Two years after a massive proposed development over the NJ Transit yards in south Hoboken created a firestorm of political controversy, the transit agency will present to the public a revised, downscaled version of the plan for a portion of the 52-acre site.
The NJ Transit presentation will be held Mon., Sept. 27 from 7 to 9 p.m. in the Hoboken Terminal waiting room.
The plan will be a limited proposal to develop a very small portion of the rail yard site and will not significantly address development plans for the rest of the land. But given the controversy raised in 2008, when NJ Transit last introduced their concept for the area, town officials and community members alike will no doubt eye the plan with caution.
At that time, the agency proposed building multiple high rise buildings around the rail yard, including 70-story tower, which was criticized by many as too massive in scale for the Mile Square City to accommodate.
The success of a Hoboken-NJ Transit partnership could be tested if the city’s chosen planner develops a proposal the agency rejects.
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The mayor said she has not seen the plan that will be presented Monday, but will attend the meeting to see what the agency would like to do.
She said she will also give residents an overview of what Hoboken is doing to take control of development at the rail yard site.
Agency’s original plans blasted
Located at the south edge of Hoboken, along Observer Highway, the NJ Transit rail yard could be the city’s next biggest area of development now that much of the waterfront is fully developed.
In 2008 the state-owned transit authority, which owns the property, and its urban planner, FXFOWLE, proposed building as many as 12 new high rises – including 45-story residential buildings and a 70-story commercial tower – above and surrounding the rail yard site. Although the large scale project included waterfront parks and open space, it could have added as many as 3,200 residential units and 6,000 new residents to Hoboken, including hundreds of school children.
The plan was immediately criticized for being too massive in scale and scope for a small city like Hoboken. Critics said the project would have added more traffic, congestion, and population growth than the city could accommodate.
The controversy that grew out of the plans were instrumental in killing proposed state legislation that would have allowed NJ Transit to freely develop any land it owns without gaining approval from the municipalities in which the land is owned.
However, State Assemblyman Vincent Prieto, a member of the Assembly Transportation Committee who was instrumental in getting the bill squashed, said similar pieces of legislation have periodically been proposed for years, and it is possible a new version of the legislation could come up again.
City takes over
With FXFOWLE’s original plans essentially scuttled, the city is prepared to move forward with its own rail yard development project – and with its own city planner.
“We’re in the process of going through an RFQ process to get a planner for the entire project,” Zimmer said. “I’ve explained to them [NJ Transit] that I think it’s important that we have a new planner starting fresh on this project. I’ve explained to them, the former planner lost all credibility in the City of Hoboken. They understand our position. They’re receptive.”
To prevent a repeat of what happened in 2008, Zimmer said she wants the city to fund the planning process “so that we have complete control over [it].”
Two years ago, NJ Transit had contracted FXFOWLE and underwrote the original planning process, something unheard of in private development projects. Since NJ Transit is a public entity, it was possible for the agency to pick up the costs associated with the development of the plan, an option Hoboken took advantage of, but one Zimmer believes, ultimately didn’t serve the city well.
For its part, NJ Transit appears willing to play along, at least for now.
“We certainly want to have as much input as possible from the mayor, as well as the community. And we encourage them to attend Monday’s meeting,” said agency spokesperson Penny Bassett Hackett. “We also look forward to working with the city on a project that meets the needs of NJ Transit and Hoboken.”
The success of a city-NJ Transit partnership could be tested, however, if the city’s chosen planner develops a proposal the agency rejects.
E-mail E. Assata Wright at awright@hudsonreporter.com.