A four-story, 20-unit building has been proposed for a long-vacant West Main Street property downtown.
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The Redevelopment Agency heard a 15-minute presentation on the concept plan during its regular meeting on Wednesday night and later approved a resolution (Res. 22-21) designating 141 West Main Street, LLC, as exclusive redeveloper of the site for a period of 120 days (4 months) and is contingent upon successful negotiation and execution of a formal redevelopment agreement with the city.
The vacant lot backs up to the Robinson’s Branch of the Rahway River, between Cambridge Courts apartments and several other residential buildings, and is behind the Union County Performing Arts Center. The property is one of two infill sites that were mentioned during Redevelopment Director Robert Landolfi’s report to the agency last month as having interest in being developed by property owners.
Representing 141 West Main Street LLC during Wednesday’s Zoom meeting were attorney Michael Miceli of Weiner Law Group in Parsippany, project manager Hector Rodriguez and Jorge Casalins. Property records show that Block 161, Lots 4 and 5 were acquired in November for $100,000 by 141 W Main Street, LLC.
The line of the flood plains needs to be preserved so the concept uses about 60% of the lot and will require state approval, Rodriguez said, but everything else is in compliance. The problem has been the river which puts limitations on the project, Casalins said.
The proposed wood-frame building would have 20 rental apartments: 16 two-bedrooms, including four penthouses, and 4 one-bedrooms. Two-bedrooms would be about 1,100 square feet and one-bedrooms about 700 square feet.
There would be 20 parking spaces on two levels, one on the ground floor and one below ground. Two garage doors and a lobby would front the street on the ground floor with a gym area on the upper levels next to the penthouses.
“We tried to incorporate a design that was consistent with downtown,” Rodriguez said, with special consideration to the aesthetics of the building and a neutral color scheme.
Commissioner Tim Nash suggested the modern look of the building doesn’t really fit with the rest of town, which is more traditional, more of a neoclassic or Beaux Arts style. He also questioned why there were not more windows, pointing to a lack of windows on the building’s sides.
Rodriguez explained that the project will go all the way up to the property line, that’s why there are no windows in the corner apartments, and recessed in the center of the building. He said the facade could be adjusted to make it more traditional. “The idea was to mix it up a little,” he said, aiming for an upscale look for young professionals. Accommodating a more classic look should be easy, whether changing the roof and window configuration or style, he added.
The apartments would be market-rate rentals, with comparable two-bedrooms leasing for $2,300 to $2,400 and one-bedrooms ranging from $1,800 to $1,900, according to Casalins. For two-bedroom penthouses, the only thing to compare them to is Metro Rahway (on Campbell Street), where the top units lease for $2,800 to $3,000. “But we’ll be on the conservative side,” he said. Casalins briefly served on the Zoning Board and Redevelopment Agency during Mayor Samson Steinman’s administration, when he was public information officer/confidential aide.
“Certainly we want to give a lot of deference to what you want to see there,” Miceli told the Redevelopment Agency. “This is just a first turn.” The proposal carries through the city’s redevelopment goals with an appropriate use and bringing underutilized properties back to life. “I think this would put bodies and people in that would create a vibrancy that doesn’t exist there today,” Miceli said.
Landolfi said the application will be subject to the typical process of a Technical Review Committee and negotiating a redevelopers agreement with appropriate detail. He also suggested finding a good engineer who “knows his business to shepherd you through” the process because of the need to deal with the flood plain issue.
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