Category Archives: Uncategorized

The Savoy: “Not dead”

The developers of The Savoy are still in search of financing, but the project is “not dead,” according to City Administrator and Redevelopment Director Peter Pelissier. Briefing commissioners during last week’s Redevelopment Agency meeting, Pelissier said Hillside-based Dornoch/Maplewood Homes is still waiting to get a financial commitment.

The 36-unit project proposed at 1562 Main St. hasn’t seen any activity since last summer.

Not dead yet. Sort of reminds me of the Will Ferrell character from the 1997 movie, Austin Powers: “No, not dead. Burned. Badly.”

Essex, Hancock work to be done

It should be a good month for residents of Riverwalk. First, Myron R. Ross Park looks all but completed, and come Monday, the paving of Essex and Hancock streets will begin.

The City Council Tuesday night authorized $125,000 for materials while the labor will be done by the county, according to City Administrator/Redevelopment Director Peter Pelissier. The work is expected to take a few days. The city will continue to pursue Diversified Communities for almost a half-million dollars in improvements, or reimbursement of the improvements. The Redevelopment Agency declared the Parsippany-based developer in default of its redevelopment agreement last month.

Pelissier said other improvements that Diversified is responsible for, such as drainage, will be done after the complaint is settled.

Settlement reached on Carriage City

The Redevelopment Agency last night approved a settlement with Carriage City Properties (CCP) that will allow the developer to continue to rent unsold units at the 16-story condo/hotel.

CCP has sold about 57 units and began marketing vacant units for rent as early as last fall. Five are occupied by tenants and the city has issued 76 temporary Certificates of Occupancy in all at the 222-unit complex.

The two sides have been in discussions since the Agency declared CCP in default of its redevelopment agreement two months ago.

Here’s a summary of the settlement:
* CCP will execute a note and mortgage to secure the outstanding $2,285,250 in development fees and purchase price payments. The agency will get 10 percent of rent from each rented unit, which will be deducted from the $13,850 development fee until the unit is sold, at which time CCP will pay the balance. There are 165 remaining units.

* Infrastructure improvements, namely the East Milton Avenue and Irving Street realignment, cost approximately $1 million, of which CCP was liable for $368,562. The agency accepted CCP’s offer of $150,000, to be released immediately.

* Professional fees of $19,913 and water connection fees of $71,981 owed by CCP will be paid no later than April 1, 2010.

* Construction permit violations totaling $168,000 will be waived upon abatement of all issues identified by the city’s construction official.

***
5/17 UPDATED: Between the intersection improvements and construction penalties waived upon correction, CCP got about 15 percent knocked off what it owed in total. City Administrator and Redevelopment Director Peter Pelissier described that as “small to the potential of a bankrupt redeveloper,” adding that the site pays almost $1 million in property taxes. Meanwhile, construction penalties usually are waived if violations are corrected as a matter of business, with the point to get conformance and have the building safe for occupancy.

Many builders, renters and retailers are trying to renegotiate contracts to stay solvent, he said. “This is no different. The RRA and the city need to work together with redevelopers and sometimes although not popular with the critics public improvements not private improvements have to be paid for by the taxpayer to receive acceptable returns.” While CCP has taken a lot of heat for not adhering to the redeveloper’s agreement, Pelissier said, they did complete construction.

Elizabeth Avenue supermarket changes hands

News has been a little slow of late so I’ve been perusing property transactions in Rahway and came across this one.

Universal Meat Supermarket on Elizabeth Avenue sold for $3.195 million in January, according to PropertyShark.com. V&D Properties, which lists the supermarket as its address, 2325 Elizabeth Ave. (Block 273/Lot 2), bought the 2.155-acre property from a Linden-based entity called Mia Tierra Linda, Inc., which acquired the site in October 2002 for $2.128 million. (That’s $1.067 million more, or 50 percent, in about 6 years and 3 months, for those of you scoring at home.)

The 32,000-square-foot building was built in 1963, according to land records, and is assessed at about $1.45 million, for property taxes of almost $69,000.

That’s outrageous, I won’t pay

If the latest poll results are any indication, there must be about four blood relatives or close friends who read the blog…

“Would you pay a subscription fee to access Rahway Rising?”
You mean you’d pay me, right? 70 percent (46/65)
How’s a dollar a month sound? 20 percent (13/65)
Name a price — it wouldn’t be enough! 6 percent (4/65)
A buck a week is as high as I’d go; 3 percent (2/65)
$1 per blog post; 0 percent (0/65)

As I mentioned earlier, there are no plans to start a subscription fee for the blog, the latest poll was more a curiosity for me than anything. There are other ways to monetize a blog, through other forms of advertising, but alas, there are only 24 hours in a day and only one of me so I also have no plans to start selling ads in all my spare time. As of today, Rahway Rising is worth anywhere from $222 to $1,693.62, at least according to two site calculators. Sweet.

Here’s another piece I stumbled upon about the future of newspapers and online journalism, which is sort of what prompted my original poll question.

I’ll be taking suggestions for the next blog poll, always looking for ways that readers can be interactive if they don’t feel like commenting. Past suggestions included “Best dry cleaners” and “Best Chinese takeout” in town. Whaddaya think?

Shhh…

Not much going on this week and I’ve been pretty busy but this story about a “Quiet Zone” being implemented in Edison today reminded me of a reader discussion on the blog last year about noise and living near the train. Montclair is also moving toward establishing a “Quiet Zone,” which prohibits trains from using their whistles/horns in some cases.

A reader also inquired last summer about the city implementing a “Quiet Zone.” I’m not sure how the “Quiet Zone” would work for elevated tracks — or if it’d be any different — but Montclair and Edison both involve grade crossings. (Here’s a primer on “Quiet Zones” from the Federal Railroad Administration if anyone’s interested in some light reading before bedtime…) According to the Montclair story, NJ Transit estimates 70 trains pass through each weekday and federal regulations require four whistles before each roadway or railroad crossing.

The catch is that the municipality is on the hook for physical improvements and installation of signals and such. For Edison, that’s $1.5 million and estimated at $1 million Montclair.

What do you think? Would it be worth it? Hey, you new SkyView residents, do the train whistles bug you enough to drop seven figures on improvements? Discuss…

Settlement discussions with Carriage City

City officials are in discussions with Carriage City Properties to resolve their dispute over payments related to Sky View at Carriage City Plaza. The Redevelopment Agency claims almost a half-million dollars is owed by Carriage City while the developer has threatened bankruptcy.

Declared in default of their agreements last month by the Parking Authority and Redevelopment Agency, Carriage City Properties had about 30 days, until April 8, to rectify the situation or they could be taken to court. Redevelopment Agency attorney Frank Regan said after Tuesday’s City Council meeting that any litigation is essentially on hold as they discuss a resolution.

According to written correspondence between the two sides, the Redevelopment Agency is claiming Carriage City Properties has not paid fees of about $458,000 related to at least 11 condo sales ($74,250), reimbursement for professional costs ($15,351), and a “reasonable contribution” toward the cost of intersection improvements at East Milton Avenue and Irving Street ($368,562).

Carriage City has paid the agency $323,000 to date but has not received closing-related fees since December. Payments on the 11 units ($74,250) would push them over the deferred $331,194 threshold set last summer and revert to the full $11,750 fee per unit owed the agency upon each closing. About 58 units have closed and appeared in tax records while the agency claims that fees have been paid for only 47 units.

According to that same letter, Carriage City has expressed concerns about the Redevelopment Agency’s financial ability, requested the agency’s audits for the past three years, and has “repeatedly stated in meetings with city and agency officials that it cannot meet its financial obligations and may lose the hotel flag and have to file for bankruptcy,” Regan wrote.

Representatives of Carriage City Properties/Silcon have not returned my email messages in months, but in this report last week its president of real estate suggested an unspecified change in the redevelopment agreement proposed by the city last year. He also claimed city officials turned down an offer to meet late last month to resolve the situation and that they have more in escrow than what the city claims it’s owed, according to the report.

City to pursue developer for improvements

The city is preparing a complaint against the developers of Riverwalk to compel them to complete almost a half-million dollars in improvements or recoup money to do the improvements on its own.

During his report at the last Redevelopment Agency meeting, RRA attorney Frank Regan said officials have met with the condo board and management company at Riverwalk to talk about a number of concerns, including various improvements that have not been completed.

The biggest issue, according to Regan, has been the failure of Diversified Communities to complete more than $400,000 in on- and off-site improvements, with some streets still not permanently paved, leaving sewer manhole covers exposed on Hancock and Essex streets.