Bayonne, NJ – April 21, 2006 – Bayonne Local Redevelopment Authority (BLRA) and Royal Caribbean Cruise Lines Ltd. (RCL) have entered into a 35-year agreement allowing RCL to berth cruise ships at Cape Liberty Cruise Port at The Peninsula at Bayonne Harbor. The long-term agreement is valued at more than $140 million and is expected to create an additional 250 port jobs.

The deal was inked nearly two years after RCL established a homeport at The Peninsula at Bayonne Harbor. In that short time period, the BLRA-RCL relationship has proven to be a “win-win” situation for all involved, according to BLRA Executive Director Nancy Kist.

Cape Liberty Cruise Port grew to become the third-ranking passenger port on the East Coast (after New York and Miami). RCL further strengthened its position as a preeminent cruise line. Earlier this year, Standard & Poor’s Ratings Services raised its ratings on Royal Caribbean to investment-grade level.

Bayonne Mayor Joseph V. Doria, Jr. describes the relationship with RCL as “a wonderful collaboration that is producing tax relief and jobs” and adds that “the capital investments Royal Caribbean has made so far and the long-term agreement are a testament to the company’s commitment to Bayonne.”

The public-private partnership has worked so well that last fall the BLRA agreed to issue $16.5 million in revenue bonds backed by RCL pay for improvements to the Cape Liberty Cruise Port. Kist explained that the BLRA was issuing the bonds because “the cruise port is a public port facility owned by the BLRA and therefore qualifies for tax-exempt financing.” RCL will be the “guarantor” in the transaction, so that neither the BLRA nor the city will be responsible for paying back the debt service in the event that cruise port tariffs are insufficient to cover the debt.

About the Peninsula at Bayonne Harbor
Since the U.S. Army transferred complete ownership of the former military base in 2002, the BLRA has raised more than $50 million in government grants and interim lease payments to make infrastructure improvements needed to attract development.

Redevelopment of The Peninsula is organized around the creation of six different, yet integrated districts: Harbor Station, which will consist of mid-rise housing, office space, commercial space and civic facilities; Bayonne Bay, which will feature low-and mid-rise housing with views of the South Cove and an adjacent golf course; The Landing, which will have a water transit docking facility surrounded by a commercial and entertainment area with shops, stores and restaurants as well as a residential section with mid-rise housing; The Loft District, which will be converted to hip loft-style housing units adjacent to the ferry landing with views of lower New York Harbor, the Verrazano Bridge and golf course; Bayonne Point, which will feature a cruise port, marinas for private boats to dock, seaside entertainment, cultural and retail venues and high-rise residential and office buildings, and The Maritime Industrial District, which will be transformed into a state-of-the-art deep-sea port with a design that is expected to rival the world’s leading ports.

For more information about The Bayonne Local Redevelopment Authority, please visit www.bayonnenj.org/blra.




 

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