With a warm breeze blowing over Martin Luther King Drive on July 19, city and other officials gathered to mark what they called a historic occasion, the groundbreaking for a new City Hall Annex. The annex location is seven stops on the light rail from Exchange Place.
Dignitaries in suits and ties and other garb more suitable for an evening on the town huddled under a tent to escape the hot sun as they touted the annex as the possible first step in helping revive a decaying part of Jersey City.
“It’s been a long road to see the start of this project,” said Mayor Steven Fulop, as he greeted guests from every level of government and people from the community. He said establishing the annex will help transform a part of the city that has not benefited from the city’s new boom era.
“This is the largest single investment in Ward F,” Fulop said, noting that while plans to revive the area have been in the works for decades, previous efforts have failed.
He said plans to consolidate city services in the area called The Hub were started about two years ago with the idea of moving city offices from rental spaces scattered throughout the city, saving the city leasing costs.
“It is impossible to overstate the transformative potential of this project for Bergen-Lafayette, Ward F, and the city as a whole.” – Steven Fulop.
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This groundbreaking comes during the same week when the city will also present a redevelopment framework for the neighborhood to the Planning Board.
Creating 45,000 square feet of office space at the Hub will cost the city about $20 million initially, and the total cost will amount to about $36 million over the life of the contract.
“It is impossible to overstate the transformative potential of this project for Bergen-Lafayette, Ward F, and the city as a whole,” said Fulop. “We made a promise to bring investment to areas of the city that have historically been overlooked and neglected. This annex is part of our commitment to keeping that promise as we put substantial city resources to work here.”
An economic stimulus to Ward F
Fulop said the City Hall Annex is the centerpiece of his administration’s commitment to putting city resources to work revitalizing Ward F. The new building will be named The Martin Luther King Jr. City Hall Annex, and will house city offices that get frequent visits from the public, such as the Department of Housing, Commerce and Economic Development, and the Department of Health and Human Services. There will also be a satellite mayor’s office with staff at the Hub Annex in addition to the main office at City Hall.
The annex will be located next to the Martin Luther King Drive Light Rail Station, which will make it easier for residents to access city services. Ample parking will also be available.
The project will also save the city significant sums because offices will be moved from more costly rental space, he said. Over the life of the building, the project is expected to save taxpayers tens of millions of dollars.
An annex had been planned for years, but the previous administration had proposed a site nearer to the center of the city.
The city will make monthly lease payments less than current leases and will ultimately own the facility. The annex would be rented to the city by Brandywine with an option to buy it for a nominal price at the end of 25 years.
“I’m so excited to see work begin on this facility,” said Ward F Councilwoman Diane Coleman. “The foot traffic and business opportunities that will result from the nearly 300 city workers at the fully-staffed City Hall Annex will help drive further development as we continue working to revitalize this neighborhood. The potential for this community is tremendous, and the annex will help realize that.”
The annex is one of a series of initiatives that were done to help bolster development in the area, Fulop noted.
Late last year, he said, his administration helped bring in a new retail bank, Investors Bank, to the Hub after more than five years without a bank at the shopping center in the heart of Ward F.
And earlier this summer, the Fulop administration cut the ribbon on Berry Lane Park, a nearly $40 million, 17.5 acre park, the largest municipal park in the city.
This week, the city also brought the Jackson Hill Redevelopment Plan to the Planning Board for review. The new Redevelopment Plan, developed with comprehensive community input, lays out a roadmap for attracting residential and commercial development along the 2.4-mile long commercial corridor connecting McGinley Square to Greenville, including Monticello Avenue and MLK Drive.
The annex will be built by Brandywine Jersey City LLC through a public-private partnership with the city and the Jersey City Redevelopment Agency (JCRA).
Questions about the deal
The annex project didn’t come about without controversy. Some council members, such as Ward D Councilman Michael Yun, questioned the lease purchase under which the city would acquire the facility.
Originally proposed to cost $14 million to build, the project has been scaled back from 60,000 square feet to 45,000, said Eric Moore of Brandywine. This reduces the city’s overall cost by about $10 million, from about $45 million to about $36 million, after the city’s lease purchase agreement expires.
Al Sullivan may be reached at asullivan@hudsonreporter.com.