Tag Archives: Arts District

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Amphitheater out to bid this month

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The 1,000-seat amphitheater planned for the former Hamilton Laundry site is expected to go out for construction bids by the end of this month and break ground by October, City Engineer James Housten told the Redevelompent Agency at its meeting last week.

To date, soil investigation has been completed and remediation plans have been approved while oil tanks have been removed and monitoring wells set up, he said. Remediation will take place on site and construction will begin immediately after that, he added.

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Arts District, City Council

Amphitheater groundbreaking expected in fall

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City Council last month authorized bid specifications for construction of the Hamilton Street amphitheater. The project is expected to break ground in September.

Continue reading Amphitheater groundbreaking expected in fall →

City Council

Obvious who developers support in Dem primary

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A quick look around town will show you who developers are supporting in next week’s Democratic primary. Campaign signs appear in the windows and on the buildings of several properties owned by developers: the sales office of SkyView at Carriage City Plaza (above) and the former Dornoch offices (still owned by Dornoch) at 1513 Main St. (right).

and the building on the corner of East Milton Avenue and Main Street (below), purchased in 2008 by Landmark Companies, which is building Park Square, the 159-unit rental project at Elizabeth Avenue and Irving Street. CORRECTION: I’ve been told the space the corner of East Milton and Main was rented by the Proctor campaign and is not an endorsement by Landmark.

The June 8 primary will be the city’s first contested primary in about 20 years. City Health Officer Rick Proctor, also a county freeholder and the municipal Democratic chairman, got the backing of the local party, while former Housing Authority chairwoman Renee Thrash is running off the line. Three at-large council seats are up, with incumbents James Baker, Sal Mione and Nancy Saliga challenged by Yvonne Wesley, Lynn Parker and Grace Jacquet. The Republican primary is uncontested, with local GOP chairman Patrick Cassio running for mayor with council at-large candidates James Grady, Kevin Retcho and Jeff Spatola.

Mayor James Kennedy, a Democrat, decided not to seek re-election this year after five, four-year terms. He plans to remain as unpaid executive director of the nonprofit Rahway Arts District, which now receives funding generated by the Special Improvement District (SID).

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Arts District, Redevelopment Agency

Marketing firm to oversee arts district development

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The Redevelopment Agency last week approved a one-year, $75,000 contract with Ryno Marketing Group to assist in redevelopment of the Arts District.

Continue reading Marketing firm to oversee arts district development →

Commercial, Downtown, Rahway Survey

Rundown of related redevelopment news

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Catching up on a few news items around the Interwebs that relate to redevelopment locally in one way or another:

* Here’s not one but two stories from Hoboken Patch about temporary art studios filling vacant storefronts in Hoboken and “Empty Storefronts: Bad for the Economy; Good for Art.” If that idea sounds familiar, it’s because Mayor James Kennedy mentioned it earlier this year, patterning it after a similar program in Asbury Park.

* There’s also this Crain’s New York piece (“Bronx merchants’ artsy ambitions”) about leaders in the Westchester Square neighborhood of the Bronx turning the area into a “nexus of art and commerce.”

* Also, Cranford narrowly approved expanding its Special Improvement District (SID). If you recall, Rahway did the same, to include the Hamilton Street arts projects, but also shifted management of the SID funds (roughly $140,000 annually) from the Rahway Center Partnership to the Rahway Arts District.

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Uncategorized

Dance center vacates Irving Street location

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Catching up on a few older items in this blog post. As pointed out by a reader email, the Union County Dance Centre last month moved out of its Irving Street location (photo at left) to a new home in Linden. Showfur Pets also vacated its East Cherry Street location.

As far as newcomers, it looks like Edward Jones Investments will be moving into one of the commercial spaces at Carriage City Plaza, next to the former Mr. G’s Coffee. Signage has been up for awhile but interior work appears to be progressing.

Since we’re on the topic of retail/commercial vacancies and I’ve been meaning to post this link for weeks, here’s a write-up on nj.com (“Pint-sized Gem: Kitchen a la Mode”) about a tiny, specialized kitchen store in downtown South Orange. It goes back to the types of niche stores and merchants that a downtown needs or wants, something Rahway surveyed a few years ago.

And in another look at what other towns are doing, Metuchen has started offering 10 minutes of free parking downtown. The Rahway Parking Authority reinstituted parking meters downtown last summer but the parking deck offers up to 30 minutes free.

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Here’s a piece in Philanthropy Journal (“Nonprofit theaters see financial upswing”) that examines two reports about nonprofit theaters. One reports theaters are rebounding slightly from budget cuts yet many still expect cash flow problems this year, while the other indicates theaters still face staff reductions and changes, including smaller shows and casts and greater reliance on local talent.

There’s also this story from nj.com last month about some arts groups cutting back schedules or closing altogether.

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Apartments

Renaissance project taking shape

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Another month, another milestone for Renaissance at Rahway on East Grand Avenue.

After breaking ground last fall, the 88-unit complex continues to make progress. The image at left was taken last week.

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Rahway plans to install public art downtown, including sculptures and murals, among other things, so I thought this recent story about public art in and around Summit might be relevant.

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A little late on posting this but: Landmark at Rahway, LLC, the developer of Park Square on Irving Street was fined $85,000 by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) for stormwater pollution issues from 2008 and 2009 that have since been corrected.

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Apartments, Arts District, Downtown, restaurants

KC Jazz not likely in 2010

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Not that it’s any surprise but don’t expect KC Jazz Restaurant to open during 2010.

Redevelopment Agency Commissioner Courtney Clarke inquired about the status of the project during the March 24 Redevelopment Agency meeting.

City Administrator and Redevelopment Director Peter Pelissier said the project at the corner of Irving Street and Seminary Avenue is not likely to be realized this year. Developer Casey Granieri is expected to go out to bid again and resubmit quotes to the bank, which had advised him to reduce the costs of the project by $500,000, Pelissier said.

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