The City Council tonight approved an emergency contract for the demolition of 65 E. Cherry St., which occurred last month. Frank Lurch Demolition Co. of Asbury Park was awarded the $75,000 contract.

The two-story structure was razed last month, within a week after public safety personnel responded to a complaint and found that the floor system had collapsed, causing further damage to the building. (The photo at right was taken after demolition began; the site is now cleared, but for a mound of dirt.)

The City Council approved a $200,000 bond ordinance in April that included funds for the demolition, among other items, but the city plans a to charge the work as a lien against the property. Dornoch Holdings had acquired the property from the Parking Authority for $65,000. It had been vacant since a fire in summer 2005.

A story in Monday’s Wall Street Journal (“Rail Stations Drive Demand”) details the state’s Urban Transit Hub Tax Credit Program and indicates that asking rents for office space in transit hubs average $27.43 compared with $23.51 in the rest of the suburban market (a difference of $3.92, or 17 percent). Rahway had tried to get included in the program a few years ago. Designated towns include Elizabeth, Morristown, New Brunswick, Metropark, Hoboken, Jersey City, East Orange and Newark.

The story quotes a director at Brookings Institution: “In this environment, there’s still a growing demand for space in ‘mini-downtowns’ that are emerging around rail hubs and commuter train stops.”