From Tues, Jan 4, 2011 Jersey Journal
The "100 Steps" project that will connect the Jersey City Heights to a Hoboken Light Rail station may soon get back on track thanks to a New Jersey grant, according to today's Jersey Journal.
Jersey City's plans to use the state grant will take the long-delayed project out of the hands of a private developer, the Journal says.
Brass Works Urban Renewal LLC, developer of The Cliffs, has been on the hook for the project since 2005, when the city Zoning Board granted variances for the then-condominium complex in exchange for several public improvements, reports say.
The improvements were to be made concurrent with construction of The Cliffs, which opened as a rental building in 2008 at 100 Paterson Plank Road, across from the Second Street Light Rail Station.
According to a Aug. 11, 2005 redevelopment agreement signed by Jersey City officials and Brass Works, the developer bears the "sole cost and expense" of restoring the "100 Steps" or "Franklin Street Steps," which were originally built more than a century ago and torn down in the 1990s.
Rising costs and trouble receiving funds, however, have hampered the project's progress.
George Garcia, an attorney for Brass Works, said the total cost of job is estimated at $450,000 to $500,000.
"I think the grant is helpful, but we need to work out a couple of things with the city," Garcia said. "We've already done a lot of work on it. Hopefully it will be done in the next year (2011)."
The Riverview Neighborhood Association delivered a petition to the city earlier this year seeking action on the stalled project.
RNA President Becky Hoffman said her group is concerned about cost overruns and wants written assurance from the city that the project will be completed.
Full story: State grant will help Jersey City get Heights "100 steps" project back on track
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