All posts by rahwayrising

Rahway, Routes 1/9

Improvements spotted at Kings Inn

Leave a comment

It looks like some long-awaited improvements got under way this month at the Kings Inn Motel that ultimately will turn it into a Super 8.

 

It’s been almost a year since the Redevelopment Agency reassigned the redevelopment agreement on the site along Route 1&9. The plan at that time was to turn the building into a Motel 6 but is now back to a Super 8.

Director of Community Development Cynthia Solomon confirmed that the permits have all been approved but no word on a timeline for completion.

A Howard Johnson had been planned to replace the Kings Inn two years ago before that plan fell through and at one point there was a proposal for an addition as a Super 8. (Thanks to all the eagle-eyed readers who tipped me off to the activity at the Kings Inn site.)

***

A story in NJ Biz last month detailed how a Newark nonprofit uses GPS-based bar code system to allow staff, and the public, to send alerts on damaged downtown improvements. It also can “help users locate parking garages, stores, restaurants and parks in the area.”

_uacct = “UA-2976232-1”;
urchinTracker();

Uncategorized

New poll: Best Chinese

Leave a comment

It’s been awhile since we had a poll and since Christmas is almost here, this one seemed timely and appropriate:

What’s your favorite Chinese restaurant/eatery?
Dragon Palace
Hunan Kitchen
Ming Feng
New Fon Garden
New Great Wall
Panda China
No. 1 Chinese Kitchen

For the sake of the poll, Chinese is meant to encompass all Asian cuisine (Japanese, Korean, etc.). Hope that’s OK with everybody. Let me know if there’s any place that I’ve missed that you think should be included the poll.

Maybe next month we’ll come back with the pizza poll which has been popular. And I’m always open to suggestions for future polls.

_uacct = “UA-2976232-1”;
urchinTracker();

Commercial, Downtown, Retail

Aromalicious by Christmas

Leave a comment

A Portuguese bakery and cafe is coming to East Cherry Street within the next week. Aromalicious will be open by Christmas, according to the signs in the windows of 85 E. Cherry St. Renovations had been ongoing at the site since the summer.

Readers of the blog often have expressed a desire for a local bakery downtown. The results of the Rahway Survey from several years ago indicated support for a bakery, among other things, and there was quite a discussion about a bakery after Drug Fair vacated their space on St. Georges Avenue.

International Pastry, now in Clark, was located along East Cherry Street about a decade ago, and not far from this location, American Jubilee, a dessert shop/bakery operated at 88 E. Cherry (most recently an art gallery) until about five years ago.

***
Kind of a scary story from The New York Times on Friday (“A ‘Shadow Inventory’ Dampens Winter Market”): A “shadow inventory” of 41 months worth of homes to sell that aren’t even on the market yet because they’re in the foreclosure process. “More northerly, urban parts of the state are in less dire straits.”

_uacct = “UA-2976232-1”;
urchinTracker();

Bars, Commercial, Downtown, restaurants, Retail

Former El Bodegon reopens tonight as Patria

7 Comments

The former El Bodegon reopens tonight as the Patria Restaurant & Mixology Lounge, 169 W. Main St., hosts its grand opening at 8 p.m. after almost 10 months of renovations. It’s the second Rahway restaurant to reopen this month.

Continue reading Former El Bodegon reopens tonight as Patria →

City Council

Parking prohibitions proposed on Pierpont

Leave a comment

A public hearing and final approval of an ordinance that would restrict parking along Pierpont Street will be held during the City Council’s regular meeting on Monday.

The ordinance would allow parking by permit only on Pierpont Street, from West Milton to Maple avenues, weekdays from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. The measure was introduced by the governing body at its Nov. 8 regular meeting.

City Administrator and Redevelopment Director Peter Pelissier said complaints were received about commuters parking along much Pierpont Street, making it difficult for residents to find parking for their own cars and visitors. Residents were surveyed and only one negative response was received, according to city officials. Residents would get a Parking Authority sticker to place on their cars.

Fifth Ward Councilwoman Jennifer Wenson-Maier said similar restrictions were put in place at Maple Avenue and Pierpont and it’s reasonable to restrict parking at Pierpont and West Milton Avenue. She cited a group home on West Milton and Pierpont which has a lot of staff as well as on-street parking by visiting trucks, and motorists parking close to the corner. “It’s definitely an overparked street. A lot of residents don’t have their own parking,” she said.

Wenson-Maier lives on nearby Bryant Street where parking also was restricted in recent years. “It took some getting used to but it was heavily overparked and it’s better for a majority of the block. It’s a little bit of a hassle but it’s provided some more parking,” she said.

_uacct = “UA-2976232-1”;
urchinTracker();

Condos, Downtown

Short sales at Carriage City Plaza

Leave a comment

With foreclosure looming for Carriage City Plaza, one two short sales in the building went on the market two weeks ago within the past month. A check of Realtor.com shows at least four units in the 16-story building on the market by owners.

About 62 of the 222 units were sold since the building opened in 2008. Another 72 leased were through the developer — Carriage City Properties (CCP)/Silcon, Inc. — leaving 88 units unsold or not leased. All 160 units owned by CCP — not the 62 owned by individuals — are expected to go into foreclosure, along with the hotel and retail space on the first three floors.

Among the first 30 or so units that sold in the building, Unit 512 went for $231,250 in September 2008 and at one point was listed for rent at $1,700 per month. The one-bed/one-bath, which appears to have some upgrades, is now on the market for $139,900.Unit 1002, a two-bed/two-bath, closed for $395,250 in December 2008 – two years ago tomorrow, to be precise. It listed on Realtor.com for $199,900 earlier this week and today is $99,000. Base units, sans upgrades, at Carriage City Plaza were starting at about $220,000 during the pre-construction phase in 2006.

Meanwhile, New York City-based Spandrel Property Services was named this week to manage the remaining unsold units being marketed as rentals in Skyview at Carriage City Plaza.

What exactly is a short sale? Wikipedia explains here: “When sale proceeds fall short of the balance owed on the loan, often when a borrower cannot pay the loan on the property but the lender decides selling at a moderate loss is better than pressing the borrower.”Note: This original post was updated Dec. 10 to reflect the 1002 short sale.

_uacct = “UA-2976232-1”;
urchinTracker();

Arts District

A cautionary tale for arts-based redevelopment?

Leave a comment
An effort started in the 1980s and ’90s by downtown merchants to encourage people to shop there, centered around a renovated 1930s-era performing arts center. Loft housing for artists created with the help of tax dollars and a new zoning category to allow live-work rental properties. Sound familiar? No, it’s not Rahway.

Continue reading A cautionary tale for arts-based redevelopment? →

Uncategorized

The Rail House 1449 opens Friday

Leave a comment

The Rail House 1449 will begin operating on Friday.

Dozens of people packed the former David Drake location for an open house last night where owner Larry Fishman told me his plan is to begin with dinner service, starting Friday, and perhaps boost marketing efforts after the new year. Fishman was a former owner of The Stone Pony in Asbury Park until several years ago.

Restaurantpassion.com describes the menu as “contemporary American cuisine” with the range for an average dinner entree between $15 and $22, and recommends reservations.

***

Here’s a pretty cool story from The Star-Ledger/nj.com a few weeks back about an investment foundation helping start-up businesses along Newark’s Halsey Street with interest-free loans.

_uacct = “UA-2976232-1”;
urchinTracker();