Just got done reading the Hoboken Master Plan again. Leah Healey discusses the Master Plan in her document (click here) about the Western Edge Redevelopment Plan and I wanted to share some thoughts...

According to Hoboken's Master Plan, the Wester Edge area is designated as part of "Hoboken's Final Frontier."  Currently dominated by industrial zones adjacent to the the Hudson Bergen Light Rail, the zone provides the unique opportunity of incorporating both citizen and commercial needs in it's development.  Despite this mandated goal by the Master Plan, the redevelopment plan presented by Phillips Preiss Shapiro Associates, Inc. presents an alternative whose goal is more focused on developer givebacks and concessions than smart development that will benefit the taxpayer in both short and long term scenarios.

The Master Plan states that "it appears the office market in Hoboken can accomodate additional space. The mix of spaces should include larger, 'prime' office space around Hoboken Terminal, as well as smaller scale offices around light rail stations and other commercial areas."  Additionally, the Master Plans states that the city "should encourage a mix of uses in any larger scale new development" since "housing and office alone do not make a city." Despite this, the current Western Edge Plan deviates in suggesting only 2% of the total proposed square footage devoted to non-residential development.