The Hoboken Parking Authority and the city will be able to reduce their involvement in the controversial automated parking garage at 916 Garden St. in the near future. At the Nov. 7 meeting of the lame-duck seven-member volunteer board of the Hoboken Parking Authority (HPA), which will be dissolved by Jan. 1, the board voted to sell the garage to Feldman Equities of Floral Park, N.Y.
Larry Feldman, the president and CEO of Feldman Equities, confirmed Friday that his company is affiliated with Robotic Parking, Inc., the Florida-based firm that installed the automated system in the 324-car garage. “We are affiliated with and working in full concert [with Robotic],” said Feldman. He confirmed that his company is interested in becoming the purchaser of the garage, and that two companies would work closely together when it comes to the future management if the deal is successful. Because the final contract has not yet been signed, and negotiations over several details continue, Feldman said that he would not be able to comment any further at this time.
Feldman Equities owns office and retail properties and land for development in Arizona and Florida. The firm specializes in commercial real estate development, management, and ownership, according to its web site.
While HPA attorney Ryan Marrone confirmed that the HPA has accepted a bid from Feldman, he did not release the terms or amount of the contract. But according to one HPA official, the winning contract was for $5.75 million.
The actual cost of the garage varies greatly depending on who you ask. According to Turso, the HPA has spent approximately $8 on the garage, but Mayor David Roberts stated on the record in June, when he launched his investigation into the garage, that he believes the project was at least $5 million dollars over its original $6 million budget. Marrone added that some minor terms of the contract are still being negotiated but that the “HPA is looking to close as quickly as possible and no later that Jan. 31.”
Feldman Equities was one of two companies that bid on the property. Marrone confirmed that JNJ Associates of Manhattan, a real estate investment firm, also bid on the building. According to one HPA official, JNJ’s bid was $5.7 million, $200,000 more than Feldman’s original bid. Then, at Thursday’s HPA meeting, Feldman upped its bid to $5.75 million, the official said. At that meeting the board voted to accept the bid from Feldman.
Representatives from Robotic referred all questions about the sale to Turso.
“We are in agreement, and now it’s up to the attorneys to work out the details,” said Turso. “We’re still negotiating [some terms], but the offer they have made has been accepted by the board. This is definitely something that is going to happen.”
Turso said that the sale is a good thing for the HPA and city. “This is a win-win situation,” said Turso. “We get a garage for the people, and the garage will go back on the tax rolls.” If the property were owned by the city, it would not pay taxes.
Turso also said sale will allow the HPA, and eventually the city, to recoup some of the money the quasi-governmental agency invested. The garage, which began construction approximately four years ago, was finished almost three years behind schedule. The Hoboken Parking Authority is the city board that green-lighted the project in 1998.
Just recently, Robotic Parking has started phasing the public’s cars into the garage. Turso said that they now have over 100 residents using the garage. The opening of the garage was important for Robotic, as this is the only completed automated garage in the United States.
HPA to be dissolved
The sale of the garage will be one of the final transactions of the doomed Hoboken Parking Authority. In October, the City Council voted to dissolve the HPA. The vote by the city’s governing body sealed the fate of the 33-year old autonomous agency that was created for the purpose of building garages and managing the city’s parking spaces.
The HPA, which has been directed by seven appointed commissioners, will be replaced by a new entity, which will operate under the title of the Hoboken Parking Utility. It will be operated by, and directly accountable to, the City Council, the mayor, and his administration. The Utility will assume the financial obligations of the Authority and will receive all revenues arising from contracts and service charges for parking services.
Mayor David Roberts announced in September that he was in favor of eliminating the HPA, citing a lack of proper planning, duplication of services, and cost overruns associated with construction of the 916 Garden St. parking facility, among other reasons.
During construction of the garage over the years, a battle ensued that caused much finger pointing, and eventually, work had to stop. One of the project’s contractors accused another of not being able to install the building’s automated system properly. The other contractor responded by saying that the first one had installed the building’s steel incorrectly.
An investigation to determine if there has been any criminal wrongdoing during the garage process has not yet returned results. The investigation began five months ago.
Timing
City officials have said that the Utility can be up, running, and fully operational by the first quarter of next year.
Turso said that selling the garage is the proper thing to do even though the city will be taking over parking operations shortly. He also said the sale will still happen even if the deal is not complete before the transition to the Parking Utility occurs.
“I think we’re going out on a good note,” he said. “I’m sure the city agrees with what we are doing.”
City Administrator Robert Drasheff said Thursday that the city is not against the sale. “In principle we do not oppose the sale of the garage,” he said. He added that there might still be unknown expenses or “extraordinary” maintenance needed. “We would not want it to be a drain on the new Parking Utility,” said Drasheff.
Donald Pellicano, who has been on the on the Parking Authority’s board for more than 20 years, said that a sale is the only way to go. “It’s just not worth the grief,” said Pellicano. “There are just too many variables and too many problems to retain ownership.”