Years of litigation that have held up additional development at the Peninsula at Bayonne Harbor will soon come to a close, as the City Council votes on a resolution at its March 18 meeting that provides authorization to approve an agreement with Bayonne Bay Developers LLC, the third and final lawsuit that needs to be settled, an official said.
Settlements of lawsuits with the Fidelco Bayonne Realty LLC and Trammell Crow Residential late last year were the first two stumbling blocks overcome, according to Business Administrator Joseph DeMarco.
The Alexan CityView apartments were built on the Peninsula by Trammell Crow Residential.
But after the city sold much of the land on the former Military Ocean Terminal in 2010 to the Port Authority of New York & New Jersey, the lawsuits were filed because of developer contracts which had stipulated that no container port would be built at the site, something that was then made allowable through the Port Authority deal.
The resolution allows the city to move forward on the agreement with Bayonne Bay Developers and paves the way for wholesale development at the Peninsula.
“It solves the last lawsuit at the [former] Military Ocean Terminal,” DeMarco said. It allows for approximately 580 residential units to be constructed, which will be apartment rentals.
Bayonne Bay had made a $14 million deposit six years ago, and will have a $17 million credit, which includes interest, fees, and costs associated with the lawsuit factored in.
DeMarco said the city had kept the deposit and had used the money in prior-year budgets to help fill gaps.
The city’s agreement with Bayonne Bay calls for infrastructure improvements, including renovating walkways and streets.
Bayonne Bay’s development includes seven parcels of land and 23 acres and is located just west of a Boraie Development LLC project.
Authority sign off
The Port Authority agreed to the settlement, which restricts them from building a container port on the Peninsula for 30 years, according to DeMarco.
DeMarco said that the new city administration first met with Bayonne Bay representatives in October and had continued to meet with the company consistently over the last five months to forge the settlement.
Minor details
“Last week we got to a point where only minor details have to be worked out,” DeMarco said. “It was at this point we felt comfortable going to the council for the mayor.”
DeMarco said there would still be the regular processes to go through to complete the deal, including site plan approval.
Royal Caribbean Cruises Lines has operated a cruise port at the Peninsula for years, and in the fall invested further at their site, building a new passenger terminal.
Joseph Passantino may be reached at JoePass@hudsonreporter.com.To comment on this story online visit www.hudsonreporter.com.