A real estate settlement agreement signed by the City of Hoboken has closed the book on what has been a years-long property dispute. The waterfront property at the corner of 15th Street and Shipyard Avenue, known as the ‘Monarch Site,’ was the subject of a long-running battle between the City of Hoboken and the Ironstate Development Company. The dispute even made its way to the New Jersey Supreme Court in 2020. The agreement, signed on November 4th, 2021, awards properties to both the City and Ironstate and sets a timeline for the exchanges to occur. Read on to learn more about the settlement and what’s next for the land.
About the Dispute
Community advocates sounded the alarm in 2011 when plans were made public to develop the lot at 15th Street and Shipyard Ave. into two, 11-story condos, that were to be called The Monarch. Over the years, the dispute intensified, resulting in a lawsuit brought by Funds for a Better Waterfront, the Hudson Tea Condominium Association, and the City.
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The lawsuit wound its way to the New Jersey Supreme Court in 2020, and the Court ruled against the City. Since then, the City and Ironstate have been working on finalizing a settlement agreement.
What’s Next
Now that the settlement has been agreed to, both the City and Ironstate are required to take action. Ironstate will build its proposed residential housing at the site of the current Hoboken Department of Public Works Garage on Observer.
The plans for this site include a mixed-use development with roughly 30,000 square feet of commercial space and 360 residential units, including 40 affordable housing units. The development will also include a 60,000-gallon stormwater detention tank to help mitigate area flooding caused by heavy rain events. The developer will also pay the city $3.5 million.
The City will move its public works facility elsewhere. There is a financial incentive for the City to complete this task quickly: per the agreement, the City could also receive an extra $500,000 if the City vacates the public works facility within two years.
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The City also acquired a 1.45-acre property in the 800 block of Monroe Street and will develop this into a resiliency park. It will incorporate both above and below-ground infrastructure to mitigate area flooding caused by heavy rain events.
And the original, waterfront property that was the source of the dispute? The City will retain it and eventually turn it into an open public space.
The City and other advocates for preserving the space have been positive and applauded the news of the settlement. Hoboken Mayor Ravi S. Bhalla praised the final agreement, saying that “It allows the City to preserve public access to our waterfront, obtain waterfront land for public open space, acquire 1.45 acres of land for a future resiliency park in western Hoboken, and it allows the developer to revitalize the current site of our public works facility, adding vibrancy to downtown Hoboken.”
“This will be an amazing end of an era,” Councilwoman Tiffanie Fisher said of the announcement. “Who would have thought that when we started this fight in 2011, it would take a decade, and bring with it even more open space for Hoboken?”
“The City acquisition of the Monarch property represents an opportunity to connect a significant, unfinished portion of Hoboken’s public waterfront, long-delayed after a decade of litigation followed by several years of negotiations,” said Ron Hine, Executive Director of the Fund for a Better Waterfront. “We have reached an important milestone.”
