The iconic smokestacks on an historic warehouse in Downtown Jersey City are being removed, a development that city officials say leaves them saddened but hopeful about plans for the warehouse's future.

The Jersey City Redevelopment Agency is hoping to transform the H&M Powerhouse, on Washington Boulevard between First and Bay streets, into a $100 million arts mecca. But the smokestacks on the 100-year-old building could not be saved, officials said.

"Unfortunately, the removal of the smokestacks is something that is unavoidable at this time," said JCRA Executive Director Bob Antonicello. "The years of deterioration have undermined the stability of the stacks."

This week workers began erecting scaffolding on a side of the historic warehouse in anticipation of the removal of the smokestacks, which should be complete in about six weeks, officials said.

Mayor Jerramiah Healy said in a statement he’s confident the renovation of the warehouse will be a “lynchpin” for the city’s Powerhouse Arts District.

Healy likened the structure to Baltimore’s Pratt Street Power Plant, a former factory in the city’s bustling Inner Harbor that was transformed into a home for businesses such as Barnes and Noble and Hard Rock Café.

"I was disappointed when advised that the smokestacks would have to come down, but encouraged by the hard work the agency has done in preserving this historic treasure of our city's industrial past," Healy said.

The Cordish Companies, which developed the Pratt Street Power Plant, is the designated developer of the Powerhouse.