The west side’s major developer has officially committed as much as $10 million to build a town swimming pool and community recreation center.
The principals for Tarragon/URSA Development Group held a press conference Wednesday with Mayor David Roberts to show preliminary plans.
According to URSA officials, construction could begin next spring, with the facilities open to the public in time for the summer of 2007.
The pool and community center are a sizable giveback from the developer to the community, but also an attempt to garner public support for a proposed 11-acre redevelopment area along the city’s west side that would be a mix of residential buildings, retail space, and open space.
The new community center and pool will be located on 11th Street, between Monroe and Madison streets. Tarragon/URSA owns the site and has already started demolition activities.
According to the city officials, when completed, the community center and pool will ultimately be transferred to the city as a public facility.
The developers added Wednesday that they will build the complex regardless of their success in getting the adjoining redevelopment zone approved.
The URSA Development group is headed by longtime Hoboken residents Michael Sciarra and Mark Settembre. Their partner is the Tarragon Corporation, a New York-based development firm.
They also were major campaign contributors to Roberts.
The plans
Preliminary plans for the 26,000 square-foot community recreation center include exercise rooms, lockers and showers, a dance studio, and community activities rooms.
The Olympic-sized swimming pool will include a separate children’s pool area as well as an outdoor deck with the entire area bounded by a brick and ornamental landscape fence.
The subtext
URSA/Tarragon has proposed, and Roberts supports, a plan to extend the Northwest Redevelopment Area by about nine blocks, starting at Ninth Street and going north along the light rail tracks.
According to the developers, the proposed redevelopment plan for the area will include a mix of multi-use development of residential units and retail space with 5.5 acres of open public space with a pedestrian/bike path, a green linear park with children’s play areas, seated and landscaped areas, and a dog run.
The idea for a pool complex was first floated six months ago, without the money being committed. Skeptics in the activist community said that it was the developer’s ploy to gain support for their development plans. In the past, developers have promised pools and other assorted givebacks but failed to deliver.
Roberts said that Wednesday’s announcement by Tarragon/URSA shows that the developer is committed to the community center.
Roberts added that this will be one of his most rewarding accomplishments as mayor.
“This project not only represents a tremendous community amenity for the children of Hoboken, but also marks a significant step towards redeveloping the city’s northwest corridor,” Roberts said. “When all is said and done, this previously blighted section of Hoboken will be reborn through a responsible mix of public open space, green parks, athletic fields, residences and retail.”
According to one of the principals of the development team, Hoboken has needed community projects like these for some time.
“As kids who grew up in Hoboken, we always dreamed of having new facilities like these,” said Sciarra, referring to his partner at URSA Development, Settembre. “We are proud to give back to a community and a city that has made such a difference in our lives.”
Councilman Ruben Ramos said that a permanent public pool is something that the city has sorely needed.
“Ever since I was a young kid growing up in Hoboken, I can remember always wanting a swimming pool,” Ramos said. “Twenty months from now we will be cutting the ribbon on a new pool and recreation center.”
Councilman Michael Cricco added that the new community center will only be a block away from where the public school district plans to build a new elementary and high school, and two athletic fields. “This project coupled with the SCC facility that Sen. Bernard Kenny is working diligently to expedite will guarantee recreational and educational opportunities for generations to come,” Cricco said.
But the debate is only beginning
Over the next months, and probably years, there will be debate before the City Council and Planning Board about how the redevelopment area should be planned and how high the development should rise.
The area is currently populated with run-down industrial buildings on fallow and contaminated land. But many in the activist community say that Hoboken is short on open space. They also argue that the plan could turn into a “sweetheart deal” for generous political contributors to Roberts.
They added that the area might become overloaded with high density, high-rise residential housing.
Roberts contends that buying the entire property for a park would be cost prohibitive, and that only through a public/private partnership with URSA/Tarragon can a new community center and acres of parks be fully funded.