For those of you who noticed a film crew at Stewart’s Drive-in on Jaques Avenue on Thursday, apparently ESPN Radio was filming a commercial for Mike & Mike in the Morning. They also used the St. Mark’s Church parking lot on Hamilton Street while doing other shoots around town. Thanks to all who emailed/commented with a heads-up.
Monthly Archives: February 2009
The Savoy to resume in the spring?
The Savoy apparently has been approved for financing and the hope is that construction will resume this spring on the 36-unit project. There’s been virtually no activity on the site since last summer.
City Administrator and Redevelopment Director Peter Pelissier told the City Council and Redevelopment Agency this week that Mayor James Kennedy received a phone call from Glen Fishman, managing director with Dornoch, that financing had been approved. Dornoch had been re-negotiating with Wachovia.
Hillside-based Dornoch Management also is completing The Monarch, a senior housing/condo project in Plainfield. That project, which appears much further along, apparently has units starting at $199,000, a 45 percent correction over the $360,000 asking price when ground was broken 18 months ago. Banners adorning the fencing at The Savoy as recently as last summer boasted of units starting at $315,000.
Settlement near on tax appeal
Carriage City Plaza will pay almost $1 million annually in property taxes under a tax appeal settlement reached with the city.
The settlement, which is expected to gain City Council approval Monday night, calls for Carriage City to pay $350,000 in taxes for its partial assessment for 2008. In addition, it will pay $100,000 toward the approximately $350,000 that’s owed to the city as part of intersection improvements and signalization, among other things.
Starting with 2009, property taxes for the site will be about $978,000 at full assessment, City Administrator/Redevelopment Director Peter Pelissier after Tuesday night’s conference council meeting. The total assessment for the property is about $59 million, with $2 million for the retail space, $6 million for the hotel and the remainder for the 220 residential units. By comparison, Pelissier said, Merck & Co.’s property is assessed at about $277 million.
The reduced assessments primarily came in the residential components of the project, Pelissier said, adding that once the retail portions are fully developed, those parts will see increased assessments. The original assessment was about $60 million, which would have generated $1.2 million in property tax revenue.
Carriage City Plaza tops 2008 stories
Blog readers voted overwhelmingly for the opening of Carriage City Plaza and the Hotel Indigo as the biggest redevelopment story of 2008.
Opening of Carriage City Plaza, 54 percent (37/68)
The slow pace of redevelopment, 19 percent (13/68)
The Savoy coming to a halt, 8 percent (6/68)
Reopening of the Union County Arts Center, 8 percent (6/68)
The fast pace of redevelopment, 5 percent (4/68)
Tabulation of the Rahway Survey, 2 percent (2/68)
While most readers pointed to Carriage City, there were almost a third of them who pointed to signs of the slowing economy, like The Savoy coming to a halt and the slow pace of redevelopment. Keep in mind that the survey is far from scientific at all.
The new poll will be up after the Super Bowl. It’s a repeat from last year but we have a few more readers so I thought it’d be interesting to take another look.
“Who makes your favorite pizza in Rahway?”
Brooklyn Pizza
Gino’s
Michelino’s
Nancy’s Townhouse
Papa Vito
Rahway Pizza
Ted’s
Tony’s