After nearly an hour of public comments that ranged from support to opposition to delaying for more time to discuss and understand the issue, City Council approved expanding the Special Improvement District (SID) from the downtown area (138 properties) to all commercial properties citywide (closer to 440 properties).
City Council will consider a measure next week that would expand the Special Improvement District (SID) beyond the borders of he downtown district to include all commercial properties within the city.
Editor’s note: Election Day is Nov. 4. On the ballot in Rahway will be elections for mayor and three at-large City Council seats in addition to the remaining two years of an unexpired term for 6th Ward City Council. The three mayoral candidates were invited to present their platforms on redevelopment and will appear this week. Samson Steinman appeared yesterday.
For the second time in six years, Rahway will host Downtown New Jersey’s (DNJ) annual conference.
UPDATED: Due to Saturday’s weather forecast, Rahway Bands and Brew will be Sunday (Sept. 14) — same time, same place.
An afternoon of music and craft beers will come to downtown Rahway Sept. 13, Sept 14 hosted by The Rail House and Union County Performing Arts Center.
The City Council will vote Monday on a $750,000 bond ordinance that would serve as a bridge loan for the acquisition of the former Elizabethtown Gas Building on Central Avenue (map).
Continue reading City to loan $750k for E’town Gas acquisition
A redevelopment agreement approved last month in March requires the Redevelopment Agency to close on the million-dollar acquisition of the Elizabethtown Gas building by September for a proposed affordable housing project for artists. Commissioners approved the agreement at their March 5 meeting (Resolution 16-14).
The two-story building at 219 Central Ave. (map) (Block 167, Lot 1) has been under contract by the Redevelopment Agency since an agreement was reached in December for $1 million, with $400,000 in escrow for remediation. Developers have proposed the 71-unit Rahway Residences for the Arts, an affordable housing complex for those working in the field of arts and entertainment. The 6,500-square-foot facility would be renovated and expanded. Continue reading Redevelopment agreement for artist housing
The Redevelopment Agency has entered into a contract for the purchase of the Elizabethtown Gas Building, where affordable housing for artists is planned. About 60 units are planned for the 219 Central Ave. site.
A contract was entered into in December and a redevelopment agreement is being drafted, Redevelopment Director Peter Pelissier told the Redevelopment Agency at its meeting last month. The Redevelopment Agency in May authorized the acquisition for $1 million, with $400,000 held in escrow for remediation.
The final redevelopment agreement will address typical issues plus certain funding and financing issues, according to Redevelopment Agency attorney Frank Regan, who said the sale was executed Dec. 6.
The Actors Fund Housing Development Corporation (AFHDC) last year was replaced on the project by TRF Development Partners, a nonprofit support organization of The Reinvestment Fund. The redevelopment team now includes Crawford Street Partners, Ingerman Development Corp
., and TRF Development Partners.
AFHDC’s parent organization, The Actors Fund, wanted to redirect its financial resources toward the delivery of social services and is “best positioned to champion projects through public promotion and marketing assistance,” according to Steve Burns of Crawford Street Partners.
TRF Development Partners has developed City Arts in Baltimore, Md., a 69-unit tax credit project plus 15 market townhomes for sale and rent, and is currently raising funds for City Arts 2, a 62-unit building with 12 market rate townhomes, Burns said.
The New Jersey Multiple Housing Financing Agency (NJMHFA) is expected to release draft regulations for the 2014 Low Income Housing Tax Credit programs and once those are published, the development team will “be in a position to form a strategy and timetable for securing financing,” Pelissier said.
Approvals by the NJHMFA for the tax credits and financing could come during the first quarter of this year, and once construction financing is closed, construction could begin several weeks after that.