All posts by rahwayrising

Apartments

East Grand development begins leasing

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Within a year of razing several properties and breaking ground, the former Renaissance at Rahway development is now leasing apartments.

The East Grand Avenue project was referred to as Renaissance at Rahway throughout the planning process but is now called Meridia at Grand, according to banners posted on the five-story building. There are 88 units, 44 one- and two-bedrooms, with parking on the ground floor but originally the plan was for 72 for-sale condos before the Planning Board approved a request two summers ago to change the project.

Occupancy is expected by sometime in August, possibly as early as Aug. 1. There are 11 different floor plans varying in size from almost 800 to 1,200 square feet with rents ranging from $1,250 to $1,800, according to the leasing agent.

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Beana’s nabs third place for Best Mexican

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Beana’s Mexican Restaurant on St. Georges Avenue took third place in the Mexican category of Inside Jersey‘s “Best of N.J. Restaurants” feature this week.

New Jersey Monthly has its annual critics’ and readers’ restaurant poll but no word on how the top three were selected by Inside Jersey.

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City Council

Council approves $400k for acquisition

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The City Council last week approved a $400,000 bond ordinance for the acquisition, demolition and remediation of 324 Hamilton St. The 2 1/2-story home is one of four remaining near the site of the proposed amphitheater at the former Hamilton Laundry property.

The Redevelopment Agency last month adopted a resolution to acquire the home for $240,000. In addition to the sale price, the ordinance includes $35,000 for demolition and asbestos removal, $10,000 for tank removal and asbestos survey, $32,000 for engineers, with the other costs for financing and bond issuance, according to City Administrator and Redevelopment Director Peter Pelissier.

A home adjacent to the amphitheater site was razed earlier this year after the agency purchased it for $340,000, spending another $35,000 for demolition. Five homes in all between the site of the future amphitheater and the Bell building have been targeted for acquisition, with plans to eventually raze them all to create parking for the arts district projects.

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The Star-Ledger’s Munchmobile went through Rahway again recently, this time in search of the best burgers.

They said Flynn’s Irish Pub & Steakhouse “lives up to its claim as ‘a little bit of Ireland in downtown Rahway,'” but the steakhouse burger wasn’t “breaking down any doors,” though they were cited for having the best onion rings – “crackly, and slightly, agreeably greasy.”

Flynn’s you might recall was tops in our poll last spring for Best Burger.

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City Council

Council approves consulting contracts

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City Council on Monday night awarded two more contracts to Princeton-based Farewell Mills Gatsch Architects for work related to Arts District projects.

The first was a professional services contract of $264,070 for architectural consulting services to “prepare construction documents and LEED services” for the reuse of the Bell Building (photo above).

A second resolution awarded a professional services contract of $115,570 for “consulting services relative to conducting bidding and construction administration and observation” for the amphitheater.

The council also awarded a contract last month to Farewell Mills Gatsch. City Administrator and Redevelopment Director Peter Pelissier said each phase of the project is awarded separately “to keep control of the costs associated with preparation of the bid specifications.”

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Apartments, Carriage City Plaza, Condos, Downtown

Settlement agreement may be near

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A resolution to finalize a settlement agreement with Carriage City Properties was pulled at last week’s Redevelopment Agency meeting.

 

Continue reading Settlement agreement may be near →

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Amphitheater out to bid this month

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The 1,000-seat amphitheater planned for the former Hamilton Laundry site is expected to go out for construction bids by the end of this month and break ground by October, City Engineer James Housten told the Redevelompent Agency at its meeting last week.

To date, soil investigation has been completed and remediation plans have been approved while oil tanks have been removed and monitoring wells set up, he said. Remediation will take place on site and construction will begin immediately after that, he added.

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Commercial, Downtown, Retail

West Grand Avenue boasts new 6-Eleven

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[twentytwenty][/twentytwenty]

 

 

I’m no trademark attorney but my first impression is that the new 6-Eleven on West Grand Avenue might just be inviting a lawsuit from 7-Eleven. Then again, maybe it’s related to this 24-year-old, Houston, Texas-based company.

Either way, it’s a new convenience store and deli that’s a big improvement aesthetically over the dilapidated property that sat vacant for at least 10 years near the intersection of Irving Street.

The Zoning Board granted several variances about two years ago and the property underwent some renovations that were completed last year. Below is what the property used to look like. The ground floor has about 1,700 square feet of retail space with two two-bedroom rental apartments on the second floor.

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Chess Mates opens on Irving Street

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Excuse the recent hiatus, we’ll catch up on a few things this week.

Several new stores opened downtown within the last few months, among the more prominent ones is Chess Mates, the second retail tenant in the Park Square development on Irving Street.

The grand opening originally was scheduled in March but was postponed and finally opened in mid-June. Chess Mates occupies the second retail space in Park Square, next to Eyes On You, and has a three-year lease for about 1,000 square feet.

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Something else to catch up on: The Star-Ledger’s Munchmobile is on a pizza run again this summer and it stopped by Rahway a while ago, offering its impressions of Brooklyn Pizza. The Race Street pizzeria got a C+ with comments ranging from “perfect amount of garlic and cheese” to “average” and “soggy.” The sauce, crust and sausage “still need work” but they endorsed the white pizza.

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