The first stage of a planned Southwest Park could be ready for construction in July and completed by December, according to the landscape architecture firm contracted by Hoboken to produce a final design.
Last September, Starr Whitehouse won a $358,000 city contract to design, engineer, and oversee construction for the park. This past Wednesday, the City Council approved the firm’s conceptual designs for Block 12, a city-owned parking lot bordered by Harrison Street, Observer Highway, Jackson Street and Paterson Avenue, that has been pursued as potential open space for the past nine years.
Growing green space in southwest Hoboken was the issue that first brought Mayor Dawn Zimmer into city politics, and council members on both sides of the political divide were excited to see the Block 12 project so close to fruition.
“This is a park in a ward that’s been a long time coming,” said Councilman Tim Occhipinti, whose Fourth Ward includes Block 12. “I think it meets the needs of the neighborhood. There currently isn’t much passive space in the Fourth Ward that you can go and sit and read a book.”
Councilman-at-Large David Mello, who also resides in the Fourth Ward, strongly agreed. “This is about as satisfying a moment as I’ve had being here on the Council,” he said.
Toilet talk
Encompassing a little less than an acre, the Block 12 property will not be able to accommodate team sports. Its main proposed features are a dog run, shade trees, movable tables and chairs, and sculptural play features for children.
But while the park’s uses will be primarily passive, its role in protecting southwest Hoboken against flooding is quite active. The park will be built over an underground water retention chamber that can hold up to 200,000 gallons, equal to a five-inch rain event. Specially designed rain gardens, bioswales, and permeable pavers on the surface will allow water to reach the basin.
Such features are a welcome addition in Hoboken’s low-lying southwest, which sat under up to seven feet of water after Superstorm Sandy and routinely floods during heavy rainstorms.
“This is a park in a ward that’s been a long time coming.” – Tim Occhipinti
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“Having a bathroom in that park and every other park in the city should be at the forefront of our agenda,” said Councilman Michael Russo.
Because the Southwest Park lies in a flood hazard area, Assistant Business Administrator Stephen Marks said a bathroom facility would have to be elevated six feet above the ground by law. With the addition of ramps for disabled accessibility, he warned that the structure could take up a “disproportionately large” portion of Block 12’s limited space.
Council members Beth Mason, Russo, and Occhipinti all discussed tabling the resolution to allow for Starr Whitehouse to investigate the feasibility of a restroom, but each member ultimately decided that holding it was a bad idea.
The matter passed by a vote of 8 to 1. The sole negative vote came from Councilwoman Theresa Castellano, who said she could not support a project achieved through eminent domain.
Paying for the park
The city is pursuing funding for the park from the state Department of Environmental Protection and the New Jersey Environmental Infrastructure Trust Fund (EITF), which recently granted Hoboken an $11.9 million low-interest loan for its new wet weather pump. For a green infrastructure project like the Southwest Park, Hoboken would only have to pay back 31 percent of the first $2 million of an EITF loan, according to Marks.
Marks could not give an estimated cost of construction on Wednesday, but he promised one when the EITF loan application comes before the council in February.
Although the Block 12 property was acquired by the city through eminent domain in October 2013, the final price it will pay former landowner Ponte Equities has yet to be determined.
Earlier this month, a panel of three Condemnation Commissioners appointed by the Hudson County Superior Court assessed the property at $5.4 million, less than Ponte’s appraisal but $2.5 million higher than the city’s offer. Either Ponte or the city has the option of challenging the commissioners’ assessment.
While the ongoing eminent domain process is not a legal obstacle to construction, several council members said the final cost of buying Block 12 would influence their votes on a loan for the park’s construction.
“That is most certainly going to affect my decision-making process, and I’m sure my colleagues as well,” said Russo. He requested that the council hold a closed session with its lawyers in the near future to discuss Block 12’s cost.
PSE&G negotiations
In a move that could eventually secure Hoboken’s electrical grid and add even more park space to the southwest, the City Council authorized negotiations with Public Service Electric and Gas Company (PSE&G), the local power utility, over the potential sale of city land.
Transferring land would allow PSE&G to consolidate its equipment at one or both of its northwest Hoboken substations and close an outdated substation at Second and Marshall streets.
Last July, PSE&G began replacing 60 percent of Hoboken’s old cast iron gas lines. Closing the Second Street substation, which was built in 1948 and flooded during Superstorm Sandy, is the next step in PSE&G’s $1.22 billion “Energy Strong” infrastructure rehabilitation program.
On Wednesday, the City Council approved a year-long, $10,000 contract with Decotiis, Fitzpatrick & Cole attorney Francis Borin to represent Hoboken in its negotiations with PSE&G. The original resolution submitted by the Zimmer administration called for a $60,000 contract, but it was unanimously amended by the Council.
Council President Ravi Bhalla said there was a possibility the land currently occupied by the Second Street substation could be converted into additional open space for Hoboken.
The conceptual flood mitigation plan that won Hoboken and its neighbors $230 million in the federal Rebuild by Design competition last year calls for a linked greenbelt of water-retaining parks along the city’s extreme western edge.
Other business
Also on Wednesday, Mayor Zimmer issued proclamations honoring a number of Hoboken individuals and organizations for their public service. Wallace Elementary School special education teacher Mark Mautone was recognized for winning the New Jersey Teacher of the Year competition, and lifelong resident Paul Somerville was recognized for his years of service on the Hoboken Historic Preservation Commission.
Tiffanie Fisher was appointed to a second one-year term as an alternate member of the Hoboken Zoning Board of Adjustment.
Carlo Davis may be reached at cdavis@hudsonreporter.com.