About the Powerhouse Arts District The industrial and commercial activity in the 11 _ block area now known as the Powerhouse Arts District was significant, not only to the Jersey City economy, but also to the regional and national economy, from the post- Civil War period until the Great Depression. The district was tied to the Pennsylvania Railroad yards (to the north, in what is now BJ's parking lot) by railroad spurs; the remnants of these can still be seen on Provost Street. In the district's heyday, some of the world's largest manufacturers, wholesalers and retailers built here. Lorillard Tobacco constructed 111 First Street in several phases: the east wing dates from 1866, the central and west wings from 1887. Butler Brothers - suppliers for the Five and Dime chain stores - had a warehouse at 350 Morgan St. which dates from 1906 . The Great Atlantic & Pacific Tea Company built their headquarters at 150 Bay Street in 1908. Over the years, the warehouses and railroad lines fell into disuse. The buildings were eventually converted to storage and other light industrial uses; however, the warehouse district remains largely intact. When zoning was codified, the district was given the designation "Intensive Industrial" (I-2) , reflecting its current use. Mid 1980s - In a now-classic trajectory of development, artists began moving into the area, attracted by its proximity to New York City as well as the availability of loft spaces at low rents. 1992 - The owner of 111 First Street applied for and received a variance from the I-2 zoning to formally allow work-only artist studios. This owner went bankrupt in the mid- 1990s. At that point, 111 First Street was taken over by the current owner, New Gold Equities/Lloyd Goldman. Mid-1990s - A formal designation of an arts district began. Artists increased their presence in the area because of the affordable legal live/work spaces began to emerge. A major question remained: how could the area be developed to allow residential use and to remain affordable so that artists could live and work there? 1999 - The WALDO (Work And Live District Overlay) ordinance was passed by the Jersey City City Council (JCCC). This was the first zoning ordinance put in place that supported the redevelopment of the area as an arts district. It allowed for residential use of the buildings by artists, provided the structures were brought up to code. The WALDO ordinance was quite restrictive; it required anyone living in the district to be an artist. In addition, only art-related uses were to be allowed in retail spaces. The thinking behind this plan was that, by restricting the district to art uses, rental costs to residents could be kept low. If higher-income individuals did not move into the neighborhood, it was thought, property values would not be driven up by new residents who could pay a higher rate than members of the arts community. Artists would not be displaced by gentrification. WALDO was conceived as an overlay or a planning provision so that building owners could choose to adopt it, or to retain the current industrial uses. However, this provision was slow to be adopted, especially compared to the rapid development that was occurring just adjacent to the area on the Jersey City waterfront. April 11, 2001 - WALDO II, A revised version of WALDO zoning, was passed in an attempt to attract development. Still an overlay, the new WALDO plan allowed a 51% majority of artist live/work space to exist within each new development project, and permitted the remaining 49% to be offered as market-rate residential space. Retail art uses were to occupy 1/3 of retail space, while 2/3 could be occupied by restaurants, cafes, and other retail uses. These changes were significant; WALDO began to be seen as an area that would serve the entire community of Jersey City as an art and entertainment district. It was also hoped that the new less-restrictive zoning would encourage development, where the old zoning had not. Developers were interested, but the projects proposed in the area were not immediately successful. An artist-run live/work project at 110 First Street, and other similar projects, were proposed but did not come to pass. Some area property owners took issue with the zoning, which they saw as reducing the value of their properties in relation to the surrounding area. WALDO II failed to spur the rapid development seen in other parts of the waterfront such as Newport and Paulus Hook. Although devloper's interest continued, progress moved very slowly, complicated by the now-sharp rise in property values on the waterfront. Supporters of WALDO believed that the value of preserving the arts community in the area, together with the high value that an arts district would add to the City (and ultimately to the properties concerned) made it worthwhile for the city to uphold the WALDO II zoning. However, many still felt that another plan was needed. March, 2002 - The City of Jersey City commissioned the Urban Land Institute (ULI) to evaluate the feasibility of an arts and entertainment district in the area. The ULI studied the area and the history of development discussions to that date. It submitted a comprehensive report on ways that the arts district could best be encouraged. Those recommendations suggest mixed use to further encourage development, while providing measures to protect affordable artist housing and encourage arts development in the district. The report embraced the idea of creating an "Arts and Entertainment District," a vibrant area that would serve the entire city and be a focal point for the arts. It envisions a district that combines art uses with retail, commercial and office uses. The ULI study proposal is the basis of the Redevelopment Plan now called "The Powerhouse Arts District." ULI's Major Recommendations: -Preserve the historic warehouses and historic character of the district -Develop the area with emphasis on the arts in order for the district to have a unique character and a strong competitive advantage -Expand the current district to include the Powerhouse as the signature building and focal point for the district. Call the area the "Powerhouse Arts District" -Set the tone for the district by first developing a heavily subsidized low- and moderate-income rental building for artists. This would also establish a stable and viable art scene that would be attractive to commercial art galleries and theaters, as well to artists who can afford market rate rents or condominiums. ULI's Planning and Design Recommendations: -Create a space for public art and a performance space in front of the Powerhouse -Provide open green space between the waterfront walkway and the Powerhouse to provide attractive pedestrian access to the Powerhouse and the entire district. -Uncover the cobblestone streets that have been covered by asphalt. -Upgrade the infrastructure (streetscapes, ornamental lighting, etc.) to enhance the historic nature of the district -Make public art a significant presence in the district ULI's Implementation Recommendations: Write a Powerhouse Arts District Redevelopment Plan that would include: -Residential: artist work/live studios, market-rate condominiums and rentals -Retail: art galleries, apparel, neighborhood amenities, crafts, -Entertainment venues, restaurants and cabarets -Loft-type office space, a boutique hotel and parking structures -A 500-seat black-box performance space, preferably in the Powerhouse itself. -Define zoning requirements to create and maintain low/moderate income artist work/live space. -Consider the following funding sources: low-income tax credits, historic tax credits, and animportant new federal program called New Market tax credits -Create a Jersey City Downtown Partnership of developers, civic groups, and tenants, led by corporate leaders and the city. This partnership would define common issues, find solutions that respond to the interests of the city and its corporate tenants, and work to form the new Powerhouse Arts District Redevelopment Plan. September 30, 2003 - Official groundbreaking of the first new development project in the Powerhouse Arts District took place at 140 Bay Street. This project was approved under WALDO II, but after good-faith efforts to fulfill the obligations of 51% affordable housing for artists, the owners received a variance to lower the number of affordable units to 10%, in line with the ULI recommendations. October 27, 2005 - PAD Redevelopment Plan ("the Plan"), largely based on the recommendation of the ULI report, was adopted by the City Council. Around the same time, the majority of PAD is designated "The Historic Warehouse District" and all development becomes subject to oversight by the Historic Preservation Commission (HPC). This plan defines the district as "an area in need of redevelopment." Such a redevelopment plan allows the city to provide incentives to development, including tax abatements and payments in lieu of taxes which are payments to local governments that help offset losses in property taxes due to nontaxable lands within their boundaries. It also enables the JC Redevelopment Authority to exercise its full powers to implement the redevelopment plan, including the use of eminent domain authority which is the power to seize private property and delegate it for public use. "Perhaps the most unique element which will help define and shape the future arts district is the wonderfully vibrant artists' community which already exists in Jersey City. It is this community that will be the heart of the future Arts District, and the success of the district will be directly related to our ability to sustain the energy, inventiveness and quality of this community. In all our efforts to help foster the Powerhouse Arts District, it is our greatest desire to create a district that will allow the existing artist community to thrive and grow, and to foster a place in which this city's unique cultural assets can be enjoyed and shared by the entire community." - from the ProArts website. (PRO ARTS IS...an organization of professionals in the visual arts mainly from Jersey City and the surrounding metropolitan area who are working to promote the visual arts and to better communicate Jersey City's identity as a growing arts center) June 28, 2006 - The JCCC voted to accept a settlement agreement negotiated by Corporation Council and New Gold Equities, owner of 111 and 110 First St. 111 First St. is the Lorillard Tobacco Warehouse mentioned in the first paragraph of this summary. It is a four- and five-story building covering an entire block and approximately 350,000 square feet. 110 First St. is now an empty lot. (Approximately one month before the Historic Warehouse District designation, New Gold had obtained an emergency demolition permit for the building there; they had removed the roof earlier during asbestos abatement.) The basic terms of the settlement include: 1. New Gold Equities is to terminate five lawsuits (one federal, four state) lodged against the city: a. A federal suit for $100,000.00 claiming discriminatory spot zoning; b. A state suit claiming financial hardship incurred by restrictive zoning (the Plan); and c. A state suit claiming financial hardship incurred by the Historic District designation 2. The City will no longer hold New Gold accountable for $70,000.00 owed to the City for 56 fire-code violations incurred by New Gold over the proceeding five- year period. 3. New Gold may demolish the existing building at 111 First St., but must rebuild it in the style of the existing building, using salvaged materials. New Gold may build up to an additional 550 feet above this base, excluding mechanical penthouses. The 550-foot tower is to be designed by a "world class architect." (Rem Koolhaas has since been named). There will be approximately 710 units in the 111 First St. tower. 110 First St. will have a 100-foot parking base with a tower of up to 350 feet above, and contain approximately 300 units. (Under the Plan, New Gold would have been required to rehabilitate the existing structure at 111 First St.; a one-story penthouse would have beeb allowed with a setback. On the 110 First St. site, a building no larger than the one torn down (seven stories) would have been allowed. 4. The 120 units in the 110 First St. base will be live/work, and offered at a 30% discount from the market rate. There will be a five-year restrictive deed that controls the use of the property. All additional units (in the towers) will not be live/work. There will be 59 low-to-moderate income, non-live/work units onsite. There will be another 58 low-to-moderate income, non-live/work units built off-site in another location. If New Gold does not build these affordable units as specified in their agreement with the city, New Gold will owe the City $150,000.00 per unit. (Under the Plan, all units would have to be live/work, and 10% have to be affordable to artists, with a 30 year restrictive deed.) 5. New Gold will make a $1,000,000.00 donation to the arts. The JCCC designated $500,000.00 for the Jersey City Art Museum and $500,000.00 for the Historic Loews Cinema in Journal Square; neither of these institutions is in the PAD. This money is to be donated based on certain specified milestones in the development and approvals process. 6. New Gold will pay outside expenses that were incurred by the City in fighting this suit, $45,000.00 was spent on an outside engineer to analyze the structural stability of 111 First St. August 10, 2006 - 134 Bay Street, LLC, a joint venture between the national developer Toll Brothers and Hoboken-based developer Fields Development Group, submitted an application to amend The Plan to allow a 450-foot tower and an 150-foot tower in the Transition Zone directly adjacent to the A&P Headquarters Building (150 Bay St.). The Transition Zone allows a maximum height of 90 feet, with allowance for a one-story penthouse if it is set back. This is to allow pre-eminence or respect of size of the A&P building (114 feet) as well as a way to transition from the warehouse district to the 3-and 4-story historic townhouses to the west. As of this date, City Planning has not acted on this application. November, 2006 - To address what threatens to be a wholesale destruction of the letter and spirit of the Plan, the PADNA has put together a Development Committee. We are working with the City and with District developers to uphold what we see as the basic elements of the Plan, namely: •   Proportionate height & mass of new construction that supports the existing fabric of the PAD •   Adaptive reuse of all existing warehouses •   10% affordable units, for artists •   1% construction costs dedicated to public art or arts facilities •   Ground floor retail and other active uses PADNA welcomes all PAD residents and concerned parties to join us in keeping the spirit of the Powerhouse Arts District alive.