Seven years after breaking ground on its first phase, Park Square has been acquired for $46.5 million.
Tag Archives: Landmark Companies
Lot B: A street runs through it
Monroe Street would stretch across Main Street between two five-story apartment buildings and connect with West Cherry Street in a concept plan presented to the Redevelopment Agency last month.Almost $1 million in PILOTs in 2012 budget
The $49-million municipal budget anticipates almost $1 million of revenue from various PILOT (Payment In Lieu of Taxes) agreements, including the first from one of the Park Square properties.
The total $961,000 in PILOT revenue is up from the $783,000 in the 2011 budget and breaks down as follows:
* Lower Essex St – Denholz Management (Rahway Plaza Apartments) – $366,000
* Landmark – $150,000
* Parking Authority (River Place) — $170,000
* Rosegate — $25,000
* Senior citizen housing — $250,000
Landmark, which broke ground on the Irving Street side of Park Square (2 Park Square) in 2006, appealed its assessment in Tax Court, getting it reduced from $6.05 million to $4.077 million.
The Main Street side (1 Park Square) is assessed at $8.965 million.
The PILOT agreement had the developer paying taxes on the assessed value of the parcels as they previously existed. Landmark will begin paying 20 percent of its assessment this year, which will rise 20 percent each year until it reaches 100 percent (which would be 2016).
River Place was constructed on property owned by the Parking Authority, which receives an annual payment from the development’s owner and splits it roughly in half with the city.
The city budget also anticipates $660,000 in revenue from red light camera fines. About $1 million was realized in the Transitional Year budget, which covered the six months of July-December 2011.
The amount to be raised by taxes in the budget is $33.455 million. The proposed municipal tax rate for 2012 is 2.287 (per $100 of assessed value), so the average assessed home ($133,000) would see municipal taxes of $3,042, compared with $3,046 estimated last year. (Remember, municipal taxes make up only a portion of your overall property tax bill; the others being schools and county). Presented to City Council by the administration in February, the municipal budget will be up for a public hearing and vote at the March 12 meeting.
Renaissance project taking shape
Another month, another milestone for Renaissance at Rahway on East Grand Avenue.
After breaking ground last fall, the 88-unit complex continues to make progress. The image at left was taken last week.
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Rahway plans to install public art downtown, including sculptures and murals, among other things, so I thought this recent story about public art in and around Summit might be relevant.
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A little late on posting this but: Landmark at Rahway, LLC, the developer of Park Square on Irving Street was fined $85,000 by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) for stormwater pollution issues from 2008 and 2009 that have since been corrected.
Irving St. side of Park Square 90% leased
Park Square timeline: fall 2010
The second building in the Park Square development is expected to be completed and ready for occupancy by fall 2010.
Joel Schwartz, principal with developer Landmark Companies of Keasbey, presented an update to commissioners at last night’s Redevelopment Agency meeting.
About 44 of the 63 apartments in the completed building one on Irving Street are leased and the 96 units in building two on Main Street should be open by October, Schwartz said. There will be a total 238 parking spaces. Due to a different elevation on Main Street, two levels of parking will be on that side (photo above, corner of Elizabeth Avenue) compared to one level in operation now on the Irving Street side. The four-story, 159-unit project broke ground in October 2006.
Schwartz said there was an effort not to push the retail space, given the market conditions but also to try to first fill up residential units. He hopes to have more tenants by the spring for the 7,000 square feet of ground-floor retail space along Irving Street. The first tenant, Eyes On You, a high-end optometrist occupying 1,700 square feet at the corner of Irving and Elizabeth Avenue (photo at right), should be open in the new year.
Filling space
As loyal reader Larry first pointed out in his comments to last week’s post, it appears a shoe repair shop will be coming to fill the vacant space at the corner of East Cherry and Main streets.
Two more properties for Landmark
Landmark Companies has acquired two more properties in recent months for a future project along Main Street.