Just a few months after steel began to rise at The Savoy, the developer that’s heading up several projects in the city has apparently run into unspecified “economic difficulties.”
Tag Archives: Redevelopment Agency
Sleep Inn out, Candlewood Suites in
A long-planned hotel near the corner of Route 1 and East Milton Avenue looks like it will go through another round of changes.
The 4.4-acre site (667 E. Milton Ave./Block 338, Lot 3) already was approved for a Sleep Inn several years ago but the property changed hands earlier this year and now the plan is to bring in Candlewood Suites, an extended stay brand of Holiday Inn. The Redevelopment Agency was presented with the new concept earlier this month and owners are expected to file an application with the Planning Board as soon as possible.
The site was acquired several months ago for $2.35 million. Owners hope to break ground as soon as next spring, with construction anticipated for 10 to 12 months, taking it into the spring of 2010.
Plans still show an L-shaped building at the corner of Lennington Street with the same footprint, but the structure is four stories instead of three, with a maximum of 93 rooms. The mix of studios and one-bedrooms can be modified, such as combining two studios to create a one-bedroom.
An indoor pool and convenience store also were added to the original design, which had 72 rooms in three stories. Extended stay units also have kitchens and most clients stay an average of two to three weeks. A 8,000-square-foot restaurant is still planned but is not dependent on the hotel construction, and vice versa. The restaurant would abut the neighboring Best Western on Paterson Street with its parking lot at the corner of East Milton and Paterson Street.
The hotel site would have 90 parking spaces while the restaurant site would accommodate 42, for a total of 132. By city ordinance, an 8,000-square-foot restaurant requires one parking space for every three seats, which would meet the requirement for a 120-seat facility (40 seats).
The owners also operate the Horizon Inn on Route 1 in Avenel and told the Redevelopment Agency they already have approval for $7 million financing from Unity Bank. They would have a 10-year agreement with Candlewood which would be renewed based on performance.
Corner lot adds parking spaces downtown
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.
Agency makes offer for adjacent site
The Redevelopment Agency is looking to acquire another property adjacent to the former Hamilton Laundry site (in the background of photo at left; a closer look here).
Redevelopment Counsel Frank Regan said at last week’s meeting that the agency made a “good-faith offer” to the owner of the multi-family property immediately to the west of the site. Though the property owner rejected the $310,000, which was based on an appraisal, there is a willingness to sell and a counter offer was made, Regan said. Funds for the acquisition were allocated as part of financing approved in a bond ordinance last month, he added.
Redevelopment Director and City Administrator Peter Pelissier said the mayor and Arts District Advisory Board are still deliberating over the design of the amphitheater itself. The agency acquired the Hamilton Laundry site in 2004 for about $2 million, according to propertyshark.com, and has plans to create a park and amphitheater after an effort to build a comedy club was scratched as a result of flooding on the site. A black box theater and performing arts space instead are planned up the street at the former Bell building.
Two dozen units close at SkyView
The Redevelopment Agency is expecting a payment of $202,000 in fees for the sale of units at Sky View at Carriage City Plaza, Redevelopment Director/City Administrator Peter Pelissier said at last night’s agency meeting. Based on the redevelopment agreement and a new deferred payment schedule, that would mean about 40 units have closed so far.
I’ve heard that as many as 60 units have closed but only about two dozen have appeared in property transactions so far. The average for the 23 units closed so far is about $288,272, with a low of $233,050 and a high of $444,000. There were three purchasers with the same last name who bought two units in the building, according to real estate transactions.
The redevelopment agreement with Elizabeth-based Silcon Inc. calls for the agency to receive $10,000 per unit upon closing of each unit. This past summer the agency agreed to defer half the payment until it reached the level of water connection fees paid in June ($331,194). At $5,000 per unit, that would mean about 40 units have closed, given the $202,000 payment.
Agency passes on salon
By the slimmest of margins, the Redevelopment Agency did not recommend a zoning overlay that would allow a salon on Irving Street, within 1,000 feet of another similar business.
Trader Joe’s, 2013?
Not good news for those of you hoping to see a Trader Joe’s downtown anytime soon.
Town Center scaling back, has new developer
The Town Center project, originally proposed 18 months ago as a massive residential-retail plan for property around City Hall, has a new developer and scaled-back plans.
Continue reading Town Center scaling back, has new developer