The park under construction along Essex Street is expected to open next month, according to this report in Sunday’s Star-Ledger.
Construction of the park started last fall. Though there’s no mention of it in the Ledger piece, it’s expected to be named after Myron R. Ross, a Rahway native killed while serving in the Marine Corps during the Vietnam War.
It’s been a busy couple of weeks but I managed to snap a few photos of construction on the new Bachmann’s Tavern.
The project has been taking shape over the past several months. Demolition of the original building, near the corner of St. George’s and West Lincoln avenues, occurred last fall.
Blog readers voted overwhelmingly for the opening of Carriage City Plaza and the Hotel Indigo as the biggest redevelopment story of 2008.
Opening of Carriage City Plaza, 54 percent (37/68)
The slow pace of redevelopment, 19 percent (13/68)
The Savoy coming to a halt, 8 percent (6/68)
Reopening of the Union County Arts Center, 8 percent (6/68)
The fast pace of redevelopment, 5 percent (4/68)
Tabulation of the Rahway Survey, 2 percent (2/68)
While most readers pointed to Carriage City, there were almost a third of them who pointed to signs of the slowing economy, like The Savoy coming to a halt and the slow pace of redevelopment. Keep in mind that the survey is far from scientific at all.
The new poll will be up after the Super Bowl. It’s a repeat from last year but we have a few more readers so I thought it’d be interesting to take another look.
“Who makes your favorite pizza in Rahway?”
Brooklyn Pizza
Gino’s
Michelino’s
Nancy’s Townhouse
Papa Vito
Rahway Pizza
Ted’s
Tony’s
The park under construction on Essex Street will be named for Myron Ross, a Marine from Rahway who was killed in the Vietnam War.
Construction began in October and a dedication ceremony is expected later this year.
The City Council last month increased the bond ordinance for the park by $175,000, to $1.225 million, which includes $500,000 from a state Green Acres loan. City Administrator Peter Pelissier said the extra funds were the result of additional remediation needed at the site.
In 2002, the city dedicated Berzinec Park, which was named for William Berzinec, who also was killed in Vietnam. The site at Central and St. Georges avenues was home to the former public library until it was flooded by Tropical Storm Floyd in September 1999.
Good news for some Sky View residents: They get to keep their view. The Parking Authority passed on the idea of adding two levels to the existing parking deck at Lewis and Main streets.
Executive Director Donald Andersen said commissioners had concerns about the cost effectiveness and shutting down a large portion of the garage during construction, as well as possibly Main and Lewis streets. Construction probably would have last four to five months in either case and two levels of the garage would be closed.
Adding one level would have cost $2.6 million and created another 85 spaces ($31,000 per) while two levels would have cost $4.8 million and added 170 spaces ($29,000 per). The existing six-story parking deck, which opened four years ago with 524 spaces, cost $11 million (which works out to about $21,000/space).
Commissioners discussed the “Vertical Expansion Feasibility Draft Report,” prepared by Tim Haahs & Associates of Blue Bell, Pa., at their November meeting.
Andersen said the parking study commissioned last summer will hopefully be completed by the end of March.
Informative story in Sunday’s New York Times about condo projects turning to rentals, namely the state law that says after 75 percent of units are sold, “management shifts control to a homeowners’ association.”
It’s definitely worth a read, and particularly timely and relevant in Rahway. Apparently, it’s not uncommon in this market to go from condo to rental:
Developers often decide to switch from condo to rental, or vice versa, depending on which way the market is turning. Mr. Stolar said that he was aware of several condo developers who were contemplating the switch at buildings where sales are going slowly — or are even stalled — right now. And he isn’t the only market watcher to see this as an issue for a number of builders.
Switching to rentals is “a way to create cash flow,” he said, “and the rental market is still strong” compared with the condominium market.
Not only have two projects originally planned as condos shifted to rentals this year, bu
t I’ve been asked a few times whether Sky View at Carriage City Plaza is converting to rentals. Not likely. While individual unit owners can rent their apartments (and several units have been purchased by the same owner, by my count), Silcon Inc. would have to seek approval from the Redevelopment Agency to amend the redevelopment agreement. And I’ve heard nothing to even hint that such a move would be sought — much less gain approval.
With 209 units in Sky View, 75 percent of the building would be 157 units. By my count, almost three dozen units officially have sold and appeared in property transactions, but I’ve heard that as many as 65 percent of the units have closed.
Happy Thanksgiving!
The agency previously made an offer of $310,000, which was rejected by the current owner, Colonia-based Grove Investments, LLC. The property is assessed at $146,700, according to PropertyShark.com, and paid about $6,400 in property taxes last year. PropertyShark lists the most recent sale date as February 1998, but no sales data was available on the 0.0859-acre site.
The multi-family home at 312-314 Hamilton St. (Block 167, Lot 44), adjacent to the former Hamilton Laundry, eventually will make way for a concession stand and restrooms, as part of the plans for an amphitheater along the river.
Maybe there’s something about this time of year that makes people want to knock stuff down.