NJ TRANSIT NAMES 'MASTER PLANNER AND DEVELOPER' FOR 65-ACRE HOBOKEN TERMINAL PROPERTY

LCOR to design blueprint for waterfront gateway

October 12, 2005

NEWARK, NJ - NJ TRANSIT's Board of Directors today selected LCOR to produce a master plan that will serve as a blueprint for transit-oriented development at its 65-acre Hoboken Terminal and Yard complex.

The selection of LCOR after a competitive process signals NJ TRANSIT's intention to create a facility that can both serve as an integrated multimodal transit center and a gateway befitting the Hudson waterfront for more than 50,000 commuters and residents who use the complex daily.

"A master plan for this site that fully integrates the needs of the commuters and the community is long overdue," said NJ TRANSIT Board Chairman and DOT Commissioner Jack Lettiere. "We look forward to working with Hoboken and Jersey City to design a blueprint that will optimize the potential of this asset while reinforcing local commerce."

LCOR will develop a master plan at its own expense and will serve as master planner and developer for the site. For the master planning process, LCOR has assembled a well-known team that has unique experience in transit-oriented development including projects such as JFK International Arrivals Terminal, Grand Central Terminal and Washington Union Station. The team includes the firm of Skidmore, Owings & Merrill LLP, Williams Jackson Ewing, Inc., DMJM + Harris and Langan Engineering.

"Working with a world-renowned team enables us to design a blueprint for turning this diamond in the rough into the jewel in the crown of NJ TRANSIT's system," said Executive Director George D. Warrington. "The master planning process will evaluate the entire complex and its potential for adaptive reuse, transit-oriented development and related intermodal and pedestrian connectivity."

City of Hoboken Mayor David Roberts said, "We look forward to working with NJ TRANSIT and LCOR to achieve a transit-oriented development plan that will complement the character of our community and deliver the mixed-use opportunities that enhance the quality of life for residents."

In beginning the master plan process, NJ TRANSIT is seeking to:

� Improve intermodal functionality to enhance the NJ TRANSIT customer experience and operational efficiency between rail, light rail, bus, PATH and ferry.

� Maximize economic return from an underutilized real estate asset through transit-oriented development.

� Reactivate the historic terminal as a waterfront gateway that serves as a well-conceived transportation terminal and a mixed-use community hub.

� Promote economic development and capitalize on public investment in the terminal building.

"This outstanding waterfront site is the keystone that unites Hoboken and Jersey City," said LCOR executive vice president Kurt M. Eichler. "Through the time-tested strategy of public-private partnership, we will tap Hoboken Terminal and Yard's transit-oriented development potential to deliver first-class economic opportunities and benefits to both residents and transit users throughout the region."

Improving intermodal connections

When Hoboken Terminal was designed and constructed one hundred years ago, most customers used it exclusively as a transfer point between trains and trans-Hudson ferries. The City of Hoboken existed primarily as a seaport and railroad town.

Today, in addition to trains and ferries, Hoboken Terminal customers make connections between commuter rail, buses, PATH, light rail vehicles, ferries and other modes as well as using the terminal to access the City of Hoboken, which has become a destination in its own right.

One of the goals of the Master Development Plan will be to improve Hoboken Terminal by creating a more customer-friendly layout that better integrates the various travel modes and provides seamless passenger and pedestrian flow as well as enhanced amenities for commuters.

"Over the past century, Hoboken Terminal has evolved into a patch-work terminal hosting different transportation modes without a vision for the future that takes advantage of intermodal connections that can adequately service tens of thousands of customers daily," said Executive Director Warrington. "This plan will help us rethink the way Hoboken Terminal and its Yard will serve customers and the surrounding community for the next 100 years."

Hoboken Ferry Terminal rehabilitation moves forward

Also today, the NJ TRANSIT Board of Directors approved a $53.9 million contract for the second phase of a rehabilitation project that will return a portion of Hoboken Terminal to its original design, ultimately restoring permanent ferry service to the historic building and creating a new ferry waiting area for customers.

The construction contract award to Hall Construction Co., Inc. of Howell, New Jersey will allow for marine construction of five of the original six ferry slips, as well as restoration of the exterior copper facade and lighting on the river side of the terminal, structural repairs, roof repairs, and demolition of the finger piers and wooden fenders. In addition, NJ TRANSIT plans to build a replica of the clock tower that originally stood on top of the building. The clock tower will mimic the original 1907 design by artist Kenneth Murchinson.

The second phase of construction is expected to begin at the end of this year and finish in 2008. The project's first phase, which began last year and was completed in September 2005, included repairs to the terminal's substructure and superstructure.

Early design work for the third and final phase is anticipated within the next few months.

The overall project aims to rehabilitate and restore the historic Hoboken Terminal Complex for customer convenience and operational reliability, while protecting and enhancing the historic assets of the terminal. At the project's completion, the restoration of ferry service into the original slips will allow for expansion of ferry service and greater flexibility in providing commuter service to Manhattan.

About NJ TRANSIT

NJ TRANSIT is the nation's largest statewide public transportation system providing more than 800,000 daily trips on 240 bus routes, three light rail lines and 11 commuter rail lines. It is the third largest transit system in the country with 162 rail stations, 52 light rail stations and more than 17,000 bus stops linking major points in New Jersey, New York and Philadelphia.

About LCOR

LCOR is a national real estate development, investment, operations and asset management company that specializes in public/private development, transit-oriented development, and multifamily, commercial and mixed-use development. With projects throughout the United States, LCOR has approximately $8 billion in developments completed, under construction or in pre-development. LCOR has developed in excess of 20,000 residential units and more than 16 million square feet of commercial space nationally. The firm developed the $1.4-billion Terminal 4 at JFK International Airport. LCOR also developed the $34.5-million Gaslight Commons residential development in South Orange, New Jersey, winner of the "2002 Smart Growth Award" from New Jersey Future, the state's leading advocacy organization promoting responsible growth and development.