There have been nearly 1,0000 new residential units constructed over the last decade in Rahway. There are more to come but that doesn’t stop the occasional inquiry about what are the best buildings in Rahway. Of course, there are other, older developments too (Rahway Plaza Apartments and Hamilton Apartments, among others).
With the exception of 86 units at Riverwalk townhouses, about 60 of the 200 condos at Sky View at Carriage City Plaza and the 13-unit Riverview Manor, all other developments have been rental apartments, including some age-restricted, such as Rosegate and Park Terrace. Meridia Grand started out in the planning stages as condos until the housing market collapsed, and it shifted to rentals.
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This time next year, there may have a new entrant or two in this poll, but for now, while I work on a few other posts, to get some discussion going:
Of the new construction in recent years, which residential development is most appealing?
Brookside at Rahway
Meridia Grand
Park Square
River Place
Riverview Manor
Riverwalk
Sky View at Carriage City Plaza
“Most appealing” could mean different things to different people. Rahway residents who don’t live in any of the new developments might aim for what looks best on the exterior. Of course, people who actually live in the buildings might have their own considerations, and experience to share. Feel free to use the comments section to share your thoughts about why you voted for one or another.
Argh! Just wrote a very long reply and Blogger went kaput on me 🙁
I read this post and realized I’m completely unable to comment on the question, simply because I don’t know which ones any of these are. I’ve lived here long enough to see them all go up, and could point out new development when driving around town, but I can’t name these because the names mean nothing!Park Square? River Place? Riverwalk? What do these evoke, beyond squares and rivers? These seem to be the result of writing 5 words on slips of paper, putting them in a hat, and picking out 2. Meridia Grand? Is there a word missing on the end of this one? Sky View at Carriage City Plaza is evocative, but is that area in front of the train station really called “Carriage City Plaza?”But I do walk past the one pictured in your post (on Irving St) everyday, and because of that familiarity, and the fact that the retail space below is fully rented, I’ll put my vote to that. Plus, people come out to walk their dogs…there is life and activity, and that is appealing to me.
I live in a SkyView apartment, and it's been a pleasant experience for the nearly two years I've been here. The apartments are nice, and I like that a washer and dryer is part of the deal. Also, it feels safe. The building has good security, and it's also close to the police station. The community itself seems like a good one. Living high enough up, I can tell you "SkyView is an appropriate name. I've seen some excellent views of the sky, depending on the weather or setting sun. I'll bet many of the other buildings have beautiful apartments as well. The diversity in this area is cool, too. I've moved here from a very vanilla northern NJ suburb. It was a pretty place to live, but … yawn … Rahway kind of rocks, in comparison 🙂
Hmm, good point Colin. Maybe that's why there are so few votes so far, which is not consistent with previous polls.Should I explain them in further detail?Brookside at Rahway — on St. Georges Ave., the building that suffered a fire just as it was nearing completion.Meridia Grand — On East Grand Ave., at the end of Monroe St., next to the assisted living (?) facility.Park Square — right in the middle of downtown, on Irving and Main, with first-floor retail (the one you walk by every day, Colin).River Place — behind Nancy's and Cubanu, near the river on Dock St.Riverview Manor — just across Routes 1/9, behind the Best Western, at the end of Lennington St.Riverwalk — the townhouses just across Rahway River, off Essex Street, along with newly created streets like Genovese, Barnhardt, etc.Sky View at Carriage City — the biggest one, 16 stories, right across from the train station.Hope that helps!
I'll try responding again and hope Blogger doesn't crash on me :)I won't even count Brookside, since it's senior citizen housing and in the grand scheme of things, I don't think Rahway is trying to attract a large contingency of seniors to retire in our area. As far a looks go it has a kind of nursing home appearance to me.I'm not overly impressed with Meridia Grand overall. While it seems to offer a lot of amenities, the overall effect is kind of cold and loses me. The facade is awful, prison striped is what it reminds me of, and if I am judging by the photos on their website, a lot of builder grade finishes, although a step up from the usual by them using slightly better cabinetry. It just gives me the feeling of NYC Housing Authority, of which I've personally worked on. Worst of all – no in unit laundry facilities. Why they couldn't figure out how to fit a small closet in to each plan for a compact w/d unit is beyond me. There certainly seems to be more than enough space to have done so. Should have made smaller dressing rooms/dens/offices. People don't want to go to public laundry rooms these days if they don't have to, especially when paying that kind of money. Park Square. Ok someone was actually thinking clearly on this one and took some time to consider who would be living here. Really good facade, decent layouts, good location, better than average finishes – love the Shaker style cabinetry in kitchen. Public spaces look warm and inviting. I could see myself living in this one.River Place. I like this one also, although I dislike the location. I used to live on Main Street, and kept my car in the parking lot which River Place faces in the back. I know there is some kind of "music hall" or something in one of those buildings that gets incredibly loud at times and I can't imagine some of those residents aren't bothered by it. I know we were. I also wouldn't like living with the smells of Nancy's Cubano and the other restaurant back there, let alone the sounds of the trash collection and all the roaming feral cats living back there. Not ideal.Riverview Manor. There are really wonderful. I looked at purchasing one of these units when I was house hunting, but they were overpriced at the time,and I wasn't too sure about living on that side of 1&9, preferring to be closer to the train station. Now the prices have dropped and I think the value is pretty good. But again, not the best location.Riverwalk. What a fiasco due to unfinished construction and bad finances. A shame, because these are also nice units. I looked at these a long time ago also, and am very happy I didn't purchase. Would not want to be living here with the value of my home plummeting and all the legal problems that have ensued.Sky View. Another one with issues, but overall I liked it when I originally looked at it years ago. However, they didn't design the 1BR well at all, not enough storage space so it wasn't an option. Let alone, at that time very high priced for what it was. But, I actually liked the fact that it was across from the train. I've stayed at the hotel, while my current home was being renovated, and you hardly heard the train at all. Plus, it felt incredibly safe staying there, the front desk employees really keep track of things efficiently. I think once they get things back in running order this will be a worthwhile place for purchasers to consider again – if they aren't pack rats of course.Overall, my preference is for Park Square. It has a well thought out look, good location, great amenities and layouts (some even have balconies, a plus).
Nice breakdown Sivyaleah, but one clarification: Brookside isn't senior housing. It's the 50-unit complex on St. Georges, between Central Ave and Church St.Maybe you're thinking of Park Terrace, the senior housing site on St. Georges Ave near Rahway River Park?
I stand corrected! I still don't care for it 🙂