Tag Archives: commercial

Nail salon expands to former dance space

Paris Nails last month expanded into the former Union County Dance Academy at 1542 Irving St. The dance academy left last spring for a new space in Linden.

No word on details of the lease, but the property last exchanged hands in 1998 for $600,000, according to PropertyShark.com.

 

Thanks to Bob Markey of the Chamber of Commerce for the photo. I’ll be catching up on a few things, so look for multiple posts this week.

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In another look at what other towns are doing with respect to their downtown or other commercial areas: Cranford considers pulling pay stations from Centennial Avenue parking areas. In this case, it’s not the downtown area – a point the mayor makes in the story – but also, the pay stations generate $7,000 in annual revenue but cost $9,000 to operate. The story quotes the mayor as saying the pay stations “place a burden on the business district that is still attempting to gain its footing.”

Dornoch updates agency on retail properties

As promised, the remainder of the briefing the Redevelopment Agency received last week from Glen Fishman, managing partner of Dornoch Holdings.

Fishman was invited to provide an update on the firm’s activities and while the “bad news” portion consisted of an update on the lack of activity at The Savoy, the “good news” portion, as it was described, concerned Dornoch filling its rental properties along Main Street.

Temporary surfacing parking eventually will take over the rest of Lot B on Main Street, adding about 100 spaces in a deal with the Parking Authority and Redevelopment Agency. How temporary the parking is likely will depend on when the economy rebounds. The space originally was planned for 152 residential units with retail-residential mix and parking component known as The Westbury.

Dornoch has been able to rent all but two of its buildings along Main Street, Fishman said. Residential apartments above its properties at 1513 Main St. and 1469 Main St., are rented while they’ve had some interest in the retail components. A New York tenant abandoned 1469 Main St., Fishman said, but a clothing store (headed up by his stepmother) has moved into 1513 Main St. (photo above) while 1501 Main St. has two potential tenants, including a Westfield attorney who may come before the agency and/or Planning Board with changes to the interior, and another tenant who may be interested in the entire building. He’s hopeful to have the spaces filled by February or March.

“People continue to have faith in the town and are willing to spend,” Fishman told commissioners.

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Here’s an idea that might be worth copying. Summit’s merchant association, Summit Downtown, Inc., issues an annual report of sorts, the going vacancy rate and detailing the past year of openings and closings. While Summit may be vastly different in terms of demographics, like Rahway, it also has a Special Improvement District (SID) tax.

Perhaps an effort such as this may be undertaken by the reorganizing Rahway Center Partnership, which is revamping its website, the fledgling Chamber of Commerce, or be included in the mayor’s pledge to market the city.

By the way, Summit reported a vacancy rate of 4.8 percent, 10 vacancies, down from 7.6 percent, 16 vacancies, with 21 new stories and seven expansions/relocations, and five new openings anticipated early this year.

Breakdown of SID taxes

Catching up on some older items during this slow week, the City Council last month approved a 2010 budget of about $130,000 for the Special Improvement District (SID).

Continue reading Breakdown of SID taxes

Aromalicious by Christmas

A Portuguese bakery and cafe is coming to East Cherry Street within the next week. Aromalicious will be open by Christmas, according to the signs in the windows of 85 E. Cherry St. Renovations had been ongoing at the site since the summer.

Readers of the blog often have expressed a desire for a local bakery downtown. The results of the Rahway Survey from several years ago indicated support for a bakery, among other things, and there was quite a discussion about a bakery after Drug Fair vacated their space on St. Georges Avenue.

International Pastry, now in Clark, was located along East Cherry Street about a decade ago, and not far from this location, American Jubilee, a dessert shop/bakery operated at 88 E. Cherry (most recently an art gallery) until about five years ago.

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Kind of a scary story from The New York Times on Friday (“A ‘Shadow Inventory’ Dampens Winter Market”): A “shadow inventory” of 41 months worth of homes to sell that aren’t even on the market yet because they’re in the foreclosure process. “More northerly, urban parts of the state are in less dire straits.”

Jeweler to take last Park Square retail spot

Kennedy Jewelers will fill the final retail space at Park Square, moving four blocks from its current location.

Mayor James Kennedy said a 10-year lease is up on his East Milton Avenue and Fulton Street location and the new space, at the corner of Elm Avenue and Irving Street, is smaller, thus more affordable. “I like the street parking and cozier feeling,” he said in an email, describing it as “more ’boutique-ish.'”

Kennedy, who ends his fifth term as mayor at the end of this year, said it will be his fifth location in 32 years.

The other two retail tenants at Park Square are expected to be Davis Financial, a Linden-based CPA firm, and Deisel Training Center, a strength training and tae kwon do facility. The target for occupancy is December while Kennedy Jewelers could be January of February, according to Matt Dobrowlowski of Iozzi-Williams Village Green ERA, the exclusive listing agent. All three of the tenants have signed either four- or five-year leases in the range of $22 to $23 per square feet annually.

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Here’s a cool photo gallery in Crain’s New York, “Musty streets now hot strips,” featuring half a dozen “formerly forgotten streets becoming urban destinations, boasting a growing crop of trendy eateries and boutiques.” How’d they do it? “It requires daring entrepreneurs seizing the opportunities of cheap rents and an underserved market, as well as landlords hungry enough to take chances on unproven operators.”

Salon, bakery sought for East Cherry Street

Hoping to fill two vacant storefronts, a local property owner came before the Redevelopment Agency last month for assistance but it looks like the locations will remain vacant for now.

Continue reading Salon, bakery sought for East Cherry Street

Mayoral candidate: Rick Proctor, Democrat

Note: The two major-party candidates for mayor were invited to submit a blog post (no more than 750 words) about their redevelopment platforms. Entries were edited only for spelling and style. Also on the ballot in the Nov. 2 election are three At-large City Council seats. Today’s post comes from Democrat Rick Proctor. Republican Pat Cassio appeared Monday morning.

Continue reading Mayoral candidate: Rick Proctor, Democrat