Tag Archives: Main Street

taxes

No tax abatement for The Savoy, Dornoch

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News that the Plainfield City Council last month was asked by the administration for a five-year, 40-percent tax abatement for a Dornoch project in that city has prompted questions from readers in recent weeks about whether the Hillside-based developer will seek the same for The Savoy on Main Street. (The Plainfield governing body was scheduled to entertain the measure at its meeting last night.)

City Administrator and Redevelopment Director Peter Pelissier said Dornoch had requested abatements in negotiations this past summer, but he said he rejected it, with no plans to entertain the idea.

The only recent tax abatement awarded by the City Council was about five or six years ago when Park Square was still just on the drawing board. Landmark Developors will pay 20 percent of the assessed value of the property in the first year it’s on the tax rolls (2009), and 20 percent more each year until 100 percent is reached. Pelissier said the city tax assessor is in the process of compiling the first assessment for the property, which would mean it would be paying 100 percent property taxes by 2013. The project broke ground in 2007 after several years of land acquisition and other work for the development.

Also, this interactive map from P and F Management (a subsidiary or parent entity of some kind for Dornoch and its projects) is another indication that The Savoy may become rentals, something with which the city probably would not have a problem considering the real estate market and other projects going rental.

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Temporary parking until deck is built

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The Redevelopment Agency last week approved a memo of understanding with the Parking Authority and Dornoch to create temporary surface parking at the future site of The Westbury.

Dornoch and the Parking Authority will swap some parcels to create temporary surface parking that will be leased to the Parking Authority. “Temporary” essentially means until a parking deck is constructed, which could be several years.

City Administrator and Redevelopment Director Peter Pelissier estimated about 100 more spaces could fit on the property, in addition to the existing 80 or so existing spaces near Lot B. The move will allow some motorists who lease spaces from the Parking Authority at St. Mary’s on Central Avenue to move closer to downtown, he said. Leasing the temporary surface parking would provide Dornoch some cash flow as it builds The Savoy across the street (where there has been virtually no activity in a year) and pays some $30,000 in property taxes on The Westbury site alone.

The resolution and memo of understanding is meant to convince Dornoch’s investors, a hedge fund based in Holland, that The Westbury is a reality and provide them with a level of comfort to secure additional investments and financing for The Savoy. Should investors not be comfortable with prospects for The Westbury, they don’t believe they would get enough return on The Savoy alone, Pelissier said. “They’ve invested a lot,” he added and would be more comfortable knowing the Redevelopment Agency won’t back out of The Westbury project.

Also referred to as Dornoch II, The Westbury originally was envisioned as a 140-unit development along Main Street behind the East Cherry Street storefronts. The project also included 20,700 square feet of commercial office space and 19,2000 square feet of retail, with an adjacent 350-space parking deck.

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Renovations under way at Main Street building

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As reader Kevin pointed out in his comment the other day, renovations began last month on two storefronts along Main Street.

Plans for the renovations first were presented to the Redevelopment Agency and Planning Board last year, as reported by Rahway Rising. In addition to new signage, lights and facade, vacant office space on the second and third floors will be transformed into two, two-bedrooms apartments.

Hopefully this means getting rid of the cheesy — and probably illegal — “open” sign that hangs in the window of the Chinese takeout joint. (Apologies for lack of a photo on that.)

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Dornoch: Savoy to begin in a month

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An nj.com report this week quotes Dornoch managing partner Glen Fishman claiming that work at The Savoy is expected to begin within 30 days. It’s been almost a year since steel went up at the site at the corner of Main and Monroe streets.

Dornoch had to replace a lender who backed out, according to the report. Their other planned development, The Westbury, will follow. “You’re never going to get financing for a 150-unit building [Westbury] until you sell out your 36-unit building [Savoy],” Fishman told nj.com.

City Administrator and Redevelopment Director Peter Pelissier still stands by Fishman even though Dornoch has not built anything yet. Something ultimately will be built at The Westbury site though not in the immediate or near future, he said during a progress report to the Redevelopment Agency board last month. Pelissier offered commissioners an overview of projects around town over the past decade, adding that “every project may not materialize as originally conceived.”

Dornoch “did come in and buy up some nasty properties,” Pelissier said, suggesting that the site for The Westbury be acquired by lease for temporary surface parking in the meantime.

Though he said he’s not positive it will be built, in a meeting as recently as June 30, Pelissier said Fishman gave verbal assurances that they would move on The Savoy. A forebearance letter from Wachovia bank, which restructured the deal, should give comfort to Dornoch’s financial backers, Pelissier said.

Assuming 18 months for construction, if The Savoy does begin this month, you’re talking early 2011 before focus shifts to The Westbury site.

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Downtown

Two-way traffic a year later: love it or hate it?

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Not the sexiest of poll questions, but it’ll give you something to do while you’re visiting the site. Check out the new poll on the right side of the page (which was submitted by a reader!).

Continue reading Two-way traffic a year later: love it or hate it? →

Arts District, City Council, Downtown, Traffic

Summer work: Irving-Central signalization

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Work is expected to begin next month to reconfigure the intersection of Central Avenue and Hamilton, Irving and West Main streets.

The project will add a traffic signal to the intersection to coordinate traffic coming from five different directions and address the no-left turn from West Main to Irving streets, according to City Administrator and Redevelopment Director Peter Pelissier.

Work also will include creating a triangular traffic island between Hamilton and Central and widening Irving opposite the Union County Arts Center.

City Council on Wednesday night approved a $224,000 contract with Piscataway-based Fai-Gon Electric for signalization.

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City Council

Meters to return along Irving and Main

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Parking meters will return to the downtown area this summer.

Two-hour metered parking will stretch from East Milton to Central Avenue along Main Street while one-hour metered parking will be on Irving Street. The cost will be 50 cents an hour, purchased in half-hour intervals.

Some will replace meters that were taken out when the change to two-way traffic downtown was made last summer and some will replace meters taken off the streets about 15 years ago. Approval has been received from the County of Union and the Rahway Police Department’s Traffic Bureau to replace them, Parking Authority Executive Director Donald Andersen told the City Council last week.

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The Savoy: “Not dead”

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The developers of The Savoy are still in search of financing, but the project is “not dead,” according to City Administrator and Redevelopment Director Peter Pelissier. Briefing commissioners during last week’s Redevelopment Agency meeting, Pelissier said Hillside-based Dornoch/Maplewood Homes is still waiting to get a financial commitment.

The 36-unit project proposed at 1562 Main St. hasn’t seen any activity since last summer.

Not dead yet. Sort of reminds me of the Will Ferrell character from the 1997 movie, Austin Powers: “No, not dead. Burned. Badly.”

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