The moment you walked in the front door of the Bayonne branch of the New York Sports Clubs, you could feel the energy – men and women using exercise machines, the swimming pool, even the yoga room in back.
So comfortable did everybody seem that you’d hardly know that this was the first day of operations. Only the parade of dignitaries taking the tour suggested that there was anything out of the ordinary.
The new 26,000-square-foot, multi-recreational facility located at 600 Bayonne Crossing features a swimming pool, cycling, aerobics and boxing studios, kids’ fitness programs, and babysitting, and an extensive array of the latest cardiovascular equipment equipped with personal entertainment systems so that members can enjoy TV or music while they exercise.
“This has meant a lot of jobs for us.” – Mayor Mark Smith
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Additionally, a dedicated personal training area creates a focused environment for personal trainers and their clients to train.
“We’re very excited to bring the first multi-recreational health club with a wide range of services to the area,” said Bob Giardina, CEO of New York Sports Clubs. “We are opening well ahead of expectations, which is due to the community’s overwhelming support for the club in this new retail complex.”
While the opening of the fitness facility is a very big deal in Bayonne, the ribbon-cutting had an even greater significance to the city since it indicates the near complete occupancy of the Bayonne Crossing Mall, one of the few new malls if not the only new mall constructed in the state of New Jersey since 2008.
Lots of jobs
The 365,500 square-foot mall, which is situated on the eastern side of Route 440 between East 22nd Street and New Hook Road in Bayonne, features a Walmart Superstore, Sonic Drive-in, Five Guys Burgers and Fries, LongHorn Steak House, and other stores, as well as the New York Sports Clubs.
“This has meant a lot of jobs for us,” said Mayor Mark Smith during a brief interview after the official ribbon cutting and during the tour that led him through each of section of the new facility, where dozens of people were already engaged.
Smith said this was a great addition to the Crossing project, which has only one more vacancy that will likely be filled shortly.
Although the first stores were occupied in late 2010, most of the main tenants arrived in 2011 with the arrival of Lowe’s Home Improvement Center in January, Michael’s Arts and Crafts Store in the spring, and Walmart in October.
First proposed in 2003 to 2004, the project in 2005 was projected to be completed in 18 months.
“This mall created a lot of jobs in a down economy,” said Michael O’Connor, who served as the director of economic development for the city during the key period of development. “But it was a tough job.”
The mall was constructed on property that was owned by a number of different entities and had some environmental cleanup issues that had to be resolved. This meant the city and the mall developer had to seek a number of different approvals from the state. Then, in 2008, the world economy took a nosedive.
“This was built in the middle of the Great Recession,” O’Conner said.
The cost of construction is estimated at $82 million and is expected to generate more than 1,000 mostly union construction jobs and about 875 full-time jobs.
The acreage was cobbled together through a number of land deals over the last five years, but faced some serious environmental cleanup hurdles, including removal of underground petroleum contaminants from the site, which once served as a storage area for the Standard Oil Company.
“It is something very important to the local economy at a time when most communities are struggling,” O’Conner said.