A proposed $666 million, three tower residential development near the Journal Square PATH station will receive a 30-year tax break, as well as $10 million in bonds floated by a city agency, thanks to three nearly unanimous votes by the City Council tonight.

The votes came four hours into the council’s regular meeting, and after a nearly three hour public hearing dominated by residents opposed to the tax break. The council voted on a separate tax break for each of the three towers.

Each vote was 6-1-1, with Ward D Councilman Michael Yun voting no and Councilwoman at large Joyce Watterman abstaining. Ward E Councilwoman Candice Osborne was absent.

City officials say the project, which will include 1,840 units and ground-floor retail space, will bring an economic jolt to Journal Square, which hasn’t seen a significant construction project in decades.

“This project is necessary and vital to Jersey City,” said Councilman at large Rolando Lavarro.

The proposed development, to be located at the top of Magnolia Avenue, just east of the Port Authority transportation hub, will include a 54-story tower with 540 units; a 70-story tower with 700 units; and a 60-story tower with 600 units. The developer is KRE Group, headed by Murray Kushner.

Construction on the first tower is expected to begin later this year and take three years to complete. The final tower is expected to be complete in 2029.

The tax break amounts to 30 years for the entire project, not 30 years for each tower.

Residents who criticized the deal, known as an abatement, said it is far too generous.

“Why do we have to give away the store?” asked Becky Hoffman, a community leader in the Heights.

The tax break differs for each tower. For the first, KRE will pay a base annual service charge of $1,200 per unit for the first five years, with that amount increasing incrementally until the 26th year, when it hits $2,300 per unit.

The average Jersey City tax bill is about $6,500.

KRE will also pay $515,000 to the city annually to pay off the $10 million bonds in 25 years, and Fulop said they’ll fork over $2.5 million to help refurbish the Landmark Loew’s Jersey Theatre. The bonds will pay for infrastructure improvements in the area.

KRE estimates a total of $11.1 million in net income once the three towers are complete and fully rented, according to financial documents provided by the city.

Thirty one speakers came to the podium tonight during the nearly three-hour public hearing, with most in opposition.

New York Avenue resident Maria Elena Aguilar urged the council not to approve the deal, saying the towers will be “built on my back.” Aguilar said tax-abated Waterfront developments were supposed to “uplift” residents in that area, but instead they made Downtown too expensive for the average resident.

“They were uplifted and thrown out,” she said.

Attorney and Heights resident Cynthia Hadjiyannis, meanwhile, said the wording on the three agreements is not specific enough.

“However bad this deal is, if it’s ambiguous, it will be even worse,” Hadjiyannis said.

The public hearing included a handful of union workers who spoke in favor of the plan, and it was capped by Deputy Mayor John Thieroff’s forceful defense of the city’s tax abatement policy.

Developers won’t build in Jersey City without some kind of tax break, Thieroff said.

“They’ll go to where the incentives exist and where the best opportunities are to make money,” said Thieroff, who added that “nothing has been built of any significance in the square for 30 years.”

The deal was almost derailed when Lavarro made a motion late in the meeting to postpone a vote, sending administration officials into a tizzy. Lavarro said the council “had time” to consider the proposal.

“You might have time, but the developer doesn’t,” said city attorney Diana Jeffrey, leading to an outburst of jeers from the crowd.

Jeffrey argued that KRE’s financing depended on a vote tonight. Lavarro’s motioned failed, with only him and Yun voting in favor.