New Jersey's ExpoPark plans revised

Real Estate Weekly, Nov 13, 2002

Hartz Mountain Industries and Forest City Ratner have delivered a revised plan for ExpoPark to the New Jersey Sports' and Exposition Authority (NJSEA), in conformance with an Oct. 17 letter requesting adjustments from respondents to the Continental Arena Redevelopment RFP.

Each of the components of ExpoPark now rests on the north side of Route 120, where the Arena sits amid access roads and 4,000 parking spaces in several lots.

"Not only were we able to accomplish all of the density in our original plan, we also preserved every dollar of economic impact," says Emanuel Stem, president of Hartz Mountain Industries. "We have buildings that are just as beautiful and productive, inside and out, and we are eager to meet with the NJSEA and its selection committee and Stakeholders Groups to review the financial benefits to New Jersey under our plan."

Hartz/FCR recently presented the revised plan in the "Oral Review" component of the NJSEA's selection process for a redeveloper of the Arena site. At that time the developer was still calculating some of the impacts of altering its original site plan, but it pledged then that it would meet the specifications of the earlier bid.

Language in the original RFP led five of the six respondents to extend their developments on to authority property on the south side of Route 120. After reviewing these submissions the Authority directed that proposals would be limited to using only property on Arena site in the initial phase of development. ExpoPark, along with developments by four other respondents, later was deemed an encroachment on the rights of the Giants and Jets, who can veto any development that reduces their grade-level parking, according to press reports.

"Our original plan did not reduce grade-level parking but perhaps even the suggestion that Giants and Jets parking could be interrupted might create a difficult development environment, and none of us wants that," said Stern.