City seeks industrial maritime use for 33-acre site along Arthur Kill Channel. The City’s Economic Development Corporation issued a request for expressions of interest for the reactivation of an industrial maritime use on a waterfront site in Rossville, Staten Island. The 33-acre parcel along Arthur Kill Channel is north of the West Shore Expressway and abuts the Bloomfield Liquefied Natural Gas Tank property on Chemical Lane. Arthur Kill Channel supports deep-draft vessels used in domestic and international shipping. The mostly vacant site is zoned M3-1 for heavy manufacturing uses. The site is the largest City-owned property available for maritime development and would be available for purchase or long-term lease.
The City in its Working West Shore 2030 report published in 2011 identified Rossville’s waterfront as a future employment center due to its access to the channel and the West Shore Expressway. The RFEI is one of 39 short-term initiatives seeking to stimulate job growth and the development of maritime infrastructure. The site is within an area being considered for designation as a Significant Maritime and Industrial Area and for what may become Staten Island’s first Industrial Business Zone.
Developers must include within their proposals a plan to use a portion of the site for maritime industrial uses. These uses could include, but are not limited to, a barge dock or a break bulk dock. An existing pier on the site is unusable and would need to be replaced. The site may accommodate additional berthing space for auxiliary vessels and developers may propose complementary and supportive uses for maritime development. According to EDC, developers are “strongly” encouraged to set aside eight acres for a Department of Sanitation garage for Staten Island Community District 3. Developers proposing a maritime use that would inhibit an on-site garage must identify a viable alternate off-site location within the boundaries of CD 3.
Proposals must be submitted by January 18, 2012.
EDC: Request for Expressions of Interest – Rossville Municipal Site. (Nov. 4, 2011).