A site that sat contaminated in Jersey City's Bergen-Lafayette neighborhood for years is finally getting built on. City and Hudson County officials broke ground Wednesday afternoon on Canal Crossing, a development that will bring hundreds of new homes to Ward F, Hudson County View reported.
What's going up
The first phase will deliver 508 homes. Of those, 102 will be affordable, with rents between $1,000 and $1,500 a month, according to Hudson County View. Hudson County Commissioner Bill O'Dea said those units are set at 30 to 60 percent of area median income.
Mayor James Solomon also pointed to about 400 market-rate units, including a number of three-bedroom apartments. "We're not just building affordable studios. We are building affordable apartments for families," he said.
Solomon said the project will bring the infrastructure a new neighborhood needs, including roads, sewers and electricity, along with a 33,000-square-foot park and green space.
After the ceremony, Solomon told Hudson County View the overall cost is in the range of hundreds of millions of dollars, and that construction of the first phase will take about two years.
Cleaning up the site
Ron Riccio, the independent site administrator, said Canal Crossing is one of about 20 chromium-contaminated sites whose remediation he oversees.
"For years this site poisoned the neighborhood," Solomon said. He credited residents who fought for a full generation to get the site cleaned up.
Who's building it
Boraie Development is the developer. Wasseem Boraie, the firm's principal and vice president, called Jersey City the "hottest market" in the Northeast. He argued that where new units go matters as much as how many, and said building in a long-neglected part of the city will help bring down overall rents. He also thanked the City Council for approving the project and its long-term tax abatements.
Hudson County Executive Craig Guy highlighted the county's $140 million bond supporting the project through the Hudson County Improvement Authority and the Board of Commissioners. He said the county plans to partner with Jersey City on other affordable development projects.
Union labor on the job
The project is being built with union labor, and the building trades were front and center at the groundbreaking.
"A core commitment of the Building for Working Families agenda is to make sure that the people who build this city afford this city," Solomon said. He said that means good wages and benefits, along with apartments at affordable rents.
Mike Hellstrom, international vice president and Eastern regional manager for the Laborers' International Union of North America, said the project shows the city can build new and affordable housing with union labor. He called it a possible "turnaround project" and a model for building the right way across the state.
Hudson County Building and Construction Trades President Patrick Kelleher said, "When union labor is at the table, we build it right, safe, and we spend money in the city." He called Canal Crossing "a key project" for the city, the building trades and the developer.
Ward F Councilman Frank "Educational" Gilmore said many of the people building the project live in the neighborhood and will be able to point to it with their children someday.
Why it matters for contractors
Canal Crossing is a big, multi-year job: more than 500 apartments, new streets, sewer and electrical infrastructure, and a park, all on a former contaminated site. That means work for site and utility contractors, environmental and remediation specialists, concrete and structural crews, MEP trades and finish contractors over the roughly two-year first phase.
It is also a clear signal about how the job will be staffed. City leaders and the developer tied the project to union labor and good wages, and the building trades say they see it as a model for future work. Union contractors and their members in Hudson County are in the best position here, and nonunion firms should understand that this kind of agreement may shape other city-backed projects under Solomon's Building for Working Families initiative.
Finally, Guy's comment about partnering on more affordable projects, backed by county bonding, suggests there is more work like this to come in Hudson County. Contractors who want in should watch the Hudson County Improvement Authority and the Jersey City Redevelopment Agency.