City Council moved forward with a redevelopment plan that allows buildings as tall as 12 stories across the street from a 16-story hotel and condominium downtown but future development is likely to only be six stories, officials said.
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The governing body approved an ordinance (O-20-24) by a 7-1 vote, adopting the Block 312 redevelopment plan. Councilwoman At-Large Joanna Miles was the lone dissenter. Second Ward Councilwoman Karla Timmons was absent. Miles did not respond to messages seeking comment.
It’s the second time this year that a resolution or ordinance passed with a dissenting vote among the all-Democrat nine-member council. In that instance, Councilman At-large Jeremy Mojica was the lone dissenter on a resolution awarding a retail cannabis license.
The ordinance (O-20-24), introduced at the June regular meeting, would allow a maximum building height of 12 stories rather than the five stories currently allowed in the city’s redevelopment plan, and a minimum of five. You can read more about the redevelopment plan here. Block 312 includes six properties along the eastern half of the block of East Milton Avenue, Fulton and Pierce Streets.
Miles provided some insight into her vote during council comments near the end of the meeting. “With this particular vote, I went back and forth in my head,” Miles said. “It’s about the feel I get when I walk downtown. I don’t want to see it so built up that it loses that local feel; that’s personal to me.”
In all, the six properties are about 1.2 acres, situated across the street from the 16-story Carriage City Plaza, which includes the Watt Hotel, and Rahway Train Station Plaza. Of the six properties, four were acquired by a developer several years ago. Lavallette-based AST Development, which erected the 219-unit REVA Rahway and partnered on the 116-unit Metro Rahway.
The parcel is one of the “last crown jewel properties remaining for a major redevelopment project,” John Barree, a planner with Heyer Gruel & Associates, said at the start of the public hearing. Essentially, it would mirror the “mass that’s located across the street,” referring to Carriage City Plaza, a 16-story hotel with condominiums on the upper dozen floors. “From a planning perspective, it makes sense to try to maximize the potential for some of that downtown, across from the train station,” he said. Realistically, however, it’s most likely to be 5 to 6 stories because of parking constraints and construction costs, according to Barree.
Alan Levy of Oak Street was among the speakers during the ordinance’s public hearing. He questioned why the redevelopment plan would be changed to allow 12 stories if city officials say that’s not likely to be what’s built. “It sends the message that, ‘Yeah, it may be 12 stories but not likely, trust us,'” he said.
“Do we want a downtown riddled with monstrosities like the current hotel that’s 16 stories? Maybe you do want more high-rise rental buildings; maybe that’s a good thing, maybe not. I like the way that the current mixed use planning is that we don’t have an overwhelming number of people looking for parking,” Levy said.
“I can assure the public and I can promise you right now – and you can hold me to it – that building will not be 12 stories, it won’t be 8 stories,” Mayor Ray Giacobbe, Jr. said in remarks after the vote. It’s probably going to be a “2-over-4” 6-story building — meaning 2 floors of parking topped by 4 floors of apartments — but the number of units has not been discussed because that will depend on developers providing parking for those units. The mayor is pushing for mostly one-bedroom units because he said that would have less of a chance of having children in those units.
The former Mangos restaurant lot at 1349-53 Fulton St. is owned by the city and currently is used for permit parking. The two-story mixed-use building at 65-73 E. Milton Ave. is the only other one among the properties that’s privately owned and would need to be acquired. It currently has several active retail tenants, including Michelino’s Pizzeria, Copacabana Coffee & Bagels, Barber Gods, and Metro by T-Mobile.
The city’s redevelopment plan serves as a guideline. A potential developer would still have to present a more specific concept to the Redevelopment Agency and eventually a formal application to the Planning Board. There’s also the issue of the East Milton Avenue retail property, which would have to be acquired, whether privately or through eminent domain, if it was to be included in any plan.
Editor’s note: I wasn’t able to attend the July 8 City Council meeting and then had difficulty accessing TV-34’s livestream of the meeting. This post is based on conversations I had with people at the meeting; it will be updated once I can review a recording of the meeting. I filed an Open Public Records Act (OPRA) request for a recording of the meeting. The city on Thursday requested an extension until July 29. UPDATE: The city provided a YouTube link to the meeting recording on July 24. Updated portions of the post, taken from the meeting recording, are in italics.
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