HOBOKEN, NJ-As real estate developers move forward with their respective rental apartment and office projects here, new flood maps could cause some issues for developers and homeowners in the not too distant future.
Late last year, the Federal Emergency Management Agency released preliminary flood maps that put nearly 80% of Hoboken in a flood zone. While not expected to be in place until next year, new regulations could require developers and homeowners to raise ground-floor space up to eight feet above the sidewalk and may lead to higher insurance costs, according to the Wall Street Journal.
NJ Transit and LCOR Inc. announced in February that they would add $15 million in new flood-prevention features to their project that proposes 3 million square feet of new office, residential and retail space.
While banks are reportedly bullish about financing new development projects in Hoboken at the moment, Joe Stingone, a residential broker with Century 21, says higher costs related to the flood maps are a concern. “It's on the radar,” he says. “I think the bigger problem is not the fact that people can't afford it, but the fact that the banks won't lend on buildings without proper coverage.” See story in the Wall Street Journal.
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