The Bayonne City Council voted to approve a settlement with Bayonne Bay developers. This is the last of the three lawsuits on the peninsula at Bayonne Bay Harbor. The other two lawsuits were settlements between Fidelco Bayonne Realty LLC and Trammell Crow Residential.
[fve]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qah5qzHpgXg
[/fve]
The Alexan CityView apartments were built by Trammell Crow Residential in 2007 with the agreement that stipulated that no container ports would be built at the site.
In 2010, the city sold 131 acres to the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, which then made it allowable through the deal.
Trammell then teamed up with Fidelco Bayonne Realty LLC and Bayonne Bay Developers and filed a lawsuit against the city and the PANYNJ.
As part of the lawsuit settlement between Trammell and the city, the city removed a city minimum payment requirement on the developer’s payments in lieu of taxes.
Fidelco received a 30-year tax abatement.
According to an outside city counsel, Joe Baumann, the agreement with Bayonne Bay Developers includes a transaction to purchase 20 acres at $1.16M.
Bayonne Bay Developers intends to create two parks which will be built for the city and then dedicated at no additional costs.
The agreement also allows for approximately 560 residential units constructed as rental apartment.
Bayonne Bay made a $14 million deposit 6 years ago and will have a $17 million credit, which includes interest fees and costs associated with the lawsuit factored in.
Baumann claims settling the third and last lawsuit is critical to the city.
“If you look at the 90 acres of land, you’ll know there is not much built there. There is a roll in, roll out auto terminal, that’s pretty much all they can do,” he told the council.
“One of the critical points to settling all three lawsuits is allowing the city now to go to the maritime district developer and negotiate with them for a change in their deed … to do more at their property, hence a benefit to the city, being a profit can be built there.â€