MOT Redevelopment Gets a Jumpstart

Those 102 acres are part of a larger makeover of the 430-acre former Military Ocean Terminal, a sprawling federal logistics complex that was deactivated in the 1980s. The overall project is being called the Peninsula at Bayonne Harbor; Fidelco's 102-acre portion has been named Harbor Station.

The principals of Fidelco Bayonne Realty, a partnership formed for this project, are Marc E. Berson, chairman and co-founder of the Millburn-based Fidelco Realty, which has properties in New Jersey and several other states, and Stephen Kalafer, a Flemington-based businessman with interests in the automotive industry, sports and filmmaking. Among other things, the two are partners in such diverse interests as Hudson River Studios and the Newark Bears minor league baseball team.

While specific plans remain to be determined, Harbor Station will include a mix of residential, retail and other commercial development, a hotel and possibly multi-media production facilities. According to details released by the BLRA, and pending final signatures, the agreement will give the Fidelco Bayonne the development rights for 10 years. The developer will also acquire the site from the BLRA.

The agreement also calls for Fidelco Bayonne to pay the local agency $21.5 million by June 1 to fund the start of infrastructure work. That amount will be credited against the final sale price, a number that has yet to be worked out. And the BLRA will continue to have a major decision-making role in how the project is built out.

The relationship between BLRA and Fidelco Bayonne dates back to the fall of 2003, when the agency approved a memorandum of agreement for development of at least a portion of the Peninsula at Bayonne Harbor site. At the time, Kist said the partnership "clearly stood out" from among 50 or so developers the agency had interviewed. Howard Fitch, BLRA's chairman, termed it "a good business decision." Neither side will comment on the recent breakdown in negotiations and what jumpstarted them.

"This agreement is a major step toward redeveloping this property in a manner that is consistent with our vision," Fitch commented after the commissioners' vote. As for the other 328 acres of the sprawling site, specific uses still have to be determined, and the selection of developers remains an ongoing process.