News
Court Upholds Sandy Hook
Lease Agreement
Judge rejects challenge by opponents of Sandy Hook development
By Ryan Fennell
SANDY HOOK - A three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit ruled to uphold the decision by District Court Judge Mary L. Cooper dismissing the claims by the Save Sandy Hook Corporation that the 60-year lease agreement entered into by Sandy Hook Partners and the National Park Service is "in violation of the purposes and values for which Gateway was established."
The NPS issued a Request for Proposal in August 1999 for the leasing of historic buildings at Fort Hancock. The NPS received 22 proposals including a proposal from Wassel Realty Group, Inc.
Jim Wassel of Rumson is the designated developer for Sandy Hook Partners and has proposed renovating and renting 36 buildings located at Fort Hancock.
The development is proposed as "a sophisticated, multi-use facility that would feature a technology-driven office space and a state-of-the-art educational facility and conference center," according to court documents.
The Save Sandy Hook Corporation has argued that the lease violates the National Park Service Organic Act, the National Historic Preservation Act and the National Environmental Policy Act.
In September 2007, Judge Cooper granted a summary judgment in favor of Sandy Hook Partners and Wassel Realty Group.
Save Sandy Hook entered a timely appeal but the judgment was upheld by the Appellate Court on Friday September 26, 2008.
"We have carefully examined the record and considered the parties' arguments on appeal and can discern no error in the District Court's ruling," the Appellate decision states.
"We are obviously disappointed with the decision of the Court of Appeals and are of the firm opinion that the decision to convert an outdoor recreation area of the National Park to a private commercial development is one that would ultimately be overturned by the Supreme Court of the United States," said Lawrence W. Luttrell, attorney for the Save Sandy Hook Corporation. "However, given that the ill-conceived development proposal has been unable to offer proof of the requisite financing in over eight years and in light of the present credit meltdown in this country, we are also of the opinion that an appeal may give further life to what we believe is an otherwise doomed project since the Park Service has used the litigation as justification for granting an unprecedented amount of deadline extensions to the developer."
Luttrell refers to the argument that Wassel has failed to provide proof of financing the project that was required of him at the time of the lease agreement. The Park Service has granted several extensions for Wassel to provide this information. Representatives from the Park Service have said that the extensions were needed because the ongoing litigation has hampered the developer's ability to raise the proper financing.
"While the issue of whether the National Park Service can unlawfully commercialize assets of the people in direct abrogation of its enabling legislation is bigger than just this proposed development of Fort Hancock," Luttrell said. "We are conscious that the government and the developer may be benefiting from our efforts to fight a bigger cause."
The deadline for the Save Sandy Hook Corporation to petition for a writ of certiorari to the Supreme Court of the United States is December 25th, 2008. Luttrell said that he would be meeting with members of the Save Sandy Hook Corporation to discuss the options available to them.
As for the development project Wassel said that they have just completed work on three of the buildings and the plan is to now complete financing and partnership options and to move forward.
The next phase of the development will include the completion of the educational building for Rutgers University and Brookdale Community College as well as an educational meeting space Wassel said.
According to Wassel the project has been moving ahead during litigation and said that they will be moving forward regardless of what Save Sandy Hook decides to do regarding further challenges.
"We always felt like we were on the right side of the issues," Wassel said. "[Save Sandy Hook] has been all about delay tactics. At no level did they get any indication that they were in the right."
According to Wassel the project has several partners who are providing the equity for the development and Sandy Hook Partners will be contacting several lending institutions about debt.
Wassel acknowledged that the current economic climate could present some challenges to the progression of the project.
"It is definitely going to affect it," Wassel said. "It is definitely a more difficult marketplace but not an impossible one."
