Page 20 - RE-NJ
P. 20

18 APRIL 2023
With new leadership in place, officials in Perth Amboy say redevelopment of both the city’s waterfront and its commercial district will be a priority, following years of fits and starts that have hindered large-scale progress in the community.
Namely, there will be a renewed focus on development around the train station, at a former municipal dump and at the so-called Gateway — a 54-acre former industrial site at the foot of the Victory Bridge, which is now slated for mixed-use development.
“The city is in a pivotal time for redevelopment,” said Tashilee Vazquez, who was named executive director of the Perth Amboy Redevelopment Agency, or PARA, in March. She added that the
municipality’s leaders, including Mayor Helmin Caba, the city council and the redevelopment board, were “eager to see things happen.”
Redevelopment here and the other gritty towns at the mouth of the Raritan River has proceeded unevenly over the past generation, complicated by the prospect of sometimes protracted cleanups
of former industrial sites and the tangle of local politics.
Across from Perth Amboy, developers in Sayreville promise progress at the massive Riverton residential and commercial project, while luxury apartments are rising and dredging has begun for a new ferry service in South Amboy. But “Coming Soon” seems to be the perennial promise of this region, where some new plans are
iterations of others that have been on the drawing board since the 1990s.
In Perth Amboy, officials say they are anxious for progress but don’t want to rush. Vasquez said planners are awaiting a new city master plan, which also is in development.
“It’s important to visualize what you want,” she said. “You have
to strategically be ready for redevelopment. The city is in the business of providing the best quality of life for our residents
— homes, jobs created. Then you can forge true partnership with developers when you understand the city’s needs.”
There is no shortage of need in the historic city of 55,000 residents that for decades has suffered from post-war deindustrialization. Many
of the developable sites in town are so-called brownfields, contaminated from long-shuttered industries.
The Bay City is one of the oldest settlements in New Jersey, founded in the 1600s and prized for its location, bordered by the Raritan and the Arthur Kill, which separates it from Staten Island. Some of the waterfront has been redeveloped with housing and walkways that take advantage of its wide vistas. Other portions remain industrial. Perth Amboy is crisscrossed by highways and very near the New Jersey Turnpike, which has made
it more attractive to warehouse development in the last decade.
Some big public investments are underway in the city, including $45.5 million in NJ Transit funds for the train station upgrades, and
STARTING FRESH
Perth Amboy making new push for planning, redevelopment around key city properties
By Patricia Alex
Perth Amboy’s commercial district and train station are among the areas that city officials are prioritizing as part of a renewed push for planning and economic development.
   Photo by Aaron Houston for Real Estate NJ












































































   18   19   20   21   22