Just more than two years after breaking ground, Meridia Lafayette Village has begun leasing.
The 115-unit complex at the corner of Main and Monroe streets is the third project completed by Capodagli Property Company in Rahway. The Linden-based firm also has approval to construct Meridia Brownstones, a 487-unit project on the site of the former Wheatena plant at Elizabeth and West Grand avenues.
Capodagli last week announced a partnership with ride-sharing service Uber at five of its properties, including Meridia Lafayette Village. New lease signers at the five Meridia properties will get a $100 Uber credit. Uber and Meridia plan to create designated pickup and drop-off zones with specific signage at all Meridia properties.
During her report to the Redevelopment Agency at its Jan. 4 meeting, Engineer Jacqueline Dirmann said the developer is working toward temporary certificates of occupancy and also has some paving to complete on Dock Street. The first two floors are done and the practice of the developer is to lease by floor as they receive certificates of occupancy rather than wait for the entire building to be completed, she said.
The $11.5-million project received Planning Board approval in 2012 and broke ground in October 2014. The development was granted a 15-year Payment In Lieu Of Taxes (PILOT) in 2012. Over 15 years, the total projected payments average out to $203,323 annually ($1,768 per unit). The property currently is assessed for about $129,500, yielding property taxes of about $8,579.
Capodagli also has completed the 88-unit Meridia Grand on East Grand Avenue and Monroe Street and the 108-unit Meridia Water’s Edge on Main Street, adjacent to Center Circle.
The 115 units break down a 60 two-bedrooms, 30 one-bedrooms with an office, and 25 one-bedrooms. Lafayette Village has parking of about 115 spaces on two levels, one level on Main Street and another level below that’s access via Dock Street. There are two ground-floor retail spaces of about 1,000 square feet.
Meridia Lafayette Village originally was to be called Meridia Chateau and was proposed in 2012 as a 120-unit complex. Years before that, another developer had plans for a 36-unit project called The Savoy comprised of two-bedroom condominiums along with 7,000 square feet of retail space. The Savoy barely got started in 2008 before the housing market collapsed and the project ultimately went into foreclosure, lying fallow for several years.
