Walk north on Washington Street past Bay and the tower of the old Hudson & Manhattan Railroad Powerhouse still wears the straps that went on last winter. They were added after cracks showed up in its brickwork. On the other side of the NJ Transit tracks to the north, PATH is building a replacement for Substation No. 2, and it still uses part of the Powerhouse property to stage materials and equipment. The Port Authority puts that project at about 84 percent complete. Until it is finished, the 1908 Powerhouse cannot fully become what the city wants it to be.
Most of the news this fall has centered on one date. The Jersey City Redevelopment Agency wants developer proposals for the Powerhouse by 4 p.m. on December 3. That deadline matters. It is also one of three schedules running at once. The other two are the stabilization of the tower and the PATH substation next door, and they set how fast anything a developer proposes can actually happen.
What the December 3 deadline asks for
The JCRA's Request for Proposals covers two parcels on Block 11609: 350 Washington Street, which is Lot 1, and 80 Bay Street, which is Lot 2. Every proposal has to address both. The agency calls itself the owner and says the site will change hands by sale or by ground lease.
The document treats the building as the cultural anchor of the district. It welcomes a range or mix of uses, and it requires a workable plan for preserving the building. The agency prefers proposals that stay within the Powerhouse's historic footprint. It will consider more development on the site if a bidder can show that development is needed to pay for preservation. Jersey Digs reported that the agency will also look at plans that need amendments to the Powerhouse Arts District Redevelopment Plan, and that each proposal carries a $1,500 non-refundable submission fee.
Proposals will be scored on feasibility, responsiveness, experience and capacity. The listed factors include public benefits, schedule, design, financial feasibility and the offer, and implementation strategy. After the deadline, the agency can shortlist, interview, negotiate with one bidder, take no action, or reject every submission. The RFP lists the date for choosing a redeveloper as "to be determined."
December 3 is when proposals arrive. No decision is due that day.
| Date | Step |
|---|---|
| September 15, 2026 | RFP issued |
| October 7, 2026 | Site visit for prospective bidders |
| October 27, 2026 | Deadline for bidder questions |
| November 10, 2026 | JCRA scheduled to post answers |
| December 3, 2026, 4 p.m. | Proposals due |
| To be determined | Redeveloper selection |
The tower a winning bidder would take on
The building in this RFP is not the one people pictured a few years ago. On February 5, city spokesman Nathaniel Styer told Hudson County View that the tower had visible cracks believed to be caused by light-rail vibrations. The city closed Greene Street at Bay Street as a possible collapse zone, the Office of Emergency Management was on scene, and southbound traffic was sent onto Bay. TAPinto Jersey City reported that the mayor's office said the straps holding the exterior appeared to be loosening. By February 12, Jersey Digs reported that Greene Street had reopened. That same month, Kathryn Moore of the Powerhouse Arts District Neighborhood Association called for prompt repairs and better stabilization, PIX11 reported.
The second schedule started on September 30. That day, the JCRA issued a separate bid notice for stabilizing the tower. The work covers netting, removing building material, monitoring, and a protective support structure, and the contractor gets 365 days to finish once it receives written notice to proceed. Bids for that contract were due at 11 a.m. on October 29. The JCRA's opportunities page still listed it as an open request for bids in late October.
If the stabilization contractor starts this winter, a full 365-day work period would run well past the December 3 proposal deadline. So developers are pricing a building that the city will still be shoring up after the bids are in.
Bidders also face an open question about what form the tower will take. NorthJersey.com reported that the city has proposed a partial demolition and rebuild of the tower to deal with the cracks. The Jersey City Landmarks Conservancy has hired an engineering firm for a second opinion on options that would preserve it. The Conservancy's president, Chris Perez, welcomed the RFP but told NorthJersey.com he wanted bidders to have more time:
"The timeline needs to be a little longer. This is a very unique project. We want to make sure that all the qualified entities that are out there have a chance to learn about it."
Perez told the outlet the Conservancy wants the building restored "as is," with a public rooftop, use of the limited open space around it, and a part that earns revenue. NorthJersey.com also reported that Mayor James Solomon and Councilwoman Eleana Little, whose ward includes the Powerhouse, did not respond to its requests for comment.
The PATH substation sets the pace
The third schedule belongs to the Port Authority, and it explains why the Powerhouse has sat empty for so long. The 1908 building on Washington Street once housed PATH's Substation No. 2. That substation feeds traction power to the tunnel sections between New Jersey and New York, and it powers station lighting, emergency ventilation, signals and communications in the Christopher Street and World Trade Center corridor. Over time the equipment was moved out of the building and rebuilt on its grounds, and it was last modernized more than 50 years ago.
In March 2018, the Port Authority board approved a swap. Jersey City would get the Powerhouse site, and PATH would get the adjacent "Triangle Parcel" for a new substation. Construction started in September 2022. When Jersey Digs covered the RFP in October, it described the substation as "nearly finished." The Port Authority's own October 22, 2026 board agenda gives the details. The project is about 84 percent complete. Major structural work is done and the electrical and mechanical equipment is installed. Commissioning, utility energization and a phased cutover from the existing facility still remain, and substantial completion is expected in August 2027.
That agenda also shows why the schedule slipped. The board blamed a 16-month extension on undocumented utilities and underground obstructions, deteriorated tunnel conditions, coordination with the Hudson-Bergen Light Rail, and unexpected sewer and storm drainage work. The board re-authorized the project at an estimated $310 million, $33.9 million more than the amount approved in July 2022. It also raised Yonkers Contracting Company's construction contract by $8.5 million, to $167 million.
The JCRA's stabilization bid documents confirm that PATH still uses part of the Powerhouse property to stage materials and equipment for the new substation across the tracks.
Proposals arrive December 3. The stabilization contract allows up to a year of work. PATH's cutover from the old equipment runs into the summer of 2027. A redeveloper picked in 2027 would be sharing the block with a working PATH project, at least at first.
The 28-story proposal is on Morgan Street
Another set of numbers has been moving through City Hall this fall at the same time as the Powerhouse news, and the two are easy to confuse. Ordinance 26-079 would have amended the Powerhouse Arts District Redevelopment Plan to allow a height bonus in the plan's Transition Zone. The proposed site is 127 Morgan Street, on Block 13002, Lots 9 through 12. The amendment text tied the bonus to an affordable housing set-aside. It also required at least 4,300 square feet of ground-floor space leased rent-free to a Jersey City nonprofit for 30 years and after that in perpetuity, plus improvements at Warren and Morgan Streets.
On October 7, the council tabled that ordinance 8–0 before the public hearing opened. On October 21, it introduced a revised version, Ordinance 26-087, by a 9–0 vote. The new version adds a five-foot stepback at the ninth story and two height tiers. A building could reach 21 stories with a 15 percent affordable set-aside, or 28 stories with a 20 percent set-aside. The Planning Board recommended the Block 13002 amendment on October 27. Ordinance 26-087 still needs a public hearing and a final council vote.
None of this applies to Block 11609, where the Powerhouse stands. Morgan Street is also where a separate 34-story tower, 107 Morgan, is already under construction a few blocks from Art House. The towers in the headlines are going up along Morgan. The Powerhouse question is about a single historic building, and the RFP's stated preference is to keep new construction within its walls.
Dates on the calendar between now and the bid deadline
- November 10, 4 p.m.: The JCRA is scheduled to post its answers to the questions bidders submitted by October 27. These answers are the first public sign of what prospective developers asked about the site.
- The stabilization contract: Bids opened October 29. The 365-day work period starts once the contractor gets written notice to proceed.
- Ordinance 26-087's second reading: The final council vote on the 127 Morgan Street amendment will take place at a regular council meeting, separate from the Powerhouse process.
- December 3, 4 p.m.: Proposals are due. Selection stays open-ended.
The weekends around the block go on as usual in the meantime. Art House Productions has Ballet ROCKS! on November 7 and 8 and Ride the Cyclone The Musical on November 21 and 22. JC Fridays, the free quarterly citywide arts festival, returns December 4, the day after the bids are due.
Our team follows how projects like the Powerhouse, the PATH substation and new construction on Morgan Street affect the views, the walk home and the value of homes nearby. If you live near Washington and Bay and want to know what the redevelopment could mean for your building, The Sutherlin Group is glad to walk you through it. Request a showing or a conversation whenever you're ready.