Is fifth proposal the charm?
Troy approves deal for Hoboken Brownstone to design $30M project
The Troy Local Development Corporation approved a contract Friday with a New Jersey company that wants to convert the former City Hall site downtown into a $30 million development that would feature apartments, offices and stores.
The Hoboken Brownstone Company’s plan for 1 Monument Square is the fifth proposal considered by the city since City Hall was torn down nearly a decade ago. The four previous proposals all fell apart before construction could start.
In Friday’s deal, Hoboken Brownstone received a threeyear option on the 1.1-acre site between River Street and the Hudson River. The agreement was approved unanimously by the development corporation’s board, which met on a videoconference because of the coronavirus pandemic.
The project is expected to feature public parking and amenities that include a connection to Riverfront Park.
“This gives us a good launching pad to get started so that we can get a design in front of the community,” said Sumeet
Gupta, COO of Hoboken Brownstone.
Hoboken Brownstone was selected last summer as the latest developer for the site, which has been empty since City Hall was razed in 2011. The company has offered few specific details about what it plans to do on the site.
Gupta told the local development corporation the firm has met with community members and is following the development guidelines reached during the public planning sessions. The city in an effort to avoid the latest Monument Square project from failing due to public opposition went to city residents and businesses to solicit what they wanted to see built at the site.
As part of the agreement, Hoboken Brownstone is giving the development corporation $50,000 to be placed in an account to pay for expenses the city incurs during the design phase. After Hoboken Brownstone’s plans are approve by the city Planning Commission it will pay an additional $600,000. The money will be used to cover the city costs for public amenities, such as the staircase linking the site to the adjacent Riverfront Park, parking garage and other public aspects.
City Council President Carmella Mantello said the $600,000 payment should go directly into the city’s general fund. Mantello voted against the TLDC handling the negotiations with Hoboken Brownstone over the land-development agreement.
She said the money “should be going directly into the city’s general fund for the taxpayers of Troy, especially in light of the drastic revenue holes happening in our city’s budget due to the present health crisis.”
The coronavirus pandemic prompted the closure of all non-essential businesses and schools in the state, causing a dramatic drop in tax revenue that municipal leaders around New York fear will cause severe budget problems in the coming months and years.
Under the terms of the agreement, the developer and the city will work together to see state grants are spent on developing the site. The city has a $1.479 million state grant for the site to which it must apply $1.366 million in matching funds.
The land-development agreement gives Hoboken Brownstone a two-year option on the site with the ability to renew for an additional year. The development corporation said it was to meet deadlines for submitting applications for state grants.