Although Hudson County Schools of Technology’s (HCST) Explore Middle School is located within the building at 180 9th Street in Jersey City, the school district is not the owner of the property. However, a multimillion-dollar deal could cause this to change in the near future.
The Jersey City Redevelopment Agency’s (JCRA) Board of Commissioners voted last month to approve a resolution authorizing a contract that would allow the JCRA to sell 180 9th Street to HCST for $7 million.
The contract notes that the “buyer is obtaining the funds necessary to consummate its purchase of the property from the proceeds of [the] buyer’s sale of its North Bergen campus” to the North Bergen Board of Education.
The Secaucus-based school district has been leasing the premises at 180 9th Street from the JCRA under a cooperation agreement that was previously executed with Jersey City’s municipal government, but “HCST has notified the agency that it wishes to exercise its option to acquire the property,” according to the resolution. The resolution states that the cooperation agreement was terminated in December “effective upon the closing of the sale of the property and the remittance of the sale proceeds to the City.”
Explore Middle School’s building was previously home to the Golden Door Charter School and has been home to the JCRA’s in-person Board of Commissioners meetings. Located near Newport Centre, the 1.57-acre premises used to contain the Betz Brewery, according to the Hamilton Park Neighborhood Association.
