Planning Board OKs 213 units at Essex, Bridge St.

The Planning Board unanimously approved a 213-unit development across the river from downtown, with a variance for studio units and several conditions, including parking.

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The 9-0 vote came after more than 2 1/2 hours of testimony and questions during the Planning Board’s May 23 meeting. No members of the public commented or asked questions during the public portion of the meeting.

The five-story building will have 229 parking spaces in a ground-floor garage, topped by four levels of residential homes, with an additional 58 on-street parking spaces along one side of Essex Street. Commissioners raised concerns about the on-street parking, adding conditions to the approval that the developer coordinate with the city, planner, and engineering on a parking permit plan.

At a Glance

Name: Vermella
Address: 1775 Bridge St.
Stories: 5
Units: 213
– 141 in Phase 1; 72 in Phase 2
– 81 1BR, 32 1BR + den, 81 2BR, 19 studio
Acres: 2.47 (10 lots)
Parking: 287 (229 garage, 58 on-street)
PILOT: 30 years, $26.622 million
Project cost: $68 million
Developer: Russo Development
Architect: Minno & Wasko

Rendering of Vermella looking south from Bridge Street

The applicant, RDF Rahway Urban Renewal, LLC, is part of Russo Development, which presented a revised concept plan to the Redevelopment Agency last summer. The Carlstadt-based firm was designated by the agency as redeveloper. Previous concepts proposed a 174-unit complex and 300 units to encompass the entire block around Clarkson Place, Bridge, Essex and Monroe streets.

Vermella Rahway had been named Bridgeview in previous concepts presented to the agency over the past five years. Vermella is Russo’s “signature apartment brand,” with almost 20 developments constructed or in development around North and Central Jersey, including sites in Garwood, Union and Woodbridge.

The variance allows for a studio unit of 465 square feet rather than the required 500 square feet. Standard studio units at Vermella are 465 square feet. Planner Diogo Santos, a principal with Russo, said the units are measured to include the exterior wall of the unit in the total. Studios in this building will be 15 x 33 feet, which is about 2 feet deeper than their standard studios, he said.

The application covers almost 2.5 acres across 10 lots that currently includes residential, automotive and industrial uses on Essex, Bridge, and Monroe streets, and Clarkson Place. Previous concepts included the adjacent PSE&G substation, with the most recent iteration suggesting that lot could come as part of a second phase of 72 units but it was not part of the application approved.

RDF Rahway Urban Renewal, LLC has closed on one property so far, acquiring 1714 Essex St. in November for $506,000, according to property records. Russo is the contract-purchaser for the other nine properties, according to James Polles, assistant general counsel.

The application includes 10 properties along Block 322:

Originally proposed as 221 units in an application filed in February, the application was reduced to 213 units. The revised plan also added parking in the garage, increasing from 221 to 229 space, for a total of 287 overall. A second garage entrance was eliminated along the mid-block of Essex Street, which yielded another three parking spaces off site, for an increase of 11 overall.

“The reason we did that, we looked at the unit mix. We’re constantly doing this. We’re looking at the number of [units] to best respond to the market that we’re delivering these units to,” Stuart Johnson, principal with Lambertville-based architecture firm Minno & Wasko, told commissioners in his testimony. “We think that’s an improvement from where the design was back in February.” He described the site as “ideal” for a new rental apartment building that’s two blocks from downtown, dining and retail that would “provide new housing.” It provides good access and walkability to the downtown core as well as the train station, he added.

The primary residential lobby and entrance of the building will be at Clarkson Place and Bridge Street, with an address of 1775 Bridge St. Since the area is in a flood plain, the first “habitable level” was elevated, with ramps and stairs that provide for a covered entry.

Within the parking garage, there are 24 tandem parking spaces, typically assigned to two-bedroom units. There also are 35 electric vehicle (EV) spaces, complying with state requirements of 15% Level 2 charging spaces, with a third (12) to be brought online when the building opens, and the second third and final third within six years of receiving the certificate of occupancy. There are five handicapped spaces, including two EV handicapped spaces, as required by the state.

Revision to unit mix

The original application included 114 one-bedrooms, 4 one-bedrooms with a den, 82 two-bedrooms, and 23 studios. The revised unit mix includes 81 one-bedrooms, 32 one-bedrooms with a den, 81 two-bedrooms, and 19 studios.

The second level of the building is the primary amenity floor with about 8,000 square feet of internal amenity spaces. That includes a large club room in the center of the building, fitness center and yoga room with spin bikes, and an open-air courtyard. The application also creates about 12,000 square feet of active and passive outdoor recreation space, mostly on the rooftop, with barbecue dining areas and fire pits, and a resort-style pool with lounge seating.

Neighborhood parking

The main sticking point over the course of the evening’s hearing seemed to come back to parking, with commissioners often pointing to changes in the neighborhood that had to be implemented after Meridia Brownstones was built on Elizabeth Avenue.

The developer of Meridia eventually built a temporary parking lot on its Elizabeth Avenue property until lease arrangements could be changed to include parking, Commissioner Bill Hering said. “It really created havoc on Elizabeth Avenue. You might want to give that some thought,” Hering said. “They won’t want to pay that extra fee and look for other places to park in the city. Now’s the time that maybe you folks can address that.”

Residents at Vermella buildings typically are charged $125 per month for garage parking. On-street parking spaces, however, would be free along the building’s side of Essex Street. “It’s an amenity, it’s something residents they want, they want to park in a conditioned space away from elements, close to packages,” Santos said. On average, roughly 95 percent of residents choose to pay for private parking in the facilities, he said.

One of the conditions as part of the approval is that Russo will work with the city’s parking authorities to secure 58 permits and administer them to residents. Spaces represent about 25% of the total parking. “We feel with regard to market demand, that is the right ratio demand: 75% covered, 25% on-street parking, that’s the right mix to offer residents who want to forgo the fee-based option and choose a more economic option,” Santos said. He described it as a “win-win for both parties” because it helps to manage the process on both ends.

“You’re going to end up with spaces underneath your building that are empty, and those people that should be parking in your building are now going to be parking on a public street,” Commissioner Alex Shipley warned, noting that Park Square on Irving and Main streets used to have public parking spaces which are now permitted for those residents only.

“We find that, overwhelmingly, our residents want to pay for the covered parking option, or an on-site parking option that is close to the building,” Santos said. “We think that the parking on street parking we have here is comparable to a field of parking in other developments. Except here we would not charge for those spaces to satisfy demand for resident who tries to sneak in there, choose not to select a covered parking option.”

When Shipley suggested that the city should charge a fee for the residential permits, Santos replied: “When we researched the city of Rahway parking permits, there was no fee to them. We were not going to pass on fee onto our residents because we didn’t think that would be fair.”

Commissioner Chris Brown added: “So essentially, if I live there, I know I have to compete with your tenants for spaces I’ve been parking at for as long as I’ve been there.”

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