More than a dozen properties considered underutilized were identified in the downtown strategic plan as “opportunity sites.” Some of the sites already have proposed concepts or in use another way while the plan suggested alternative development options” for others.
Tag Archives: Coach Street
Council accepts Arts District plan
City Council moved forward with the Arts District Redevelopment Plan, introducing an ordinance to accept the plan and amend the city’s zoning map.
Council accepts Arts District Redevelopment Plan
Sixty units around the former St. Mark’s Church property, another 76 units as part of a mixed-use development at a long-underused property downtown, and pocket parks and murals are among the major components of a new arts-focused redevelopment plan for the northern end of downtown.
Continue reading Council accepts Arts District Redevelopment Plan
Piano Conservatory opens
Conservatory: Piano, Hi Fi and Modern Home opened its doors Friday night for a “sneak preview” at its new home next to the Union County Performing Arts Center.
The conservatory will feature educational programs, a piano showroom, state-of-the-art audio equipment, vintage jazz and classical vinyl recordings, and recording studios.
Friday’s event included performances on pianos from the Klavierhaus collection as well as demonstrations of the equipment. “Our new multi-faceted space has been created for the pursuit of fine living through musical education and the leisure of experiencing music in the home,” said Peabody Award-winning and Latin Grammy-nominated radio and record producer Jim Luce of Piano Culture.
Renovations to the single-story building at the corner of Irving and Coach streets, which once housed the Rahway Alternative Education Center, could run upward of $20,000 once the HVAC system is replaced, according to Mayor James Kennedy, who also serves as a board member of UCPAC and the unpaid executive director of the Rahway Arts District. The arts center owns the building and will cover the cost of renovations, which included a new roof, he said, while leasing it to Luce and his partners.
Traffic changes this week
Two-way traffic is scheduled to begin downtown, on Main and Irving streets, this week. In addition to those one-way streets becoming two-way, several one-way side streets (East Cherry and Coach) will reverse direction while another that’s currently two-way (Poplar) will become one-way toward Irving; so all three will flow toward Irving.
Striping is scheduled to be done Monday evening and signs will be uncovered for Tuesday morning when the change is officially expected to occur. If there’s an issue, it could be pushed back a day, said Police Chief John Rodger, but the goal is to have it completed before the holiday weekend.
Cones will run the length of Irving and Main so motorists will have to stay in one lane, reinforcing the pattern change, according to Rodger, and Traffic will have a heavy presence downtown during the transition. The cones will be removed in phases, he added, to continually reinforce the patterns for a period of time.
When merchants were surveyed last year about changing traffic patterns downtown, most were in favor.
Two-way traffic: July 1
The two-way traffic patterns slated for Irving and Main streets that been talked about for months finally are set to take place July 1 — if the electronic signs on Irving Street are to be believed. In addition to bringing two-way traffic to Irving and Main, three streets will become one-way toward Irving Street: East Cherry, Coach and Poplar.
The Fulton-Irving Street realignment originally had been ahead of schedule for April, according to city officials earlier this year, and two-way traffic had been planned by May 15. The traffic light was one of the conditions for the new hotel at Irving Street and East Milton Avenue.
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Another center for performing arts, the Paper Mill Playhouse in Millburn, is looking for a government bailout. Millburn is considering a $9.1-million purchase/lease-back of the playhouse and its four-acre property. Last year, as part of the $6.2-million renovation and expansion of the Union County Arts Center, Union County purchased the 80-year-old Irving Street facility for $1.3 million.
According to that report, subscriptions for the Paper Mill last year were 18,000, almost twice as many as the 9,700 at Princeton’s McCarter Theatre Center, and more than McCarter, George Street Playhouse in New Brunswick and the Shakespeare Theatre of New Jersey in Madison combined.
Realignment pushed back to May 1
The realignment and signalization of Irving-Fulton streets is now expected by May 1, City Administrator/Redevelopment Director Peter Pelissier said after Tuesday night’s City Council meeting.
Originally ahead of schedule for the first week of April, the Irving-Fulton realignment will be the first step in a series of changes to downtown traffic flow. Two-way traffic on Irving and Main streets is scheduled to change on or around May 15 and before that happens, three streets will reverse their one-way directions: Coach, East Cherry and Poplar, which will change from two-way to one-way.
The Irving-Fulton realignment was part of the approval for the hotel, which is scheduled to open June 1. Two open houses at the end of last month yielded some 20 pending contracts on units at SkyView at Carriage City Plaza, according to a spokesman for Silcon Group, which is constructing the project.
For those feeling nostalgic about what the Irving-Fulton intersection looked like before the project, above right, is a photo taken from December (I haven’t had time to take an updated shot — or post much lately, but hopefully I can catch up in the next week).
Three side streets to reverse direction
The City Council will introduce an ordinance Monday night to reverse three streets in anticipation of other traffic changes throughout downtown. Three side streets will become one-way streets heading toward Irving Street: East Cherry Street (photo above) and Coach Street (now one-way toward Main Street), and Poplar Street (currently two-way).
Final approval of the ordinance likely will come at a special meeting later this month if city officials hope to make the changes by April 1. The next regularly scheduled City Council meeting isn’t until April 14. A separate ordinance is expected to authorize traffic signalization and two-way traffic along Irving and Main streets.