Hilton Hotel Proposal Dies, But Hoboken Mayor Not Giving Up

HOBOKEN, NJ — When the Hoboken City Council gave the thumbs-up to a plan to bring a 20-story Hilton hotel to the city's waterfront last year, Mayor Ravinder Bhalla called the deal a "big win" for the Mile Square. And despite the council’s decision to void the blockbuster proposal earlier this week, Bhalla is sticking to his guns.

In October 2018, the City Council approved an agreement negotiated by Bhalla with KMS Development Partners. The deal paved the way for KMS to build a 350-room hotel behind the Frank Sinatra Post Office near Pier A Park.

However, last March, the hotel project hit a major speedbump when a Superior Court judge allowed a lawsuit against the city and KMS to proceed. That lawsuit – filed by the owner of properties adjacent to the Hilton Hotel site – cited concerns about the negotiated terms of the project and sought to have it nixed.

In particular, the lawsuit claimed that $4.85 million in planned "community givebacks" from KMS to the city – a major part of the negotiation process – "violated clear New Jersey public policy."

• See related article: Hoboken Hilton Hotel Hits Speedbump, $4M 'Givebacks' Questioned

On Wednesday, the Hoboken City Council unanimously voted to void the redevelopment deal. KMS was reinstated as the conditional redeveloper of the Hoboken Post Office Rehabilitation Area, giving city officials time to make a second attempt at bringing a hotel to the Mile Square City, Jersey Digs reported.

According to Bhalla, the city is moving forward with a new plan for the hotel, which was passed on first reading by the council at their Wednesday meeting. Despite the debate about the legality of “community givebacks”, the new plan – which has been agreed to by the developer – includes $3.75 million of the same.

“Hoboken is 100% committed to a deal to bring a hotel to Hoboken that includes critical givebacks to our community” Bhalla told Patch on Friday.

“While we strongly disagree with the ruling from the lower court judge, the city is moving forward with an amended deal that will provide unprecedented benefits to Hoboken,” Bhalla said.

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