Bayonne forwards terminal redevelopment plans

Bayonne forwards terminal redevelopment plans A week after three businesses pitched plans to redevelop a portion of a former army base in Bayonne, N.J., the city council Monday night recommended all three be considered by the Bayonne Local Redevelopment Authority (BLRA), according to a report in the Jersey Journal, a local newspaper.
   BLRA voted in September to sell a portion of the army base to the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, and the authority's board of commissioners approved the $50.5 million purchase.
   But the BLRA then determined it had improperly advertised the meeting where it had voted on the sale. The BLRA has a meeting scheduled for Thursday.
   Several companies have said they are willing to top the port authority’s bid for the property.
   Last week three groups all said they were interested in developing the property and outlined plans to the city council. The groups were:
   ' The stevedoring company Ports America.
   ' A consortia led by Worldwide Group and the Shaw group.
   ' Real estate developer Fortis Property Group.
Monday night the council decided to forward those plans to the BLRA, but it was not clear whether they would be considered or whether the authority would reaffirm the sale to the port authority.
   Both Ports America and the Worldwide-Shaw group said they were willing to operate the property as a roll-on/roll-off terminal, in line with a covenant that the port authority has agreed to — although Worldwide and Shaw also pitched a plan to operate a container terminal at the site. Fortis indicated that it would like to play a bigger role in managing development of the entire former army base, and also proposed an indoor ro/ro facility that might be more attractive to residents living elsewhere on the site.