HOBOKEN– The City of Hoboken announced Wednesday in a press release that it is in the final stages of negotiations to acquire the BASF property.The 6-acre property in northwest Hoboken, will be used to create a 5- acre resiliency park and a parking garage.
According to the release, the total cost to acquire the property would be $30 million, which the city intends to fund through a low-interest loan from the New Jersey Environmental Infrastructure Fund Program (NJEIFP) for the park portion and with a bond from the Hoboken Parking Utility (HPU) for the parking garage portion.
The debt service will be financed through the Hoboken Open Space Trust Fund for the parkland acquisition and with revenue from the parking facility for the HPU bond, according to the release.
If negotiations are successful, the City Council will be asked at the Oct 5 meeting to introduce multiple ordinances to authorize the agreement to purchase the property, a bond for the NJEIFP, and the HPU bond.
The city will host a public hearing on Thursday, Oct. 6 from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. at the Multi Service Center, located at 124 Grand St., to hear the community’s input on the land acquisition.
The largest portion of the BASF property is Block 107, a 4-acre property bounded by Madison, Adams, 12th, and 13th streets.
Additional space for the park is south of 12th Street between Madison Street and Jefferson streets.
The parking garage is proposed for the property north of 13th Street between Jefferson and Adams streets.