By: Najla Alexander
Carteret officials announced that the Borough has secured a highly competitive $5.6 million grant for the forthcoming Carteret Intermodal Transportation Building from the U.S. Department of Transportation.
The Honorable Mayor Daniel J. Reiman said the Rebuilding American Infrastructure with Sustainability and Equity (RAISE) Grant will help with the construction of the 47,000-square-foot hub of the Borough’s forthcoming ferry service.
“This is a highly competitive grant to which towns, counties, and states from all over the country can apply and compete,” Mayor Reiman said.
“It’s an extremely difficult grant to obtain, so we are very grateful to President Biden and the U.S. Department of Transportation for investing infrastructure funds into this intermodal ferry terminal. This program would not be possible without the implementation of the 2021 Bipartisan Infrastructure Bill championed by Congressional leaders like Frank Pallone.”
When he signed the Bipartisan Infrastructure Bill, President Joe Biden said, “This is an investment that’s going to connect entire towns and regions to new opportunities. With this investment, we’re sending a message to those communities and to the people who call them home: You matter!”
U.S. Secretary of Transportation Pete Buttigieg added, “In communities across the country, there is a tremendous need for transportation projects that create high-quality jobs, improve safety, protect our environment, and generate equitable economic opportunity for all Americans. With RAISE grants, we are making those needed investments in our communities’ future.”
Carteret has become a very desirable location to live, work, and raise a family, officials said.
Officials say the Reiman administration has fought for years to increase Carteret’s economic competitiveness and create opportunities for growth through new residential and commercial development, the newly constructed Carteret Performing Arts and Events Center, upgraded parks, and stable tax rates.
The addition and implementation of this new public transportation option will positively impact the community economically, officials stated.
According to officials, creating ferry travel opportunities is also critical to opening waterfront areas and increasing access to work and recreation activities.
Among thousands of applicants throughout the U.S. and its territories, the extremely competitive RAISE Grant is awarded to only a handful of recipients to fund transportation infrastructure projects, authorities say.
Officials said the projects must improve safety, environmental sustainability, quality of life, mobility and community connectivity, and economic competitiveness and opportunity, including tourism, partnership, collaboration, and innovation.
The Carteret Intermodal Transportation Building will provide access to several forms of alternative transportation, officials say.
Authorities say there is also a ferry service to New York City, a Borough jitney service, an NJ Transit bus service, and bicycling and walking.
Among its transportation components, officials said, the building will also include an Educational Center that will act as a training hub for ferry staff, public amenities such as a grab-and-go automated grocery store, quick-service grille, casual dining restaurant, and rooftop that offers views of the NYC skyline.
The Borough recently awarded contracts for the next phases of both in-water and uplands construction of the forthcoming ferry terminal, officials say, and the bulkhead for the ferry terminal was completed in October 2022.
NJDOT Office of Maritime Resources completed the dredging in January 2023, officials stated.
“This is truly an exciting time for Carteret,” Mayor Reiman said.
“After years of studies and permitting through what seems like the endless bureaucracy of government agencies, we will soon reinstate ferry service which will safely and efficiently deliver commuters from Carteret and the surrounding area every day to New York City.”
For the ferry project, the Reiman Administration has secured more than $70 million in federal and state grants, including several other competitive funds, such as a 2022 Federal Transit Authority grant and a 2023 Congressional appropriation, according to officials.
The planned intermodal transportation building is part of a larger multi-year, $1.5 billion redevelopment plan to transform the Borough’s waterfront into a regional transportation, economic, and recreational hub and destination, authorities say.
Officials say, in addition to Waterfront Park, Veteran’s Pier, and Carteret Municipal Marina, which have already been completed.
The waterfront redevelopment plans include the private construction of a 500,000-square-foot film production studio and 150,000 square feet of ancillary retail and hotel space on private property adjacent to the ferry terminal, officials said.
Officials stated that more information about the grant, the ferry project, and the Carteret Intermodal Transportation Building is available at carteret.net/2024raisegrant/.