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August 14, 2009
After breaking with developer, Bloomfield must pay $4.8 million
The Star-Ledger
by Halley Bondy
After a Superior Court judge upheld a $4.8 million arbitration ruling against Bloomfield, the township has to pay it to a company that some officials said single-handedly slowed downtown development plans.
Two weeks ago, the township issued a bond with a 1.4 percent interest rate to pay the $4.8 million, according to redevelopment consultant Ken DeRoberts. The money will pay Forest City, a Cleveland-based development company that took the township to arbitration last year after it was terminated as the city's primary redeveloper. Bloomfield appealed to a Superior Court judge who upheld the ruling in June.
"I see this as a burden on the taxpayers of the town," said councilman Robert Ruane. "We have still not seen one shovel in the ground."
Bloomfield's mayor Raymond McCarthy and five council members--not including Ruane--issued a joint statement Monday that the developer "failed our community, wasted our time and resources and destroyed our confidence in their ability to help move our community forward."
NoLandGrab: New Jersey's top court ruled against the Bloomfield/Forest City plan to use eminent domain in 2007. Seems like governments have to learn the hard way that getting into bed with Forest City ain't a recipe for success.
Posted by eric at August 14, 2009 9:37 AM