Jersey City’s proposed $1.2 million purchase of 128 Glenwood Ave. remains unresolved after council members questioned how the property acquisition and a planned community garden and pocket park would be financed. The council approved the acquisition ordinance on first reading Sept. 9 but withdrew a companion resolution connected to federal Community Development Block Grant public-facilities funding, Hudson County View reported.
The withdrawn measure used a nominal $1 amount to link the acquisition to CDBG-PF funds, while the broader discussion involved whether roughly $1 million in CDBG money could support the purchase, according to the report. Council members also sought clarity about what would happen if either the property acquisition or the proposed federal funding failed to advance.
The decision is about more than one parcel
CDBG is a flexible federal program, but its eligible uses do not automatically commit money to a particular property. A Jersey City public notice listed the city’s 2022 CDBG allocation at $5,904,319 and identified acquisition and public improvements among the eligible categories, according to city records. HUD likewise describes acquisition of real property and construction of public facilities as allowable CDBG activities, subject to program requirements, according to the agency.
That framework helps explain the council’s questions, but it does not establish that the Glenwood purchase has been finally funded. The administration said alternate capital funding would be needed if the CDBG option and acquisition did not proceed, while council discussion also raised the possibility of directing available money to another project, the report said.
A recent local comparison
Jersey City has recently used unallocated CDBG-PF money for a different type of public-space investment. On Feb. 26, 2025, the council approved approximately $1 million in Program Year 2022 CDBG-PF funds for citywide tree planting, a project distinct from the proposed acquisition of 128 Glenwood Ave., the city’s resolution shows. The example demonstrates that the city has directed comparable CDBG-PF funding to a green-infrastructure project, but it does not resolve whether the Glenwood site qualifies for or will receive the money.
The proposed park also fits within broader adopted planning language for the surrounding area. Jersey City’s Lafayette Park Redevelopment Plan identifies open space and recreational areas as potential site improvements, alongside streets, sidewalks and other public amenities, according to the plan. Separately, the Enos Jones Redevelopment Plan, enacted in 2018, permits parks, plazas and other public open space as the only at-grade uses in a designated zone; that plan does not document the Glenwood acquisition or CDBG financing, city records show.
What remains unsettled
The immediate questions are whether the council will restore the CDBG-related resolution, whether the administration will identify another capital source, and whether the seller will continue to wait. Keshav Poddar said the developer was unlikely to proceed with the sale if the process continued to be delayed, Hudson County View reported.
The council’s next action will therefore determine both the proposed use of the Glenwood parcel and the disposition of the funding under discussion. Until members approve a financing plan and complete the acquisition process, the garden and pocket park remain a proposal rather than a committed city project.
