BAYONNE, NJ-When the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey leapt on a new possibility for winning quick federal approval of its plan to raise the Bayonne Bridge last week, industrial real estate specialists in New Jersey raised a cheer.
“It is critical not just for the port, but for the state’s economy in general,” Michael McGuinness, CEO of NAIOP New Jersey, the commercial real estate development association headquartered in New Brunswick tells GlobeSt.com. “Not only is the bridge project critical, but the timing is critical.”
The authority has committed $1 billion to the project that will increase navigational clearance for container ships from 151 to 215 feet by the time widening of the Panama Canal is completed in 2014. Currently, the Bayonne Bridge is too low to permit passage of larger vessels anticipated after Panamax, as the widening project is known.
President Barack Obama signed an executive order that allows expedited permitting and federal review of projects where timing is crucial on March 25. One day later, the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey became the first entity to file a request for expedited review.
New Jersey’s ports, currently third-ranked in the country, are “competing big-time” with southern ports, especially Norfolk, VA,” says McGuinness. “They don’t have a Bayonne Bridge in the way of the next generation of ships.”
McGuinness says, “We want to be sure we are at the table when Panamax is complete and the shippers are making their decisions.”
Patrick Connelly, director of Cushman & Wakefield in New Jersey, added his view: “Without the bridge-raising project, all improvements made to the Panama Canal would be for naught. We would lose a significant amount of container traffic, certainly to California – Los Angeles/Long Beach, as well as East Coast ports such as Savanna and Norfolk.
McGuinness says new industrial development will be spurred by the bridge-raising project, which is planned to be accomplished while keeping two lanes of bridge traffic open.
“Estimates are that the amount of goods coming through Ports Newark and Elizabeth will see a minimum 12-15 % increase, maybe up to 20%,” he says. “Clearly this would mean a lot more jobs. Also, since there is some vacant land near the ports in both Newark and Elizabeth, there will be new interest from some of the larger landholders to think about best use of their land.”
McGuinness said that the Port Authority owns some port-area property in New Jersey, and other property is privately held. Some of that property is “brownfields,” or contaminated by previous use, and some is not, he says.
“Under our state’s strategic land use plan,” McGuinness added, “the logistics industry is given high priority for development.”
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