By Joshua Burd
Amtrak has taken control of a key parcel near the Hudson River waterfront in Weehawken, having acquired it for $60 million after an eminent domain settlement negotiated by Carlin, Ward, Ash & Heiart LLC and Winne Banta Basralian & Kahn PC.
The law firms represented Dykes Lumber, the familiar business that occupied the property for decades and recently moved to a new warehouse, in a case that began in early 2024. That was when Amtrak offered to buy the site at 1899 Park Ave. in connection with the high-profile Gateway Tunnel project, offering $14.8 million based on a prior appraisal report by Weitzman Associates LLC that identified its highest and best use as continued retail and warehouse.
But a review by Scott A. Heiart and Michael J. Ash of Carlin Ward and co-counsel Joseph L. Basralian and Michael G. Stingone of Winne Banta concluded otherwise, believing the analysis to be incomplete. The team argued that there was “no doubt that 2.4 acres on the Weehawken waterfront would sell in the open market for residential development.”
With the support of professional planner Keenan Hughes of Phillips Preiss Grygiel Leheny and Hughes LLC and appraiser Paul Beisser of Integra Realty Resources, the Dykes Lumber team presented a valuation concept based on a multifamily development yield of 550 units, according to a news release. Amtrak ultimately agreed, paving the way for a sale in lieu of condemnation valued at $60 million.
“With the support of our experts, we were able to show Amtrak the realistic development yield of the property and a value based on market evidence of value,” Ash said, “and we convinced Amtrak that if they filed the eminent domain complaint it would result in wasteful protracted litigation that would cost the Gateway Project critical time.”
Years in the making, the $16 billion Gateway program calls for building a new two-track rail tunnel under the Hudson River and rehabilitating the existing century-old tunnel that serves as a critical but congested artery for commuters into Manhattan.
“We are grateful for our co-counsel, Joe Basralian and Michael Stingone, for trusting us to represent their longtime client when the special need of eminent domain defense was necessary,” Heiart said.
