All posts by rahwayrising@gmail.com

library

Water’s Edge proposal dropped to 108 units

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The Redevelopment Agency last night approved a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with Meridia Water’s Edge, LLC, to develop a 108-unit rental complex on a three-quarter acre site adjacent to Rahway Public Library and the Center Circle sports complex on Main Street. (A revised rendering is in this Google document; once I can convert it into a .jpg, it’ll be added to this post).

Pompton Plains-based Capodagli Property Company initially proposed 116 units in a presentation to the agency in April, with 91 parking spaces. The number of spaces remain the same as in the original plan and an arrangement to use some 12 to 18 spaces in nearby municipal lots would have to be pursued.

The original plan called for 96 one-bedroom and 20 two-bedroom units; the revised plan presented last night includes 52 two-bedroom units and 56 one-bedrooms (42 of which will also have an office, some 50 square feet larger overall). Two-bedroom units would be 816 square feet. The plans note that a “market study will determine actual unit mix, sizes, placement and phases of development.”

George Capodagli told commissioners that he has a “firm commitment” from a bank and wants to close on the property soon. The Redevelopment Agency last month designated Capodagli as redeveloper, agreeing to sell the parcel for $1 million. The developer will be responsible for the cost of removing soil that’s been on the site from library construction earlier in the decade.

At closing, $500,000 will be due to the Redevelopment Agency and the second $500,000 of the sale price will be due upon the final Certificate of Occupancy (CO). The cost of soil removal will be credited toward the developer’s second payment but City Administrator and Redevelopment Director Peter Pelissier expects the agency should still yield at least half of that payment. The city’s engineers will oversee and monitor the soil removal estimates and process, and Capodgali said his firm will do the work at cost.

Next, the City Council must approve amendments to the redevelopment plan, to be introduced next week and approved next month. The Planning Board also will be presented with plans later this month for recommendation to City Council before it considers site plan approval, likely at its September meeting.

There was some discussion about the project being within a flood plain. Commissioner Timothy Nash asked how residents would get into the building should the area be two to three feet under water. Capodagli said they likely would not have access to the building and the management company would have to make provisions for that and to disclose that in lease agreements. The back of the project would abut the levee, next to the property line with Rahway Plaza Apartments — toward the back of the library parking lot — while the front entrance would face the Center Circle complex (forming a sort of triangle that’s flatted at the top, which would be the front entrance. Got it? Working on uploading/scanning designs).

Officials were confident though that the area has not flooded since the levee was built along the Rahway River. Nash recalled Tropical Storm Floyd in September 1999 — which destroyed the former library where Berzinec Park is today — as  the worst flooding situation and the site did not flood then.

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Interesting story from NPR last month (“How A Park Helped One Town Weather The Recession”) about Greenville, S.C., and its development efforts, which included a $13-million, 20-acre downtown park and public garden created in 2004. Within two years, it’s estimated that $100 million in private investment occurred around the park. Sounds like a success story akin to New York City’s new High Line Park, which is looking to be replicated elsewhere. But there’s more to it – obviously – than just the park. It’s worth the quick read/listen.

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Uncategorized

A deli for a deli

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Another deli has arrived on East Cherry Street to fill a space vacated just a few months ago by another deli.

GK’s Big Belly Deli shut down in March amid charges that the owner was illegally hunting deer.

It was just a few weeks ago that a “Coming Soon” sign appeared in the window at 78 E. Cherry St., and now there’s a new, permanent for D&R’s Gourmet Deli and Catering.

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The Star-Ledger’s Munchmobile stopped in Rahway again, this time at The Waiting Room (just a few dooors down from the new deli).

The garlic pork chops that were “the juiciest of the day” and the “right mix of saltiness and properly cooked,” according to the Munchers. The baby lamb chop were even better: “So tender,” and the seasoning was “remarkable” and “dynamite.” The Room’s most popular dish is the Buffalo shrimp and Buffalo wings but the Munchers said it was the voodoo chili, “with bubbling-over cheese and plenty of meat,” that deserves to be more famous than those wings.

The link includes video of owner Chris Wenson (2:42 in length)  explaining some of the renovations to the former McCrory’s building before they moved into it in 2006 and an outdoor patio in the back that’s planned for next year (which was approved two years ago by the Planning Board).

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Polls

Would you use Zipcar?

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Would you use Zipcar if there was one at Rahway train station? For those unfamiliar with Zipcar, here’s a brief summary and history of the company. A reader email prompted this post and thought it’d make for a potential discussion to accompany a blog poll.

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City Council, taxes

S&P gives Rahway AA rating; debt ‘moderate’

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Standard & Poor’s Ratings Service assigned a AA rating and stable outlook to Rahway in advance of its $11.65-million bond sale this past spring. “The city’s tax base has experienced, what we consider, limited, but stable, growth; it increased by 2.1 percent since fiscal 2007 to $1.55 billion in fiscal 2010.

This equates to a per-capita market value of $134,775, a level we consider extremely strong.” That net debt as a percentage of average equalized valuation was 1.4 percent, as of March 1, while the statutory limit is 3.5 percent.

“The city’s overall debt burden, which includes overlapping governmental units, is a moderate $4,943 per capita, or 3.7 percent of market value, and debt service accounts for a moderate 8 percent of operating expenditures. Other than the bond issuance for the Merck tax appeal repayment, officials do not plan to issue additional debt in the near future,” according to the report.

Here’s a breakdown of the city’s valuation, by class. Notice that “Industrial” used to be about 24 percent of the total and this year is down to about 21 percent. The total for “Residential” has remained largely unchanged in recent years but still jumped from 64 percent of the city’s total to 66 percent this year, while “Apartment” is up by more than 12 percent, jumping to more than 3 percent of the city’s total.

The almost 4-percent decline in the tax base in 2011, according to S&P, is likely the result of the tax appeal by Merck, as well as the general economic downturn. It appears that the valuation is expected to drop another 1.3 percent next year as a result of the tax appeal, barring any other new changes.

The tax appeal settlement knocked off $62.7 million from Merck’s 2011 assessment to $249.75 million, which totaled property taxes of $27.7 million, according to the mayor’s February letter regarding the appeal. The company’s 2012 assessment will be reduced by $82.4 million, to $230 million. A review of property tax records shows Merck owns different 19 parcels in Rahway, ranging in size from less than an acre to 37 acres for a total 91 acres and broken down in this Google spreadsheet.

If any other interesting tidbits come out of the bond sale documents, I’ll post them.

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City Council

Bond sale included $7.8M for redevelopment

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It’s long overdue for some details about the city’s bond sale this past spring that I promised last month when I posted the city’s top 10 property taxpayers.

The city borrowed almost $12 million in general improvement bonds, including almost $8 million for redevelopment- and arts-related items.

Ten of the 22 items in the $11.765 million bond sale were related to redevelopment, totaling $7.78 million for redevelopment, more than half of it related to the Hamilton Street arts projects. About $783,750 was authorized in 2007, which covered architectural concept plans, planning and engineering, surveying, DEP permitting, floor plans and elevations, and demolition of the Hamilton Laundry building. Another $4.5 million was authorized last year, but only $3 million borrowed so far, for the Arts District’s amphitheater, which would cover the renovation of the Bell Building (now referred to as the Hamilton Stage), construction of the amphitheater, acquisition of arts related equipment and eventual acquisition of the Elizabethtown Gas building (Block 167, Lot 1).

A breakdown of the 10 items, some dating back to 2000, can be found in this Excel file, including the amounts authorized and bonds issued, along with a brief description. At the April bond sale, the city secured a rate just below 4.51 percent over 20 years from J.P. Morgan (UBS Financial was the other bidder, coming in at under 4.59 percent). The bonds mature annually on April, beginning in 2012 at $350,000, increasing to $450,000 in 2015, $550,000 in 2016, $560,000 in 2017 and $640,000 in 2018, before leveling out at $700,000 annually through 2030. The complete maturity schedule can be found in this Excel file.

In tomorrow’s post, we’ll take a look at what Standard & Poor’s had to say in its report on the city.

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NJ Monthly magazine’s Table Hopping with Rosie paid a visit to Patria Restaurant and Mixology Lounge. She called it “a place in NJ that should be on your must-try list.” Overall, she had quite a few good things to say, calling the garlic shrimp better than anything found in Newark, and advising not to miss some entrees (including Patria pork, and I must agree) as well as dessert.

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Uncategorized

NJ Transit graded 5.2 overall

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NJ Transit this week released the results of a comprehensive customer survey, earning an average overall satisfaction score of 5.2 out of a possible 10, but just a 4.5 from rail riders specifically, which make up almost a third of customers. Bus riders, 61 percent of customers, rated it 5.5 and light rail customers, who make up 8 percent, gave it a 6.5.

Scores in several categories were 5.0 or lower and identified as needing improvement:
* 4.3, handling of service disruptions
* 4.5, fares
* 4.7, on-time performance
* 5.0, weekday evening schedule

Other low scores were given for handling of service disruptions, 4.3, PA/general announcements, 4.7, and weekend/holiday schedules, 4.7.

The highest scores were:
* 6.8, payment options
* 6.6, safety
* 6.6, My NJ Transit website
* 6.2, security
* 6.2, My Transit

By the way, a category called “Boarding station/shelter condition” received a score of 5.3, but closer to home, it probably would be much lower, given the long-term closure of the inbound stairs at Rahway and the elevator to the outbound/westbound platform being closed through August.

NJ Transit has average weekday ridership of 425,000, according to the survey, and two out of three customers surveyed expressed “willingness to recommend to a friend.”

The agency this week also passed a $1.9-billion budget for the next fiscal year, holding fares steady after last year’s massive hikes in the first of what’s expected to be three years of no increases.

What do y’all think? What rating would you have given NJ Transit?

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library

Agency to sell parcel for $1 million

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The Redevelopment Agency plans to sell a three-quarter acre parcel near the library to a developer for $1 million. Pompton Plains-based Capodagli Property Company would remove a stockpile of contaminated soil in exchange for a deduction on the sale price. The developer has proposed Meridia Water Edge, a 116-unit rental property on the site, just south of the library and adjacent to the Center Circle and Rahway Plaza Apartments, but the project still must be approved.

City Administrator and Redevelopment Director Peter Pelissier said the city will monitor movement of the soil and obtain estimates to ensure the developer isn’t making money off the deal, but did not have specifics immediately available as to the the cost or deduction. The Redevelopment Agency at its meeting last week awarded a $25,350 contract to Whitestone Associates to monitor the removal of the soil stockpile just south of the library.The stockpile of contaminated soil came from the library construction of the library in the early 2000s.

The Capodagli firm is eager to begin as soon as possible and already has paid several hundred thousand dollars in water and sewer permits for the project, Pelissier told commissioners. The administration also has been meeting with owners of the Center Circle and office condos on the upper levels of the library to keep them abreast of the Meridia Water Edge proposal.

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Apartments, Downtown

The Savoy steel finally coming down?

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In what might be the first bit of good news about The Savoy property in years, the bank behind the project has orders to level the site — steel and all.

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