Parts of two downtown properties will be appraised as part of a requirement for state grant funding toward a long-sought pocket park downtown.
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.City Council approved a resolution (AR-227-23) awarding a $6,000 professional appraisal services contract to Sockler Realty Services Group, Inc., which had submitted a response to a Request for Qualifications (RFQ). The contract and supporting documents include two appraisals of $3,000 each: one for a portion of of 41-51 E. Cherry St., and another for a part of a Lewis Street property (Block 317, Lots 9 and 10).
A Green Acres appraisal was needed for the use of grant funds, according to William George, public relations coordinator for the City of Rahway.
A proposed easement area of 8.5 by 75 feet from the street frontage to the lot rear would take up about 640 square feet of the 6,700-square-foot Lewis Street lot, most of which includes 18 parking spaces, according to the firm’s proposals. The East Cherry Street portion is about 2,800 square feet of a 6,525-square-foot lot that includes a three-story, mixed-used building with ground-floor retail topped by two floors of apartments. The easement would be located to the rear of the building along its East Cherry Street frontage.
Last year, City Council approved a $42,000 contract to raze an adjacent building, the former New Era/Cherry Pit, at 59 E. Cherry St.
East Cherry Street sometimes is closed for downtown events and a pedestrian plaza has often been informally proposed for years. Removable bollards would allow partial closure of the street now that Monroe Street has been extended from Main Street to East Cherry Street. City officials also have talked about creating easier and more prominent access to the Lewis Street Parking Deck.
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