BAYONNE – City officials held a special closed session after the Council Caucus Meeting on Wednesday to discuss designating a developer for the southwestern portion of the former Military Ocean Terminal Base called Harbor Station South. After a previous development deal with Waitex fell through in April, city officials issued a request for proposal, then heard proposals from “dozens” of potential developers. According to Business Administrator, Joe DeMarco, the city now decided on a developer, JMF Properties, based in Whippany to develop 16 acres of the property on Harbor Station South.
Closest to Route 440, nearest the entrance, is to be developed with a goal of attracting higher income renters and businesses, while further east will develop for-sale town homes, 18-22 feet wide and three to four stories tall.
This coming Wednesday’s City Council Meeting will formerly designate JMF as a developer, which allows the city to move forward with development plans. The city’s main objective in developing the property is to earn more tax revenue by adding to the tax base, one of the reasons DeMarco has emphasized including a for-sale component in the plan.
Striking a deal with a developer is a great first step for the city in developing the entirety of MOTBY. After a couple of years at the helm, Joe DeMarco does not see it that way. “This is the 100th step. I wish it were the first.” DeMarco laments the city enduring 16 years of stalled MOTBY projects, but is excited to finally get a deal in the works. Still, he says he is “cautiously optimistic about this.”
The City Council Meeting on Wednesday, June 22 will address the matter.