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A who’s who of Hudson County politicians turned out in force to support CarePoint Health’s bid to transition its ownership to a non-profit organization Tuesday at a public hearing of the state Health Planning Board.

The hearing, held at CarePoint Health’s Christ Hospital, concerned the hospital system’s pending certificate of need applications that would allow it to fully complete its transition to a non-profit if approved by the Department of Health.

CarePoint Health — which also operates the Bayonne Medical Center (BMC) and Hoboken University Medical Center (HUMC) — needs Department of Health (DOH) approval to sell 39.1% of Bayonne Medical Center to BMC Hospital LLC, a group made up mostly of surgical center owners.

The sale — which would give BMC Hospital LLC a 49% share of the hospital — was put on hold at the state DOH Planning Board meeting in April.

Speakers at the meeting who testified in favor of the CarePoint Health application included mayors Steve Fulop of Jersey City and Jimmy Davis of Bayonne, as well as Jersey City Councilman Richard Boggiano, Hoboken City Councilman Jim Doyle, Hudson County Board of Commissioners member Anthony Romano, Bayonne City Council President Gary La Pelusa and Second Ward Councilwoman Jacqueline Weimmer.

The CarePoint non-profit is headed by Achintya Moulick, the president and CEO of CarePoint Health.

“The outpouring of support for CarePoint’s transition to a non-profit at this meeting is proof of the strong feeling in the community that our three safety net hospitals must be given approval by the Department of Health to complete this process and continue serving the needs of Hudson County,” Moulick said.

Letters of support were also sent in from Assembly members Raj Mukheri and Angela V. McKnight, Jersey City Council President Joyce E. Watterman, Ward B Councilwoman Mira Prinz-Arey and Ward D Councilman Yousef J. Saleh.

“Christ Hospital has been a cornerstone in our community for decades in serving some of the most vulnerable residents here in Jersey City,” Jersey City Mayor Steven Fulop said. “CarePoint’s application to become a non-profit is critical for the long term growth of Christ Hospital and the other hospitals in the system, making them more viable, stronger, more competitive, more in line with the other hospitals in the region and a better overall option to serve the Jersey City community.”

Following the public hearing, the state Health Planning Board will vote on a recommendation regarding the CarePoint applications for certificates of need, with the final determination made by the commissioner of the Department of Health.

The bid to turn the health system over to a non-profit operated by the system’s president and CEO is “nothing more than a giant tax deduction for CarePoint’s wealthy owners,” Hudson Regional Hospital, the Secaucus hospital that is seeking to purchase Bayonne Medical Center, said last May in a statement.

Davis said non-profit would keep BMC a “Bayonne-centric, community based hospital,” and Bayonne residents would be invited to serve on the hospital board and have a voice in the hospital’s operations.

“To me, this is the most attractive aspect of this change in the form of ownership,” he said. “Our hospital should not be just another business in town — it should be the town’s business.”

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BELLEVUE, Wash.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Terreno Realty Corporation (NYSE:TRNO), an acquirer, owner and operator of industrial real estate in six major coastal U.S. markets, sold an industrial property located in Bayonne, New Jersey on December 27, 2022 for a sale price of approximately $24.3 million.

The property consists of one industrial distribution building containing approximately 98,000 square feet on 3.6 acres which is 100% leased to one tenant. The property was purchased by Terreno Realty Corporation on March 31, 2014 for approximately $9.2 million. The unleveraged internal rate of return generated by the investment was 14.1%.

Terreno Realty Corporation acquires, owns and operates industrial real estate in six major coastal U.S. markets: Los Angeles; Northern New Jersey/New York City; San Francisco Bay Area; Seattle; Miami; and Washington, D.C.

Additional information about Terreno Realty Corporation is available on the company’s web site at www.terreno.com.

Forward-Looking Statements

This press release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of the federal securities laws. We caution investors that forward-looking statements are based on management’s beliefs and on assumptions made by, and information currently available to, management. When used, the words “anticipate,” “believe,” “estimate,” “expect,” “intend,” “may,” “might,” “plan,” “project,” “result,” “should,” “will,” “seek,” “target,” “see,” “likely,” “position,” “opportunity,” “outlook,” “potential,” “enthusiastic,” “future” and similar expressions which do not relate solely to historical matters are intended to identify forward-looking statements. These statements are subject to risks, uncertainties, and assumptions and are not guarantees of future performance, which may be affected by known and unknown risks, trends, uncertainties, and factors that are beyond our control, including risks related to our ability to meet our estimated forecasts related to stabilized cap rates, the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on our business, our tenants and the national and local economies, and those risk factors contained in our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2021 and our other public filings. Should one or more of these risks or uncertainties materialize, or should underlying assumptions prove incorrect, actual results may vary materially from those anticipated, estimated, or projected. We expressly disclaim any responsibility to update our forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events, or otherwise, except as required by law. Accordingly, investors should use caution in relying on past forward-looking statements, which are based on results and trends at the time they are made, to anticipate future results or trends.

The Mega Millions jackpot for Friday’s huge lottery drawing has increased to $1.35 billion, with a cash option valued at $724.6 million. If someone wins, it will be the 4th largest jackpot in U.S. lottery history and the second biggest Mega Millions prize.

The winning numbers were: 30, 43, 45, 46 and 61. The Mega Ball drawn was 14 with a Megaplier of 2x.

While no one across the country won Tuesday’s $1.1 billion Mega Millions jackpot, 16 second-prize tickets were sold, including one in New Jersey. It matched five numbers but not the Mega Ball, and was sold at 88 West Deli on Route 88 in Brick, the New Jersey Lottery said Wednesday.

In addition, there were nine third-prize tickets purchased in New Jersey. Each matched four numbers plus the Mega Ball.

A ticket sold at Clifton Discount Liquors on Ackerman Avenue in Clifton is worth $30,000 because the winner spent an extra $1 for the Mega Ball. The other eight are valued at $10,000 apiece.

No one has hit the Mega Millions since a $510 million prize was won in the Oct. 14 drawing — 25 drawings ago. Two ticket holders — one in Florida and one in California shared that prize.

A New Jersey player last hit the Mega Millions jackpot on July 24, 2020, when someone who bought a ticket in Bayonne won $123 million. The cash option was $100.1 million.

Winners in New Jersey have had the option to remain anonymous since January 2020, so the lucky ticket-holder’s identity has never been publicly revealed.

The odds of a $2 ticket matching all the winning numbers are 302,575,350 to 1. Players have a 1 in 12,607,306 chance of a ticket matching five numbers but not the Mega Ball and winning at least $1 million.

Mega Millions drawings are held on Tuesday and Friday in 45 states, along with Washington, D.C., and the U.S. Virgin Islands.

Bayonne’s redevelopment renaissance of the past decade went hand in hand with financial incentives doled out to developers.

A city administration eager for new apartment buildings and businesses to revive its local economy negotiated generously with developers willing to take a chance on a city at a standstill, most often handing out payment-in-lieu-of-taxes agreements, or PILOTs, that essentially provided tax breaks to developers.

Now nearly 10 years later, even as developers’ interest in Bayonne keeps the planning board busy year-round, councilmembers and Mayor Jimmy Davis’ administration aren’t ready to do away with those tax abatements, though they are perhaps ready to apply a bit more scrutiny.

In practice, that could mean that not every developer who wants a PILOT gets one, or that the longevity of tax abatement agreements is significantly shorter, councilmembers said. One newcomer to the council also said that Bayonne should increasingly use developer interest as a bargaining chip to reel in developer contributions to the community, or givebacks, in some fashion.

But after a nearly yearlong pause on PILOT agreement votes for major residential projects, which Davis initiated, taxpayers can expect them to return in some form.

“Given the building boom that we have experienced over the past eight years, there is no doubt that Bayonne can be a bit more discerning about development projects,” the mayor said. “We need to keep our eyes open to opportunities for growth, jobs and improved living spaces for our residents.

“The delicate balance between attracting investors and ensuring that our taxpayers are protected is something we must all keep in mind as Bayonne’s needs change.”

The PILOT program calls for 95% of the payments to go the municipality and 5% to the county, leaving the local school district with nothing. Under normal property taxation, a portion, usually in the 35-50% range, goes to the school district.

All councilmembers interviewed — newcomer Jacqueline Weimmer, Council President Gary La Pelusa and Councilman Loyad Booker — said that each development and affiliated tax abatements should now be scrutinized individually rather than the city taking a universal approach of approving or rejecting all of them.

Councilmembers Juan Perez and Neil Carroll III did not respond to interview requests.

La Pelusa and Carroll have leveled frequent scrutiny at PILOTs throughout their time on the council. La Pelusa estimated that he’s voted down more than 50 — though most of those votes were in the minority and unable to block council approval.

But even he does not think there should be a citywide shift away from incentives entirely.

La Pelusa said they could be good for projects that cultivate areas of Bayonne’s economy that he feels are still lacking, such as facilities that create scores of jobs or needed services like an assisted living facility.

New projects that resemble the bulk of those that cropped up in the past decade are likely less in need of tax abatements, and the council may look at shorter duration PILOT agreements if it does hand them out, the council president said.

“When the Davis administration took over in 2014, there really wasn’t much building going on at all, and the feeling was a lot different in town,” La Pelusa said. “The feeling from a lot of the developers was it wasn’t easy to deal with Bayonne. Now, no one can really say that.”

The city is currently wrapping up a study intended to review the development under the Davis administration and chart a path forward. It found a 92.6% occupancy rate in the 20 new buildings analyzed, La Pelusa previously said.

Despite Davis’ satisfaction with how far Bayonne has come, he knows that development is competitive and that neighboring municipalities are continuing to offer incentives. Tweaks to Bayonne’s process, therefore, might involve crafting more individualized deals for developers rather than attempting to do away with them, the mayor said.

“Within Bayonne, developer incentives might differ based on whether the development is commercial, residential, industrial, or mixed-use,” Davis said. “The incentives might also differ based upon the site of the proposed development or its size.”

The only PILOT agreement on the city council’s agenda for this month is for a new 70,000-square-foot industrial building at 7 Hook Rd.

The council will likely consider tax abatement agreements for the next phases of the Silk Lofts and Woodmont developments in coming months as well. Woodmont phase two plans include 85 new apartment units between West 52nd and West 53rd streets to supplement the existing Liberty Bay Club property.

Weimmer, who joined the city council last summer, said she was initially skeptical of whether PILOT agreements were still needed, but after conversations with colleagues has come to believe that developers often need them to make projects financially viable.

Still, she thinks that developers can probably offer the city more in return in the way of community givebacks and is exploring ways for to facilitate that.

“I’m looking for assistance to infrastructure costs, I’m looking for the betterment of the community,” Weimmer said.

She said she is skeptical of PILOT agreements that last up to 25 or 30 years.

Booker, also in his first year on the council, said he is also still learning, but he believes that considering incentives individually is probably the best approach for the city.

“There’s no broad brush for incentives,” he said. “That’s my take on it.”

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The state Health Planning Board Thursday morning unanimously approved CarePoint Health System’s application to convert its three Hudson County for-profit hospitals to nonprofit status.

The approvals make official the transfer of ownership of Christ Hospital in Jersey City, Bayonne Medical Center and Hoboken University Medical Center from majority owner Vivek Garipalli to the nonprofit organization CarePoint Health System that was announced in October 2021.

Although CarePoint “has completed the transfer of ownership without department approval, the department asserts that not approving the application and requiring the operator to revert back to its previous ownership structure may result in further undue financial hardship ... for CarePoint Health System as a whole,” the state board said in its recommendation for approval.

The approvals, which were expected, come with long list of conditions, including some related to financial transparency and others related to safeguards against overcharging in-network patients.

Previously the hospital chain announced it was selling 39.1% of the Bayonne Medical Center to BMC Hospital LLC, which already owns 9.9%. It could not be determined Thursday if that deal will be completed.

Bayonne Mayor Jimmy Davis spoke in support of the Bayonne Medical Center, saying “In 2019 I became aware of a situation with Bayonne hospital where there was a deal trying to be cut behind everyone’s back, where two of the CarePoint hospitals were going to be sold and Bayonne (Medical Center) was going to be closed. This was October of 2019.”

Davis went to say that anyone who wanted to close Bayonne Medical Center would “have to go through me.”

In October 2019, CarePoint Health and RWJBarnabas Health announced an agreement to transfer ownership of HUMC and Christ Hospital to RWJBarnabas Health. CarePoint also announced it was in the process of finding a “strategic partner” for BMC. The deal between RWJBarnabas Health and CarePoint Health was never completed.

Achintya Moulick, the CEO of CarePoint Health System, was asked about the real estate issues related to the hospital chain. At the time of the application, 67.5% of the Christ Hospital land was owned by CarePoint, 25% by Alaris Health founder Avery Eisenreich and 7.5% by Jeffrey Mandler, one of the previous owners of the hospital chain, Moulick said.

CarePoint Health leases the land at HUMC from Eisenreich and the land at BMC from Hudson Regional Hospital owner Jan Moshe, Moulick said.

“Once we are a nonprofit my goal is to raise bonds in the future and buy back all the real estate in the next one and half or two years,” said Moulick, who later added that “health care should not be determined by property ownership and profiteering and lawsuits.”

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