Tag Archives: parking

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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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Downtown, Parking

Downtown parking options, recommendations

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A four-story, 507-space parking deck, estimated to cost $10.3 million, will be the option pursued for Lot B. It will be a while, however, until it’s built.

Continue reading Downtown parking options, recommendations →

Apartments, Parking

Downtown parking assessment

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I forked over $17.50 to the Parking Authority for a copy of the 45-page final downtown parking assessment by Blue Bell, Pa.-based Tim Haahs and Associates, commissioned last year. I finally got to reviewing it and will present it in two posts: parking needs followed by recommendations tomorrow.

Continue reading Downtown parking assessment →

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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Downtown, Parking, Rahway

No go on parking deck expansion

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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.

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Uncategorized

Corner lot adds parking spaces downtown

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As many as 20 parking spaces may be added downtown in the coming weeks. The property that housed a construction trailer for the Park Square project will become a surface lot for the Parking Authority. The trailer is expected to be removed today with resurfacing scheduled next week. About 16 to 20 parking spaces could be accommodated on the site, according to Parking Authority Executive Director Donald Andersen. Six of the spaces will be by permit and the rest metered.

The Parking Authority last week agreed to purchase the lot on the corner of Elizabeth Avenue and Main Street (1606 Elizabeth Ave./Block 158, Lot 3) from the Redevelopment Agency for $250,000. The agency had an appraisal for $215,000 but there were some costs associated with demolition and acquisition, according to Redevelopment Director and City Administrator Peter Pelissier.

The Redevelopment Agency acquired the 0.1331-acre parcel for $125,000 in July 2001, according to PropertyShark.com.

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Downtown, Parking, Rahway

Study to evaluate parking deck, needs

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A consultant will evaluate downtown parking needs, including the feasibility of constructing a deck on Lot B (behind East Cherry Street) and adding two levels to the Main Street deck. A preliminary report to the Parking Authority is expected by the end of the year.

Until the residential housing meltdown of the last several years, the parking deck at Lot B (photo, below left) was to be part of The Westbury by Dornoch, which is also constructing The Savoy. Original plans included a 324-space, five-story parking deck, 150 condos and 17,000 square feet of ground-floor retail space.

Instead, the Parking Authority and the city will take the lead on the Lot B garage. City Administrator and Redevelopment Director Peter Pelissier said the developer would be back-charged for each unit that would require a space in the deck. Changes also will require renegotiations to the redevelopment agreement with Dornoch, which could take several months, said Redevelopment Agency attorney Frank Regan.

Developers have spent about $5.5 million in recent years to assemble properties for The Westbury project, according to Regan. That total could surpass $7 million once they acquire the Greek-American Deli on Main Street and a Parking Authority parcel, he added, and so the project has simply become too cost prohibitive to put together at this point.

In an interview after last week’s Parking Authority meeting, Chairman Matt Dobrowolski said there’s already been discussion with the city administration about a possible third location for a parking deck. “We’re looking long-term, not just the Dornoch project,” he said. Adding two levels at the Main Street deck (photo, right) is more difficult with Carriage City Plaza now constructed, he said, but they have the ability to do it although it won’t solve the Lot B issue.

The Main Street deck took about a year to erect and Dobrowolski expects the same timeline with the Lot B deck. Opened in December 2004, the six-story, 524-space deck cost $11 million — $3 million of which is to be paid back to NJ Transit.

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Uncategorized

Some street parking to be restored

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After meeting with the Traffic Bureau on Monday, City Administrator and Redevelopment Director Peter Pelissier said areas around downtown have been identified to restore some parking spaces lost after two-way traffic was established. He estimated between 20 and 30 spaces might return and it would happen as soon as signage and striping can be completed, which he said could be a couple of weeks. About 40 spaces were lost initially.

Some of the parking spaces to be restored include two to three spots on East Milton just under the train tracks and on Main Street opposite the retail stores, where one owner said his business has dropped off by as much as 50 percent since on-street parking was eliminated.

In an interview after last week’s City Council pre-meeting conference, Pelissier also mentioned other long-term possibilities to address downtown parking: something on Coach Street to accommodate the arts center, and the corner of Elizabeth Avenue and Main Street, which currently houses a construction trailer for the Park Square project.

Changes in the Parking Authority’s rates that took effect Aug. 1 include the first 30 minutes free in the Main Street deck.

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