Category Archives: Retail
Woodruff Building changes hands for $775k
Catching up on tenant turnover
There’s been a bit of turnover in some downtown spaces the last few months, particularly along East Cherry Street.
Work moves to exterior at Station Bar & Grill
Some interior work looks like it was going on for a few weeks. The project was approved by the Planning Board in June, details of which can be found in the earlier post.
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For a look at what some nearby towns have in mind as far as redevelopment, here’s a piece from nj.com about Fanwood’s efforts to make its downtown more like Cranford or Westfield.
Board rejects splitting St. Georges Ave. store
The Planning Board Tuesday night unanimously rejected an application to divide a St. Georges Avenue furniture store into three parcels. The application, which originally proposed to split the property into four commercial spaces, was continued from the June meeting when board members had too many questions to vote.
The revised application, though, still had too many questions for Planning Board members, and too many concerns about the impact on parking and traffic in the neighborhood. The rear lot, off Union Street, has about 15 parking spaces, which rarely have more than a handful of cars parked, according to the applicant. The application needs a parking variance since zoning regulations normally would require 32, though it is a pre-existing issue.
The improvements proposed in large part are required anyway, said Planning Board member and City Code Official Richard Watkins, and zoning enforcement could rectify issues with buffers, lighting and signage.
Resident Stefan Williams testified that the application would further aggravate parking problems along the 700 block of Union Street. Parking at the site could increase with additional tenants, but also once business improves, creating more competition for parking along Union Street, he said, which already deals with alternative side parking and a dearth of on-street residential parking.
Williams said there already is an unreasonable amount of traffic on Union Street and the applicant failed to show an exceptional or undue hardship. Board members seemed to agree that a weak economy didn’t justify the relief sought by a variance. Williams testified that the property currently is a viable commercial space and would be better than two vacant spaces, since the property owner testified that he hasn’t yet recruited potential tenants.
“The place is a mess,” said board member William Hering. “I don’t know that this’ll help the site. At the last meeting we said it’s too much on too little, and it still is.”
Deal$ in line to replace Drug Fair space
I know you all wanted a grocery store, but don’t hold your breath. It’s not quite another dollar store, but Deal$ looks like it will replace the former Drug Fair space by September, according to their Web site (follow the link to the “Coming Soon!” bo
x at the bottom of the page; it’s a .pdf). No word from the landlord, Millburn-based Gelber Associates, on details of the lease.
UPDATE 8/20: New signage for the former Drug Fair space went up this week (photo at right), confirming that Deal$ will be taking over the location.
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Interesting story recently in New York magazine about the condo bust in Williamsburg, Brooklyn. I’m not comparing Rahway to Williamsburg, to be sure, but maybe parallels on a smaller scale to some extent.
In transit village news, here’s a report last month from nj.com on Morristown’s new development ready to start selling units (at some, um, interesting prices).
Furniture store wants to subdivide building
Planning Board members last week decided to hold off on an application to carve up a St. Georges Avenue site into four stores until they get more information.
Adidan Properties, LLC, of West New York, which owns 1713-1727 St. Georges Ave. (Block 210/Lot 9), is seeking to subdivide the space into a total of four commercial spaces. The one current tenant, Budget Furniture, would be among the four future tenants. Primarily for financial reasons, the owner and tenant compromised to relieve a hardship and subdivide the site, the applicant’s attorney told the Planning Board last week.
The applicant is seeking approval for a minor site plan with bulk variances, including a parking variance because the property only has 22 spaces in the rear, off Union Street. Depending on the interpretation of the city code, the site would be required to provide anywhere from 29 to 49 spaces.
The building is about 9,700 square feet and among its neighbors are a hair salon, pizzeria and Chinese restaurant. The existing site does not meet parking requirements and does not have room to add more. The applicant’s attorney argued that parking is a practical hardship and can be made an exception because it’s not a substantial detriment to the area.
Planning Board members, however, raised concerns about parking, truck traffic and delivery areas and questioned the wisdom of subdividing into four commercial spaces, creating stores that are less than 13 feet wide. City Engineer James Housten had requested various documents and surveys for which the applicant sought waivers. Officials also reminded the board that the city has been to court multiple times about issues relating to the store’s signage.
“This really needs to go back to the drawing board,” said Planning Board Vice Chairman William Hering, with too many questions and unknowns. The attorney asked that the board consider the application and respect the landlord’s judgment on the type of market that exists. The application is expected to come back to the board at its next meeting, July 28.
The property, at the corner of St. Georges and Union Street, is almost a half-acre, or almost 20,000 square feet, and is assessed at $490,000. Property taxes were about $23,300 last year and the property was acquired for $1.025 million in February 2004, according to Propertyshark.com.
Our coffee cup runneth over
So the “Coming Soon” sign at Mr. G’s a couple months ago wasn’t an exaggeration. It’s been open for more than a week, with an “official” grand opening planned on Monday. Last year we could barely find a cafe or coffee shop and now we can expect three by summer’s end (Kataluma Chai and Inthemix).