A Bayonne developer is pulling off a $20 million flip on a piece of property near Route 78 by allowing the New Jersey Turnpike Authority to take the land for the proposed controversial Turnpike expansion project.
The NJTA has eyed the former Marist site for the Turnpike expansion since at least April 2021, wanting to use it as a construction staging area and for a drainage pit. The eminent domain proceedings were first reported by Hudson County View. The $31.1 million offer was based on a optimal use value. The report described the “highest and best use” of the property as a “684-unit, multi-family rental project” consisting of three- to six-story buildings and associated parking structures.of the NJTA’s interest in the property, the city approved a redevelopment plan that would’ve allowed Alessi, a campaign donor to Bayonne Mayor Jimmy Davis, to build up to 14 stories of new housing, a six-story self-storage facility or office space there.