Hoboken Introduces Revised Settlement For Monarch Development

HOBOKEN, NJ — The Hoboken City Council on Wednesday voted in favor of a redevelopment plan amendment and redevelopment agreement in which a developer will avoid building residential housing on Hoboken's north waterfront, and will instead build in southern Hoboken. The developer will also create a municipal garage for the city.

The original version of the settlement with Ironstate Development — a residential developer in Hoboken — was presented last year, but revisions were required. READ MORE: Hoboken Votes For Monarch Waterfront Development Settlement

The intent of the settlement is to preserve the northern waterfront. Originally, the city was concerned that Ironstate planned to build its residential Monarch Development towers on the 15th Street Pier.

The agreement will now be referred to the Planning Board for a Master Plan Consistency Review and will then be referred back to the City Council for final approval, potentially on May 19.

If there are no setbacks, the city could acquire title to the Monarch property on the northern waterfront, and 800 Monroe St., by the fall of this year.

Ironstate, in turn, gets to build at the current site of the city garage on Observer Highway.

"Last night," Bhalla said in a statement on Thursday, "the Hoboken City Council voted in favor of a redevelopment plan amendment and redevelopment agreement proposed by the Bhalla administration, pertaining to the Monarch settlement and municipal garage at 256 Observer Highway. [The] vote cleared the most important hurdles to date in facilitating the acquisition of the Monarch waterfront property and the 1.45 acres at 800 Monroe for public open space, along with the revitalization of downtown Hoboken and the relocation of the municipal garage to the North End.”

Bhalla said, “My administration will continue to aggressively pursue this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to protect our waterfront while moving forward with a park on one of the few remaining parcels of undeveloped land in Hoboken. I thank the residents who made their voices heard at the council meeting, as well as the seven council members for their affirmative votes.”

Councilmembers Tiffanie Fisher, Mike Russo, Ruben Ramos, Phil Cohen, Jim Doyle, Emily Jabbour and Vanessa Falco voted in favor of the redevelopment agreement and plan amendment, the city said. Councilmember Mike DeFusco abstained from the redevelopment agreement vote and against the redevelopment plan amendment, and Councilwoman Jen Giattino voted against the agreement and plan amendment.

Click here for Tuesday’s communication from Mayor Bhalla to the Hoboken public with details of the revised Monarch settlement.

Bhalla said, in part, "As part of the agreement, Ironstate would allow the city to extend the time it could remain in the current municipal garage from one year ... to three, in order to allow for more flexibility to keep garage operations in place while a permanent garage is planned and built. This would save the city from a situation in which Ironstate would be ready to break ground on the mixed-use residential building at 256 Observer Highway, without the city having been relocated to a permanent garage."

In exchange, the city would allow an additional 30 units of residential housing at 256 Observer Highway as compared to the 331 residential units that were anticipated as part of the adopted settlement agreement.

"Even with these additional units," Bhalla said, "the maximum building height allowed through the adopted settlement agreement was not exceeded. Given this, I felt this compromise in the negotiated redevelopment agreement was in the best interests of the City to ensure adequate time to relocate our municipal garage."

When a version of the agreement was introduced last year, Bhalla said, "This is a critical step forward that will facilitate continued negotiations with Ironstate to protect our waterfront from large-scale development, add much-needed open space, revitalize downtown Hoboken with 15,000 square feet of commercial space, and make quality of life improvements for our city."

He added, "While no deal is perfect, we are well on our way to creating a historic agreement that will benefit all of our residents for many years to come."

Don't miss breaking news alerts when they are announced, or get a free daily newsletter each morning with local news. Sign up with your preferences here.

Got news? Email caren.lissner@patch.com. Got photos? Please include express written permission from the photographer for us to use them. To be the first to get free news alerts with breaking stories in your town, or to get a free local newsletter each morning, sign up for Patch breaking news alerts or daily newsletters.