Owners of The Center Circle raised concerns about notification regarding the proposed Meridia Water’s Edge development as well as access to the three-quarter property adjacent to their complex.
Continue reading Center Circle owners raise issue with project
Two months after rejecting bids for the amphitheater parking lot project, the Redevelopment Agency awarded a $1.1-million contract to Gingerelli Bros at its meeting earlier this month. Berto Construction submitted a bid of $1.6 million. Bids were received July 29.
A pre-construction meeting is scheduled for next week, City Engineer James Housten said, after which construction should begin, including work on drainage, stream bank stabilization, curbing and lighting foundations. Work is expected to be completed in conjunction with renovations of the Hamilton Stage, which is expecting to be finished in the spring. Toms River-based Gingerelli Bros. also is the firm that was awarded the $5.825-million contract for the Hamilton Stage.
The Redevelopment Agency early this year decided to delay building the amphitheater and instead build about 115 parking spaces in the interim.
The center stairs of the inbound platform of Rahway Train Station finally opened today, approximately 18 months after they were closed for repairs. 18 months. NJ Transit also issued an advisory this week that as part of repairs to the elevator on the outbound platform (which are expected to last until early next month), travelers will not be able to use the sidewalk to the corner of Milton Avenue and Broad Street from Monday to Thursday of next week due to the installation of a pump and tank next to the pedestrian tunnel.
The City Council on Monday tabled an ordinance (0-26-11) that would amend a redevelopment plan to include a 108-unit, five-story rental complex proposed near the library. Concerns were raised about the size of apartments and the density of units as proposed.
The governing body will take up the ordinance to amend the Lower Main Street Urban Renewal Plan at its meeting on Oct. 11 but some council members had concerns about the density and overall plans for the surrounding area.
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| The day after Hurricane Irene. (By D. Palmer) |
Representatives of Capodagli Property Company appeared before the council during its pre-meeting conference last week to present their plan, which includes a request for a Payment In Lieu of Taxes (PILOT) for the project.
Fifth Ward Councilwoman Jennifer Wenson-Maier said Monday night that she thought the units seem too small and the density of the project too high for the three-quarter-acre site. The 56 two-bedroom units would be 816 square feet as currently proposed, with 14 one-bedroom units of 672 square feet, and another 42 one-bedrooms of 720 square feet since they feature an office area.
There’s no master plan for that parcel or the three acres around it, Wenson-Maier said, adding that she’d like to aim for a “better product” and a more complete plan for the area, even if it means delaying the project. In addition to density, Councilman At-large James Baker raised concerns about potential future flooding, and also preferred to include some retail and commercial components, as was the case with the Town Center project. (The photo of the site above was taken the day after Hurricane Irene).
The Water’s Edge application was to go before the Planning Board on Sept. 27 but now will be delayed until the ordinance is approved by City Council.
NJ Transit issued an advisory that the outbound stairs on the east end of the Rahway Train Station will close Monday, until mid-October.
It would appear that the main/center stairs on the inbound platform are almost completely rebuilt — after being closed for more than 18 months. The Rahway Chamber of Commerce had an attorney send a letter to NJ Transit this week about the deplorable conditions and glacial pace of repairs to the inbound main stairs and the outbound elevator.
If you thought last month’s disagreement over the mayor’s request for two support staff might be a rare public spat, now it’s just open warfare among the administration and City Council — despite the fact that all members of the same political party (Democrat). Monday’s public meeting brought more allegations, complaints and condemnations, a day after reports about the city’s lack of a full-time health officer.
Few places in Rahway were spared from Hurricane/Tropical Storm Irene this past week. The heaving banks of the Rahway River and Milton Lake spilled out onto streets, leaving the Veterans Field underwater, felling trees along St. Georges Avenue and elsewhere.
Former Mayor James Kennedy, now executive director of the Arts District, thought the Hamilton Stage for the Performing Arts, now under construction, “fared well” (photo above). The 4 inches of water on the platform “more than likely would not have had the opportunity to enter the building if it were all closed in,” he said via email. “I’m not concerned about the water here. The houses to the left, facing the building, really need to be removed; but the building will be fine,” Kennedy said.
The plan is to eventually acquire the remaining homes and create parking for Hamilton Stage and the adjacent amphitheater (photo left). Due to the rising costs of the arts projects, however, interim parking will take the space of the amphitheater for the time being.
Having grown up on the corner of River Road and Church Street, Kennedy said he’d never seen a storm this bad but is confident that more mitigation will occur upstream in the future.
For more images of flooding throughout Rahway, see our Facebook page, where we’ve shared quite a few compilations from readers. Thanks to everyone who shared their great photos!
The future Hamilton Stage for the Performing Arts (a.k.a., the former Bell Building) has been taking shape, with the steel structure extending further toward the sidewalk in recent weeks. The 220-seat black box theater and performing arts space is scheduled to open next summer (here’s a floor plan).
For a peek at what it looked like when work first started this spring, check out this previous post.
The deadline for requests for proposals (RFPs) to become an artistic affiliate of the Hamilton Stage has been pushed back eight weeks, to Oct. 12.
RFPs were posted (.pdf) on the Arts District website this summer, and originally were to be received by Aug. 17. About 20 companies had expressed interest by June.
The Rahway Arts District is sponsoring an “I ‘Art Rahway” giveaway. Tell them why you ‘Art Rahway (follow the link), and you’ll be entered to win a T-shirt signed by musician Nicole Adkins, who performed here this summer. Winners will be announced at the Oct. 6 First Thursday.
Two years after getting state approval, the city has installed red light traffic cameras on Routes 1&9 and East Milton Avenue.
The cameras went into effect Aug. 11 after a warning phase in July. Construction is supposed to start this week on cameras at St. Georges and Maple avenues, according to Police Chief John Rodger.
A survey by the Police Department at the time state approval was sought indicated as many as 60 violations per hour at Routes 1/9-East Milton Avenue, or almost 200 a day.
8/24 UPDATE: Based on 3,000 violations per month, Rahway would receive $1.6 million in revenue each year from paid violations, according to Rodger. Originally, both intersections combined were projected at 3,200 violations per month but he said Route 1 is far exceeding initial estimates and may do 3,000 monthly on its own. Some drop-off would be expected as people get acclimated, he said. Projections for the next applications the city will submit are close to 200 per day and 150 per day, respectively, though Rodger declined identify those until they are approved.
The $55 fine is split between the county and city, which receives another $18.50 for court fees (for a total $46). An additional $55 goes to the State Highway Trust Fund, according to Rodger, and the Safe Corridor violation (along Routes 1&9) is $140.
The vendor, which is responsible for equipment, software and notification costs, will receive monthly fees of $18,200 for East Milton and $17,000 for Maple, with the city and county splitting the total $35,200 monthly fee ($422,000 annually).
The latest blog poll yielded a measly 45 votes (a safe bet no one was stuffing the “ballot box”) and even those were split pretty evenly. There was no clear majority, with the top three options garnering within one vote of each other:
