West Side industrial sites will be to the highest level of environmental standards and bring about exciting new urban development that will provide attractive new housing opportunities, commercial and retail space, new parks, public access to the Hackensack River waterfront and thousands of jobs."

Honeywell spokeswoman Victoria Streitfeld said the agreement "would unlock the redevelopment of the West Side, creating the possibility of new communities by establishing incentives for investment and job growth."

The land involved stretches from Route 440 on the east, to the Hackensack River on the west, from Kellogg Street to the south, to where the city Department of Public Works complex ends to the north.

Under the terms of the tentative deal, Honeywell would purchase 41 acres from the city for land now occupied by the DPW, the Municipal Utilities Authority and the Jersey City Incinerator Authority.

Honeywell would then sell this land and roughly 60 acres the company already owns to builders who agree to develop according to an "area in need of redevelopment" drawn up by the city.

The city would share in the profits.

The deal would generate total sales revenue between $144 million and $384 million, of which the city would reap between $80 million and $160 million, said Corporation Counsel Bill Matsikoudis.

Under the terms of a 2005 settlement with the community group Interfaith Community Organization, Honeywell is already excavating tainted chromium soil from the 32-acre plot known as the Roosevelt Drive-In site.

And when the "Bayfront Area" is fully built, the city would collect $50 million a year in property taxes, Matsikoudis said.

In addition, the plan would also create 10,000 new construction jobs with 5,000 construction workers on site every year for 20 years, he said.

A closed-door discussion of the agreement by the City Council is scheduled for Monday.

Jersey City and Honeywell craft plan for bayfront cleanup
Chromium-tainted soil would give rise to condos and retail space

Sunday, January 06, 2008
BY RUSSELL BEN-ALI
Star-Ledger Staff

A proposal to clean up and redevelop 100 acres of Jersey City land that could be called the Chromium Coast may finally bring together two adversaries who have been trading lawsuits over the property.

Following 18 months of negotiations, Jersey City and Honeywell International, have crafted a plan that would remove much of the chromium-tainted soil in the bayfront area. According to settlement documents, the agreement would pave the way for construction of up to 8,000 condominium apartments, including affordable housing, and up to 1.2 million square feet of office and retail space.

The deal could yield as much as $400 million in total land sales, including $160 million for Jersey City. The city also could see $45 million in annual property taxes and $3.5 million per year in tax revenue from the commercial property.

It also would extend the Hackensack River walkway, bring a Hudson-Bergen Light Rail substation to the area, add a pedestrian-only thoroughfare and 20 acres of open space, for which Honeywell would install a cap atop the tainted soil.

There are still details to be worked out, including the relocation of two city facilities, the town's incinerator authority and municipal utilities authority. The proposal will be presented to the city council this week, along with renderings from the city planning department and A. Nelessen Associates Inc., an urban planning and design firm from Belle Mead.

In a prepared statement, Honeywell spokeswoman Victoria Streitfeld called the plan an "agreement in principle" that would "unlock the redevelopment of the west side, creating the possibility of new communities by establishing incentives for investment and job growth."

Jersey City Mayor Jerramiah T. Healy said the public-private partnership is "a momentous event in the history of Jersey City" that would help spark redevelopment along the Hackensack River.

Just a few years ago, however, no one would have guessed the city and Honeywell could forge a compromise.

In 2005, Jersey City sued Honeywell International Inc., whose corporate predecessor, Mutual Chemical Co., dumped tons of the cancer-causing contaminant on soil across from its plant on Route 440.

Honeywell, based in Morristown, then countersued Jersey City, accusing it of creating lead and other contaminants through the operation of an incinerator and sewage facility.

The Hackensack Riverkeeper Inc., an environmental organization formed to protect the river and its wildlife, sued both Honeywell and Jersey City in an effort to spur cleanup of chromium-polluted land near the river.

The presence of hexavalent chromium, a known carcinogen that is toxic to the environment, has long plagued the city.

In response to another suit against Honeywell in 2003, this time by community groups, U.S. District Court Judge Dennis Cavanaugh ordered full excavation of the waste, estimated at 1 million to 1.5 million tons.

The court order required Honeywell to clean up tons of chrome and processing residue deposited along the river between 1895 and 1954. Mutual Chemical, which was largely responsible for the pollution, eventually was sold to Allied Signal Corporation, which merged with Honeywell in 1999.

Jersey City's attorney, William Matsikoudis, said the city began talks with Honeywell for health reasons and the partnership would create jobs and opportunities for recreation on the west side.

A year ago Lisa Jackson, commissioner of the state Department of Environmental Protection, established tough new standards for removing chromium waste from soil. Sites to be developed for housing or schools may not contain more than 20 parts per million of hexavalent chromium. The old state standard had been 240 parts per million.

"In general, the DEP acknowledges that redevelopment is extraordinarily important, especially in urban areas like Jersey City, and is tied to economic growth," said Jackson. "We see as our role to ensure that cleanup is protective of human health and the environment."

City officials say the proposed settlement would comply with new DEP standards. Negotiations for the remediation and redevelopment were mediated by former New Jersey Supreme Court Justice and former DEP Commissioner Daniel O'Hern.

Capping or containing chromium, rather than carting it away, in nonresidential areas like open space, falls within state and federal guidelines.

The plan for chromium excavation and capping has to be approved by the DEP.

Redevelopment projects such as the Port Imperial, a luxury condominium complex in Weehawken, and the Liberty National Golf Course and Society Hill condominiums, both in Jersey City, have been constructed on or near high concentrations of capped chromium.

However, some environmentalist frown on capping.

"In terms of the residential property, it seems like a fairly reasonable plan," Jeff Tittel, of the Sierra Club of New Jersey, said of the chromium removal plan. "But the park is an area of concern for me."

Tittel said the standard for chromium exposure is much lower for children than for adults and he'd prefer to see chromium removed, not contained, because caps have been known to fail.

"They tend to run around and breathe in things, roll in the dirt," Tittel said of children. "There's a higher chance of exposure and much smaller amounts could impact them healthwise."

Bill Sheehan, the Hackensack riverkeeper, declined to comment on the new proposal. And Carolyn Smith Pravlik, a Washington-based attorney for Sheehan, declined to comment on specifics of the plan.

"In general we dislike caps as a remedy because there are concerns about whether or not they can be protected from digging through them, and things like that, many years down the road," she said. "However, we believe that there is a way to protect this particular cap in perpetuity."

Pravlik said she could not disclose the protection method because it is part of ongoing confidential negotiations.

"As long as my client is satisfied that the area is protected against development in perpetuity, then they are accepting of the cap remedy in this limited area," she said.

Russell Ben-Ali may be reached at rbenali@starledger.com.

Quote:

MUCH of the chromium? What about ALL of the chromium - its not if their not getting a good deal from City Hall.

It's not all the chromium, because "it's technically impossible", another way to say that "we won't fix what made us rich until we will be hit with a new class suit".

Honeywell plan on the Jersey City council agenda tonight

by The Jersey Journal
Monday January 07, 2008, 3:35 PM

The Jersey City City Council will discuss a plan tonight to redevelop about 100 acres of chromium contaminated land on the west side.

In an agreement that would resolve a lawsuit filed by the city against Honeywell International, Inc. that resulted in a judgment forcing Honeywell to clean up the land, a mized-use community would be developed on the site.

The council caucus will begin at 5 p.m. at City Hall, 280 Grove St., in the caucus room, second floor. The council originally planned to discuss the matter in closed session but will apparently keep that portion of the meeting open to the public.

Healy wants west side plan approved tonight

Wednesday, January 09, 2008
By KEN THORBOURNE
JOURNAL STAFF WRITER

Jersey City Mayor Jerramiah Healy urged City Council members Monday night to approve a tentative legal settlement tonight with Honeywell International Inc. - a deal the mayor says will jump-start development of 100 acres of chromium-contaminated land on the city's west side.

"We're opening the doors to great things," said Healy, as he ticked off benefits of the agreement, including up to 8,000 housing units, 1 million square feet of retail and commercial space, 20 acres of open space, and when fully built in 20 years, $50 million a year in taxes.

The tentative settlement resolves three lawsuits filed by the city against Honeywell and countersuits filed by Honeywell, which absorbed the company that originally polluted the land.

The agreement, which the council will consider at its meeting tonight at 6 at City Hall, calls for the city to pool 41 acres it already owns with 60 acres already owned by Honeywell.

Honeywell would sign a "master redeveloper's agreement" to sell this land to builders who would develop it according to an "areas in need of redevelopment" plan formulated by the city.

Honeywell's share of the land sales revenue would be 60 percent and the city's 40 percent. This division is based on the percentage of land contributed, city officials said.

The city stands to reap between $60 million and $156 million, city officials said Monday.

The deal calls for Honeywell to dig up and remove chromium-tainted soil on the 80 acres slated for residential and commercial purposes. In accordance with state Department of Environmental guidelines, the 20 acres of open space would receive a synthetic, impermeable cap. As result of a 2005 settlement with the community group, Interfaith Community Organization, Honeywell is already excavating contaminated soil from a 34-acre plot known as the Roosevelt Drive-In site.

Joe Morris, ICO's director, slammed the city and the DEP for being party to a deal that allows some chromium to remain on site.

"We're disappointed that DEP is implementing this policy with such broad loopholes, such as open space," Morris said. "The result will be lots of cancer-causing chromium remains in the ground."

Bill Matsikoudis, the city's top attorney, shot back that the city's environmental consultants signed off on the plan, as have lawyers and consultants representing the Hackensack Riverkeeper, who also sued Honeywell and is on the brink of settling.

looks like yet another lawsuit the city does not want to win.

Realize, that honeywell would fight JC for a long time, the only solution is a compromise and if done properly that is a big area that could really be changed into something good, housing, retail, office, schools, etc. I think it would be prudent for the city to demand that the cleanup exceed DEP and epa standards but it is impractical to get them to remove all of the chromium it wouldn't happen. If they clean it up to the standard that the NJ DEP is happy that is pretty good, better than what is now and better than waiting another 10 years for progress and millions of tax dollars going to the lawyers.

Redeveloping west side gets plan board backing

Friday, February 22, 2008
CHARLES HACK
JOURNAL STAFF WRITER

The Jersey City Planning Board unanimously voted Wednesday to make roughly 100 polluted acres on the city's west side a redevelopment zone.

The city has struck a deal with Morristown-based Honeywell International to clean and develop the chromium-tainted land.

Project designer Anton C. Nelessen, of A. Nelessen Associates, outlined the Bayfront I Redevelopment plan that would replace old industrial buildings, vacant land, a concrete plant and three city complexes with homes, shops, restaurants and offices along tree-lined streets with parks and a waterfront walkway.

The plan calls for up to 8,100 residential units, 1 million square feet of office space, 600,000 square feet of retail space and 12,000 parking spaces.

Jersey City Redevelopment Agency Executive Director Bob Antonicello said negotiations have started with NJ Transit to extend the Hudson-Bergen Light Rail from the West Side Avenue Station to the area. The development would include "green" buildings and a network of bicycle paths. Parking would be incorporated into the buildings, officials said.

Two block-wide parks, listed on renderings as Central Park and the Promenade, would cross the width of the site from a new boulevard along Route 440 West to the waterfront, with space available for playgrounds, dog parks, ball courts, a grass amphitheater and other amenities.

The development area stretches from Route 440 to the Hackensack River and from the northern edge of Society Hill at Kellogg Street to Culver Avenue.

Corporation Counsel Bill Matsikoudis said he received word that the state Department of Environmental Protection has approved Honeywell International's remediation plan for the site.

"This is really just the start," said Ward A Councilman Michael Sottolano, who represents the area. "From what I have seen it will be a first-class community if it keeps in the direction it is going."

West side project gets green light in unanimous vote

Jersey Journal
Friday, February 29, 2008

Paving the way for creation of a new community, the Jersey City council voted unanimously Wednesday to designate 100 chromium-contaminated acres on the city's west side an "area in need of redevelopment."

This designation stems from an agreement the city struck with Morristown-based Honeywell International Inc., the party responsible for remediating the polluted land, to transform the area into a new community with up to 8,100 residential units, 20 acres of open space, and thousands of square feet of retail and commercial space.

The new community, to be built over the next 20 years, will have its own Light Rail station, officials said.

As a contributor of roughly 40 acres to the pool of land, the city would split land sale profits with Honeywell, officials say.

"This is one of the first steps in this whole process," Ward A Councilman Michael Sottolano said before voting. "Hopefully this will be a tremendous, tremendous project for Jersey City."

Honeywell spokeswoman Victoria Streitfeld saluted the city for taking "an important step toward the redevelopment of the west side."

"It is hard work ahead to realize the plan's potential," Streitfeld added. "We are committed to work in partnership with the city and the community to achieve the vision everyone has worked so hard to develop."

KEN THORBOURNE

Honeywell closes on west side land sale, pays Jersey City $15M up front

by Ken Thorbourne
Wednesday June 11, 2008, 4:58 PM

As part of the settlement struck earlier this year between Jersey City and Honeywell International, roughly 35 acres of city-owned land were transferred to the Morristown-based company last week.

In return, Jersey City received an eight-figure check.

The property, along Route 440, is home to the city's Department of Public Works and the Jersey City Incinerator Authority and is supposed to be part of new community the city is building with Honeywell's help on the west side.

As part of the settlement, Honeywell has agreed to clean up and sell development rights for roughly 100 acres of chromium-tainted land. Based on the city's land contribution, profits from the development rights will be split with the city on a 60-40 basis, with the city receiving 40 percent.

At the closing on Friday, the city received a $15 million advance on those profits, which is being used to avoid a tax hike in this year's budget.

City officials intend to relocate the DPW and JCIA, and shrink the size of the adjacent Municipal Utilities Authority.

The city is looking at two privately-owned sites to relocate the agencies -- a chunk of land at the old PJP landfill site under the Pulaski Skyway and a property along Commercial Street.

In the meantime, the city will pay Honeywell $100 a month to rent space for the DPW and JCIA at their current locations. Beginning July 1, Honeywell will pay conventional taxes on the properties, officials said.

The overall agreement calls for the chromium cleanup to be completed by 2011.