Construction began last month to turn the Bell Building on Hamilton Street into a black box theater, a little at a time (photo left), until last week when several of walls were knocked out (photo below).
The City Council tonight awarded a $30,000 contract for the construction of an interim parking lot on Main Street, which should be completed within several weeks.
Matawan-based Esposito Construction was awarded the contract in the amount of $29,652.95. Funds for the interim lot were included within a $200,000 bond ordinance also approved tonight that also will fund demolition of 65 E. Cherry St. and installation of a fence around The Savoy site at Main and Monroe streets. Mounds of asphalt millings have been staged at the site for the resurfacing, which must be completed in time for next month’s Hot Rods & Harleys event, according to Redevelopment Director and City Administrator Peter Pelissier.
The interim lot is expected to add about 100 spaces to the existing 65, which the Parking Authority will lease from Dornoch Holdings — the developer which originally proposed to build The Westbury — for $1 annually in exchange for property taxes on the site being waived. The idea for an interim lot was proposed in fall 2009 when it became clear the mixed-used development wasn’t coming online anytime soon. [Link in italics added 4/16]
An advisory issued last week by NJ Transit indicated that construction of the center stairs at the train station — which have been closed for a year — is expected to begin in “mid-April.”
The developer of a recently-completed rental project on East Grand Avenue is apparently trying to acquire several stalled properties in Rahway.
George Capodagli, principal of Capodagli Property Company in Pompton Plains, told commissioners that he’s negotiating with Wells Fargo in an attempt to buy out properties owned by Dornoch Holdings, the developer behind The Savoy and owner of several downtown parcels. Capodagli said he already has a design in mind for The Savoy property, aiming for “a blend of traditional and modern,” and believes a viable restaurant could be developed at one of the other Dornoch-owned properties.
Capodagli was at tonight’s Redevelopment Agency meeting to present commissioners with a preliminary concept plan for a 116-unit rental complex behind Rahway Public Library (details on that project to come). The developer’s 88-unit Meridia Grand project began leasing last summer and is at more than 85 percent capacity, he said.
In an appearance before the Redevelopment Agency in January, Dornoch managing partner Glen Fishman described The Savoy as “dead in the water.” Originally designed as a four-story 36-unit complex, The Savoy site at Monroe and Main streets has been essentially dormant since steel beams were erected in summer 2008. The Hillside-based developer owns several other downtown properties, including the burned out building on East Cherry Street.
The City Council Monday night awarded a contract to install a fence around Dornoch’s dormant Savoy property on Main Street and moved forward on demolishing the developer’s East Cherry Street eyesore.
First, the governing body unanimously approved a $16,820 contract to Pollock Installations, Inc. of Woodbridge to install a fence at Dornoch I, a.k.a., The Savoy, at Main and Monroe streets. The council then introduced a $200,000 bond ordinance to cover the cost of the fence installation, as well as the demolition of 65 E. Cherry St., and improvements to Parking Lot B, a.k.a., Dornoch II/The Westbury.
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The council is scheduled to approve the bond ordinance at its April 11 meeting. If all goes well, bids for demolition would be awarded by June and demolition could come by summer, according to City Administrator and Redevelopment Director Peter Pelissier. The property paid about $1,040 in property taxes last year, according to PropertyShark.com.
During a meeting in December, Redevelopment Agency officials asked Glen Fishman, managing partner of Dornoch, about the possibility of at least installing a fence around The Savoy site, since it’s sitting there just waiting to be vandalized. Given Dornoch’s financial situation, his suggestion was for the city to install the fence and place a lien on the property.
The wall that collapsed at the property last month was not load bearing, according to Richard Watkins, director of the Department of Building, Planning and Economic Development. The building was declared unsafe and the owner was ordered to demolish it, however, he has refused, Watkins said. The city plans to place a lien on the property to recover the cost of demolition.
Dornoch purchased the East Cherry Street property from the Parking Authority for $65,000 (less than the likely cost of demolition) and had proposed renovations to the Planning Board in 2007.
The Zoning Board of Adjustment had too few members in attendance to vote on the St. Mary’s application tonight, so let’s catch up a few comings and goings in recent weeks when it comes to retail spaces:
* Main Shoe Repair, at the corner of Main and East Cher
ry streets, closed today. It occupied the location for less than two years, opening in the spring of 2009 and at the time replacing a salon.
* A pet spa is expecting to fill the former Kataluma Chai at 1470 Main St., by sometime in March. Kataluma was in the space from October 2009 to September 2010. Thanks to a reader who submitted the photo at right.
* The Zen Martial Arts and Meditation Center of Rahway recently opened on Main Street, between the Rahway Art Hive and Main Street Barber Shop.
There’s been some scuttlebutt about a few others but I haven’t been able to confirm them yet.
Patria Restaurant and Mixology Lounge opened in December, replacing the former El Bodegon restaurant on West Main Street. I haven’t had a chance to visit yet and haven’t heard much about it, but there seems to be plenty of curiosity judging by search activity on the web. Normally, there are a few keyword searches that turn up in our blog results several times a week. The most popular usually are Carriage City Plaza or Sky View, maybe a few times a day. Keyword searches for Patria or El Bodegon, however, routinely reach a dozen a day or more, far higher than anything else we’ve seen in the past.
Refunds were approved for 52 tax appeals last year, twice as many as were filed and settled at the county Board of Taxation in the 2009 tax year.
Closer to home, there’s this story from MyCentralJersey.com, Piscataway budgets $500G for tax appeals, as well as this one from the Cranford Chronicle, Citing tax appeals, Cranford officials say surplus is down to $58,000 from previous estimates of $1 million.
In November,
the City Council approved a multi-year tax appeal settlement for 1510 Main St./90 E. Cherry St. (Block 318, Lot 12) that had been pending in Tax Court. (It was not among the 52 appeals in 2010).
A canopy of solar panels would cover dozens of parking spaces at City Hall under a proposed concept plan that is expected to save the city more than a quarter-million dollars over 15 years.
The City Council was presented with the Union County Improvement Authority’s (UCIA) Renewable Energy Initiative during a special meeting tonight. The governing body ultimatly voted in favor of a resolution to move ahead on the project. Savings to the city in the first year of the program could be $14,000 and as much as $22,000 in the 15th year, with a total savings of $268,387, according to Daniel Swayze of Cranford-based Birdsall Services Group. The canopy would generate an estimate 152 kW. The change in savings over time would result from a fixed escalation factor, he said.
The canopy would be the responsibility of the developer, he said, who could decide at the end of the 15-year program to remove it or sell it, or the UCIA could extend the initiative. The city has no financial obligation, Swayze said, while the county guarantees the UCIA bonds. The canopy of solar panels is a minimum of 9 feet high but can range to 20 feet, depending on the city’s needs. City officials estimated they might need a clearance of 12 to 14 feet for certain municipal vehicles.
City officials seemed keen on repairing solar panels on the roof of City Hall, w
hich were installed sometime in the early ’80s, as part of the recent initiative. The estimated start for construction of the UCIA’s project is February or March, said Swayze, who suggested another meeting to discuss the timing of the city’s repairs before design and construction of the canopy. There also were issues of property easements in and around the City Hall lot to be aware before installation as the solar panel canopy could not be lifted onto the roof though it could be moved to another part of the lot, if necessary.
The UCIA last summer issued Request For Proposals (RFP) for renewable energy projects, which ended up going to Tioga Energy in San Francisco. About 16 entities within 11 towns will take part in the program. The authority will borrow $20 million and cover up to 70 percent of the cost of the projects that will outfit various public buildings with solar or wind power.
We got our 200th “like” on Facebook the other day, to go along with our 223 “friends” on Facebook and 118 followers on Twitter (@RahwayRising). Remember, you can also subscribe to blog posts via email.
As promised, the remainder of the briefing the Redevelopment Agency received last week from Glen Fishman, managing partner of Dornoch Holdings.
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.
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.