A planning firm will examine study an industrial area of Rahway near the Woodbridge border to determine whether it’s in need of redevelopment.
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City Council awarded a $25,000 contract (AR-159) to Heyer Gruel & Associates during its combined pre-conference and regular meeting in August. The firm will study an area of about 1 acre, bounded by Randolph Avenue and East Hazelwood Avenue and Hart Street and Witherspoon Street.
The area will encompass Blocks 350, 351 and 352, according to an attachment to the resolution. About 82 percent of the proposed area is within Rahway, with the Woodbridge portion mostly beyond Hart Street toward Randolph Avenue.
The first step in the process is to make a determination if the area is in need of redevelopment, City Administrator Robert Landolfi said. The criteria in the state redevelopment statute is the same whether an area is industrial, residential or commercial, he said. If it does meet state guidelines and criteria for redevelopment, then a redevelopment might be drafted, which would be the second phase of the proposal outlined in the attachment.
The study shouldn’t be very difficult, Landolfi said, adding that he expects it to be completed by October at the latest. One of the things to be examined is the number of vacancies in the area, he added.
A similar process occurred for the Arts District Redevelopment Plan, with a study last year to determine if the area was in need of redevelopment, followed by a redevelopment plan, which then was sent to the Planning Board for consideration. If the Planning Board accepts and endorses the plan, then it would go to the full City Council for approval.
It’s at least the third contract since December awarded to the Red Bank-based planning firm. In May, the firm was awarded a $27,500 contract for a strategic planning study to examine downtown infill — underused lots downtown to identify the potential for new uses that could connect recent developments with needed amenities. Heyer Gruel also completed a redevelopment plan for the Arts District Redevelopment Area on the north end of downtown, for which it received a $33,000 contract in December.
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More tax payer money WASTED! Pave the damn streets! Pave the damn walk ways around Rahway Park. This town is on the road to being a s—t hole! Contractors & consultants are the only people making money off all this non-sense.