While updating Zoning Board members at the end of last Monday night’s meeting about issues coming before the Planning Board, Chairman William Hering (who also serves as vice chairman of the Planning Board) questioned why the City Council earlier this month tabled an ordinance for the Meridia Water’s Edge project despite approval by the Planning Board in August.
Continue reading Zoning Board chairman claims ‘second guessing’
Owners of The Center Circle raised concerns about notification regarding the proposed Meridia Water’s Edge development as well as access to the three-quarter property adjacent to their complex.
Continue reading Center Circle owners raise issue with project
The City Council on Monday tabled an ordinance (0-26-11) that would amend a redevelopment plan to include a 108-unit, five-story rental complex proposed near the library. Concerns were raised about the size of apartments and the density of units as proposed.
The governing body will take up the ordinance to amend the Lower Main Street Urban Renewal Plan at its meeting on Oct. 11 but some council members had concerns about the density and overall plans for the surrounding area.
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| The day after Hurricane Irene. (By D. Palmer) |
Representatives of Capodagli Property Company appeared before the council during its pre-meeting conference last week to present their plan, which includes a request for a Payment In Lieu of Taxes (PILOT) for the project.
Fifth Ward Councilwoman Jennifer Wenson-Maier said Monday night that she thought the units seem too small and the density of the project too high for the three-quarter-acre site. The 56 two-bedroom units would be 816 square feet as currently proposed, with 14 one-bedroom units of 672 square feet, and another 42 one-bedrooms of 720 square feet since they feature an office area.
There’s no master plan for that parcel or the three acres around it, Wenson-Maier said, adding that she’d like to aim for a “better product” and a more complete plan for the area, even if it means delaying the project. In addition to density, Councilman At-large James Baker raised concerns about potential future flooding, and also preferred to include some retail and commercial components, as was the case with the Town Center project. (The photo of the site above was taken the day after Hurricane Irene).
The Water’s Edge application was to go before the Planning Board on Sept. 27 but now will be delayed until the ordinance is approved by City Council.
NJ Transit issued an advisory that the outbound stairs on the east end of the Rahway Train Station will close Monday, until mid-October.
It would appear that the main/center stairs on the inbound platform are almost completely rebuilt — after being closed for more than 18 months. The Rahway Chamber of Commerce had an attorney send a letter to NJ Transit this week about the deplorable conditions and glacial pace of repairs to the inbound main stairs and the outbound elevator.
The City Council last night introduced an ordinance (O-26-11) to amend the Lower Main Street Urban Renewal Plan for the Meridia Water’s Edge project.
The Planning Board is expected to take up the matter later this month (Aug. 30) and provide a recommendation to the City Council before the governing body holds a public hearing and final vote on the ordinance next month (Sept. 12). The Planning Board then would consider a site plan, as early as its September meeting (Sept. 27).
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| Can you find the rainbow? |
Capodagli Property Company of Pompton Plains has proposed 108 units on the 0.75-acre property (Block 305, Lot 5.04) adjacent to Rahway Public Library, Center Circle sports complex and Rahway Plaza Apartments. Capodagli last week presented the Redevelopment Agency with a revised project 108 units compared with the 116 units presented in the spring. The five-story, 108-unit proposal includes 52 two-bedroom units and 56 one-bedrooms compared with a 20/96 split in the earlier version. Since the plan currently only includes 90 parking spaces, some arrangement would be necessary for the project to use upward of 18 spaces in adjacent parking lots.
About six years ago, a day care center was proposed in the area (.pdf) at Block 305/Lot 5.03 (.pdf). The majority of the City Hall Plaza complex and adjacent lots at one time was planned as the Town Center project, a massive mix of residential, retail and parking (circa 2007).
The latest from NJ Transit on the center stair repairs at the Train Station: Closed through September 2011. It really doesn’t even look like much work has been done of late, so I think I can speak for a majority of you when I say: WTF?!?!
The advisory comes on the the heels of another one earlier this week that repairs to the elevator on the westbound side “are scheduled to continue through September.”
The Redevelopment Agency last night approved a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with Meridia Water’s Edge, LLC, to develop a 108-unit rental complex on a three-quarter acre site adjacent to Rahway Public Library and the Center Circle sports complex on Main Street. (A revised rendering is in this Google document; once I can convert it into a .jpg, it’ll be added to this post).
Pompton Plains-based Capodagli Property Company initially proposed 116 units in a presentation to the agency in April, with 91 parking spaces. The number of spaces remain the same as in the original plan and an arrangement to use some 12 to 18 spaces in nearby municipal lots would have to be pursued.
The original plan called for 96 one-bedroom and 20 two-bedroom units; the revised plan presented last night includes 52 two-bedroom units and 56 one-bedrooms (42 of which will also have an office, some 50 square feet larger overall). Two-bedroom units would be 816 square feet. The plans note that a “market study will determine actual unit mix, sizes, placement and phases of development.”
George Capodagli told commissioners that he has a “firm commitment” from a bank and wants to close on the property soon. The Redevelopment Agency last month designated Capodagli as redeveloper, agreeing to sell the parcel for $1 million. The developer will be responsible for the cost of removing soil that’s been on the site from library construction earlier in the decade.
At closing, $500,000 will be due to the Redevelopment Agency and the second $500,000 of the sale price will be due upon the final Certificate of Occupancy (CO). The cost of soil removal will be credited toward the developer’s second payment but City Administrator and Redevelopment Director Peter Pelissier expects the agency should still yield at least half of that payment. The city’s engineers will oversee and monitor the soil removal estimates and process, and Capodgali said his firm will do the work at cost.
Next, the City Council must approve amendments to the redevelopment plan, to be introduced next week and approved next month. The Planning Board also will be presented with plans later this month for recommendation to City Council before it considers site plan approval, likely at its September meeting.
There was some discussion about the project being within a flood plain. Commissioner Timothy Nash asked how residents would get into the building should the area be two to three feet under water. Capodagli said they likely would not have access to the building and the management company would have to make provisions for that and to disclose that in lease agreements. The back of the project would abut the levee, next to the property line with Rahway Plaza Apartments — toward the back of the library parking lot — while the front entrance would face the Center Circle complex (forming a sort of triangle that’s flatted at the top, which would be the front entrance. Got it? Working on uploading/scanning designs).
Officials were confident though that the area has not flooded since the levee was built along the Rahway River. Nash recalled Tropical Storm Floyd in September 1999 — which destroyed the former library where Berzinec Park is today — as the worst flooding situation and the site did not flood then.
Interesting story from NPR last month (“How A Park Helped One Town Weather The Recession”) about Greenville, S.C., and its development efforts, which included a $13-million, 20-acre downtown park and public garden created in 2004. Within two years, it’s estimated that $100 million in private investment occurred around the park. Sounds like a success story akin to New York City’s new High Line Park, which is looking to be replicated elsewhere. But there’s more to it – obviously – than just the park. It’s worth the quick read/listen.
The Redevelopment Agency plans to sell a three-quarter acre parcel near the library to a developer for $1 million. Pompton Plains-based Capodagli Property Company would remove a stockpile of contaminated soil in exchange for a deduction on the sale price. The developer has proposed Meridia Water Edge, a 116-unit rental property on the site, just south of the library and adjacent to the Center Circle and Rahway Plaza Apartments, but the project still must be approved.
City Administrator and Redevelopment Director Peter Pelissier said the city will monitor movement of the soil and obtain estimates to ensure the developer isn’t making money off the deal, but did not have specifics immediately available as to the the cost or deduction. The Redevelopment Agency at its meeting last week awarded a $25,350 contract to Whitestone Associates to monitor the removal of the soil stockpile just south of the library.The stockpile of contaminated soil came from the library construction of the library in the early 2000s.
The Capodagli firm is eager to begin as soon as possible and already has paid several hundred thousand dollars in water and sewer permits for the project, Pelissier told commissioners. The administration also has been meeting with owners of the Center Circle and office condos on the upper levels of the library to keep them abreast of the Meridia Water Edge proposal.
Parking and density issues are some of the initial concerns over a 116-unit development proposed along the Rahway River behind the public library. Developer George Capodagli made the presentation to the Redevelopment Agency Wednesday night with his daughter Kim, who manages the firm’s other complex in Rahway.
Pompton Plains-based Capodagli Property Company built Meridia Grand on East Grand Avenue, which broke ground in fall 2009 and started leasing last summer. He credited the Redevelopment Agency for its patience as his firm acquired several properties over the years before the 88-unit project could come to fruition.
The 0.755-acre lot behind the Rahway Public Library and Center Circle athletic complex is owned by the Redevelopment Agency and the initial design appears similar to Meridia Grand, with a sort of triangular-shaped building, with an interior courtyard, abutting the levee along the Rahway River.
The five-story complex, dubbed Meridia Water Edge, would have 116 units (96 one-bedroom/20 two-bedroom) with 91 ground-floor parking spaces. There would be 24 one-bedroom units (650 square feet) and five two-bedroom units (800 square feet) on each of the remaining four floors. Kim Capodagli, who manages Meridia Grand, said rents could run $1,500 for a one-bedroom and $2,000 for a two-bedroom but possibly more since it’s closer to the train station.
“A town grows on heartbeats,” said George Capodagli, who was effusive about redevelopment efforts in the city. “You need people to make a town move,” he said, adding that the proximity to downtown and city facilities like the recreation center and library, make it an ideal location.
To address parking concerns, Capodagli hopes to work out a plan to share spaces in adjacent, underutilized city parking lots, which he described as “virtually empty at night.” More parking likely will be necessary, as Capodagli said he’s not finding as many commuters as expected at his Grand Avenue development.
The project falls within a flood plain and Capodagli said parking would be two feet underwater in a 100-year flood but residents could come out and parking in nearby city lots which are level.
City Engineer James Housten suggested to commissioners that the developer seek a preliminary application conference with the state Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) about the flood plain because he would have to demonstrate that residents could access the property during a flood. “I’m not saying it’s undoable but he has to address it,” he said.
Redevelopment Agency commissioners were complimentary of the design for the most part, with some minor questions about landscaping. While Capodagli told commissioners he’d like to be “in the ground” in six months, City Administrator and Redevelopment Director Peter Pelissier said that’s a very ambitious schedule considering the project would still needed approval from the City Council and Planning Board after a redeveloper is designated – which the agency should do next month.
Pelissier said the presentation was merely a preliminary conceptual proposal that was made on short notice to make Wednesday’s meeting but praised Capodagli’s cooperation with city departments and his track record on his previous project. He was confident that further discussion could iron out issues relating to parking and density.