Port Authority Buys Tract for $51M

Port Authority officials say the site will be redeveloped as an auto marine terminal for imported cars, and other unspecified uses. One use that won't happen, however, is a cargo container terminal. Local officials required that provision in the deal, citing noise and traffic, as well as existing contracts with developers involved in residential and commercial projects within the former MOT site. As reported by GlobeSt.com, multiple developers are involved, and their deals specifically bar any cargo container facilities.

But the deal will allow existing sites within the 3,000 acres the Port Authority owns to be freed up for cargo container use, say officials. "In the next 10 years, we expect our cargo volumes to double, yet we have limited land on which to expand our facilities," says port commerce director Richard M. Larrabee. "This parcel is a gem in New York harbor that will allow us to begin to address these critical issues."

"This is an ideal use of the port property," says Bayonne Local Redevelopment Authority director Nancy A. Kist. "It will create thousands of jobs while complementing the mixed-use waterfront development the city has envisioned for the peninsula."