Bids due at 1 p.m. on Sept. 30 for multi-use terminal building
CARTERET, NJ – The Borough has received a $1.9 million grant from the NJ Urban Enterprise Zone Authority to apply toward the construction of its four-level Carteret Intermodal Ferry Terminal Center, Mayor Daniel J. Reiman announced today.
Planned for many years, the terminal recently received long-awaited federal and state approval and funding to allow the project to move forward. The Borough will be accepting bids at 1 p.m. on Sept. 30 for what is expected to be an 18- to 24-month construction project.
“We’re very grateful to Gov. Phil Murphy and the Urban Enterprise Zone Authority for this award to help construct our ferry terminal,” Mayor Reiman said. “These are very exciting times in Carteret. You’re talking about something that is unmatched for the tristate area in terms of a multi-purpose, multi-level intermodal terminal building. In this facility, you’ll a bar, lounge, restaurant, restrooms, a ticketing area, retail space, leasable office space, a banquet hall and training center, topping it all off with possible rooftop amenities with panoramic views of the scenic Raritan Bay and New York City skyline.”
Each floor and the well-designed rooftop will be approximately 13,000 square feet, according to architect Tom Potter of Potter Architects in Union.
An affiliate of the state Department of Community Affairs, NJ UEZA offers business and tax incentives with the primary objective of reinvigorating designated urban communities, driving economic growth by encouraging businesses to expand and create private-sector employment opportunities through a blend of public and private investments.
“Carteret’s innovative waterfront redevelopment concepts supported by Urban Enterprise Zone Authority funds are prime examples of how effective public-private partnerships can drive economic growth, transportation improvements, and community revitalization,” DCA Commissioner Jacquelyn A. Suarez said. “Without a doubt, the UEZ funding is helping the borough achieve its ambitious goals and position itself for future investment and business opportunities.”
Urban Enterprise Zone Authority Executive Director Christine Campbell added, “The UEZ Program is helping to support this tremendous progress in Carteret through Zone Assistance Funds, which are designed to foster economic growth by investing in small businesses and essential transportation services. We anticipate that the borough’s focus on waterfront redevelopment, including this ferry terminal project, will not only create a significant number of jobs but will also uplift Carteret residents and strengthen their neighborhoods.”
In 2024, the NJ state legislature revised the definition of “qualified assistance fund expense” to include the costs of transportation infrastructure projects. The new legislation allows participating UEZ municipalities to use funds for transportation infrastructure projects detailed in their Zone Development Plan.
Since 2021, Carteret also has implemented $750,000 in UEZ allocations to local UEZ business for capital improvement.
To pay for the overall ferry project, the Reiman Administration has secured more than $90 million in federal and state grants.
Completed work to date includes the installation of 130 feet of steel sheet pile bulkhead along the Arthur Kill waterfront, 19,500 cubic feet of dredging of the waterside of the bulkhead to achieve sufficient depths for the ferry slips and docking area, and the in-water terminal docks and gangplanks. A 700-space parking lot and on-site work starts in October.
“There will be two to three stops in Manhattan leaving about three or four times a day and arriving back to Carteret three or four times a day,” Mayor Reiman said. “Three or four times in the morning and three or four times in the evening. That’s the initial projection. We’ll increase that as ridership demands.”
The intermodal aspect of the Ferry Terminal will allow NJ TRANSIT buses, municipal jitneys, and NJ Rideshare to drop passengers off. The jitney will pick up passengers throughout the Borough, as well as at Rahway and Woodbridge train stations.
The terminal is expected to open by early 2028 or sooner, but ferry service may be provided earlier through a kiosk on the dock of the ferry slips, Mayor Reiman said.
Benefits of the ferry include:
- Providing reliable, significantly quicker and more environmentally-friendly transportation service to New York City
- Reducing congestion on the New Jersey Turnpike and roads leading from the Turnpike into the Holland and Lincoln tunnels
- Reducing reliance on the automobile in a densely populated area well-suited to the development of robust public transit service
- Providing redundant transportation service in instances of an emergency or a catastrophic event
- Providing an affordable, accessible, and dynamic transportation system responsive to current and future customers
- Protection and improvement of the quality of the natural ecosystem and the human environment
- Retaining and increasing economic activity and competitiveness
- Transforming an area of environmental degradation into a catalyst for economic development
- Accommodating continued population growth in Carteret and the region.
“Carteret is quickly becoming one of the most desired locations for commuters to call home,” Mayor Reiman said. “New residential and commercial opportunities, combined with our future ferry service, newly constructed Performing Arts and Events Center, upgraded parks, and stable tax rates solidify Carteret as a great place to live, work, and raise a family.”
The Carteret Intermodal Ferry Terminal is part of Mayor Reiman’s vision to turn Carteret’s once inaccessible, completely industrial waterfront into a popular regional destination for arts and public recreation. The waterfront now includes a fishing pier, a public park, a mini golf course, a 185-slip marina, and a soon-to-open Riverwalk, Pier Pavilion and mobile kitchen.
The seven-acre site of the ferry terminal is on a former Dupont property, the balance of which the Borough will obtain to develop a movie studio, hotel and much more.
“Like so many of these projects that we plan in Carteret, these are game changers,” Mayor Reiman said. “They create jobs, they put people to work and bring significant economic benefits to the community. They continue to change and improve the community for the future.”
Updates about the ferry terminal and other waterfront redevelopment will be available at Carteret.net, as well as on Carteret and Mayor Reiman social media.
The Urban Enterprise Zone program was originally established in 1983. In August 2021, Acting Governor Sheila Y. Oliver signed legislation that appropriated $42.5 million to the program, enabling an expansion of UEZA services within the designated UEZ zones.
A main benefit of the revitalized UEZ program is the Zone Assistance Funds, providing flexible revenue to communities for economic development. In the years since the program’s relaunch 2021, UEZA has awarded more than $40 million in Zone Assistance Funds to 140 municipal-level projects. Additionally, participating businesses within the zones receive a reduced sales tax rate (currently 3.3125%), as well as tax-free purchases on capital equipment, facility expansions, and similar investments. Currently, more than 6,000 businesses participate in the program throughout the state.
NJDCA offers a wide range of programs and services, including local government management and finance, affordable housing production, fire safety, building safety, community planning and development, disaster recovery and mitigation, and information privacy.
For more information about the UEZA, visit nj.gov/dca/uez/. For more about DCA, visit nj.gov/dca/
