Hugo Neu secures first Garden State OZ grant at Kearny Point

The Town of Kearny and New York-based developer Hugo Neu Corporation secured a $3 million grant last week from the U.S. Economic Development Administration, NJ.com reported. According to a news release from the EDA, resources from the grant will be matched by $1.3 million in local funds to be deployed into turning a portion of Hackensack Avenue into a “green” street. The EDA said the improvements will facilitate the redevelopment of Kearny Point, a manufacturing center operated by the Federal Shipbuilding and Dry Dock Company during World War I and II, into a 4 million-square-foot complex by Hugo Neu. According to ROI-NJ, the redevelopment of the road will include planting over 20,000 square feet of grass, plants and trees, the creation of paths for pedestrians and cyclists and improvements to the electrical and gas infrastructure at the complex. Kearny Point is located in one of New Jersey’s 169 approved federal Opportunity Zones. The Kearny Point OZ tract is also eligible for incentives from New Jersey’s Redevelopment Authority and Urban Enterprise Zone Authority. NJ.com said Hugo Neu and local officials hope the Kearny Point redevelopment will create as many of 10,000 jobs at a site that once employed as many as 30,000 workers. [NJ.com]