The redevelopment of the
Military Ocean Terminal
in Bayonne will now promote good jobs and affordable housing in northern New Jersey.
Much of the credit for this goes to the Garden State Alliance for a New Economy (GANE), which persuaded local officials to include job quality and housing affordability language in a
Request for Proposals (RFP)
to redevelop the decommissioned army facility.
The $10 billion 16 million-square-foot mixed-use redevelopment project—which is expected to create some 3,000 waterfront residential units, up to 1,000 hotel rooms and commercial and light industrial space—is eagerly anticipated in the community.
Kate Atkins, executive director of GANE—a recently formed affiliate of the
Partnership for Working Families
—said involvement in the project was too important to pass up: “It will have a major impact on the region’s economy for many years to come.”
Representing a coalition of five unions and four community groups, GANE testified at
local redevelopment authority meetings
and held meetings with Mayor Terrence Malloy and other local officials.
According to Atkins, “The coalition has been united on making sure that throughout the project the larger public benefit is really kept in mind–for example, making sure that construction jobs are good union jobs, and the permanent jobs are also high quality jobs.”
GANE’s goals are not only to educate public officials about their capacity to set high standards for developers, but also to send the message that it is possible to promote economic development that is financially beneficial to the community both in the short-term and in the long-term.
While GANE is pleased with its impact on the RFP, its job is not done. The group will monitor the process of selecting the developer to make sure that the project continues to promote equitable economic development.