City To Make an Offer to Acquire Parkland in Southwest

The city will be making an offer to acquire two pieces of property in the southwestern part of town, with the goal of making it into a park. 

The city council unanimously approved a resolution during Wednesday night's meeting that enables the administartion to do exactly that. 

The parcels in question—a surface parking lot at Harrison and Jackson Streets in the southwestern corner of town and an accompanying lot next to it—have been appraised by the city. 

It's unclear if the owner, who owns both pieces of property, is willing to sell to the city, but an offer will mark the first step of the process. 

The city is offering roughly $2.3 million for the lot where the surface parking lot currently sits. The city is offering more than $400,000 for the other lot. 

The owner of the lots can either accept or reject the offer, or—the most likely outcome—start a process of negotiations with the city to come to an agreement. 

"I'm glad that we're moving forward," said Fourth Ward Councilman Tim Occhipinti.

The use of eminent domain, is not currently on the table, but "not out of the realm of possiblity," Council President Ravi Bhalla said in a phone interview on Thursday. But before that happens, many more steps need to be undertaken by the city as well as the council. 

The money with which the lot is supposed to be purchased is a

Councilman-at-Large, and Fourth Ward resident, David Mello also said he supports making the offer.

"It's a sensible place," Mello said about the lot at Jackson and Harrison Streets. He added that the city's master plan states that there shouldn't be any surface parking lots in Hoboken.