(To read more on the multifamily market, click here.)

BAYONNE, NJ-Following an eight-month selection process and besting nine other candidates, a partnership of Fort Worth-based DR Horton and Dallas-based Trammell Crow Residential has gotten the nod as developer of the Bayonne Bay District at the Peninsula at Bayonne Harbor. The winning proposal for the 32.7-acre Bayonne Bay site is largely residential. It calls for 1,769 units of age-restricted and age-targeted housing, both for-sale and rental, configured around a waterfront park and walkway. Projected cost is in the $500-million-plus range.

The effort is the redevelopment of the former Military Ocean Terminal, shuttered by the US Army in 2002. The board of commissioners of the Bayonne Local Redevelopment Authority voted unanimously to pick the Horton/Trammell Crow group over nine other contenders. The process began in July 2005 when the BLRA fielded the 10 final proposals and launched the eight-month study period. For previous coverage,click here.

"The Horton/Trammell Crow proposal pairs two of the country's leading real estate companies," says Howard Fitch, chairman of BLRA's board of commissioners. "They met all of our criteria in terms of experience, financial strength and willingness to build and market age-restricted housing."

Under the commissioners' resolution designating the joint venture as designated developer, the next step is a final redeveloper agreement, a responsibility that falls to BLRA executive director Nancy Kist. "We received high quality proposals from many of the country's top developers," Kist says. "I think this demonstrates the value and marketability of the site."

The nine other competitors for the project included Bayonne Bay Developers, a partnership based in Woodbridge, NJ; a partnership of the Beechwood Organization of Jericho, NY and Standard Pacific Homes of Irvine, CA; Borraie Development of New Brunswick, NJ and Fox Pointe of Rockaway, NJ. Also on the short list were Pulte Homes/Del Webb; a partnership of Roseland Properties, Short Hills, NJ and the Miami-based Lennar Corp.; a partnership of Somerset Development, Lakewood, NJ and Ryan Homes; Taylor Development Group of Staten Island, NY; and Toll Brothers City Living, Hoboken, NJ.

Last year, BLRA's commissioners voted to authorize Kist to sign over development rights for a separate 102-acre tract within the former MOT. Called Harbor Station, the mix of residential, retail and other commercial uses will be developed by Fidelco Bayonne Realty, a partnership made up of Marc Berson, chairman of the Millburn, NJ-based Fidelco Realty, and Flemington, NJ-based businessman Stephen Kalafer.

Since the US Army transferred ownership of the MOT site to the BLRA four years ago, the latter has initiated and/or completed several projects to prepare the site for redevelopment. Improvements have included new waterfront bulkheading, environmental remediation, a new sewer system and planning for a new electrical grid and new roads. The first actual project in the transformation came two years ago when the Cape Liberty Cruise Port opened, quickly becoming the East Coast's third-busiest passenger port, after New York City and Miami.

Instant Insights /

UPDATE: Authority Designates Developer for $500M-Plus Project

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