The Planning Board last night unanimously approved a preliminary and final site plan for Meridia Lafayette Village, a 115-unit rental project at the former site of the stalled Savoy development.
Continue reading Unanimous approval for Meridia Lafayette Village
A plan for the former Savoy site downtown is scheduled to be heard by the Planning Board Tuesday night, with five fewer units than originally proposed to the Redevelopment Agency early this year.
The owner of several Main Street parcels that had been envisioned years ago as a retail/residential development with a parking deck is interested in adding a neighboring parcel as it restarts efforts on the site.
The Redevelopment Agency awarded a professional services contract of $135,500 to The DavidHenry Agency for advertising and marketing consulting services that will include brochures, video, a website and app touting the city’s redevelopment efforts over the past decade and a half.
Time for another fun, completely unscientific blog poll. What do you think?
The City Council this month unanimously approved an amendment increasing a bond ordinance by $85,000 for work related to the demolition of an East Cherry Street building last year.
At its Jan. 9 meeting, the governing body amended an ordinance from $200,000 to $285,000 (an increase of 42 percent) for work that included demolition of 65 E. Cherry St., which occurred in May (after the facade collapsed last February) and was paid for via a $75,000 emergency resolution in June). The ordinance also included funds for improvements to Lot B on Main Street.
City Administrator and Redevelopment Director Peter Pelissier said the increase was needed for additional engineering costs to shore up the sides of the neighboring buildings, and ensure that when the building was removed, the adjoining basements were not affected. The city has placed liens on the work for the property, he added.
Developer Dornoch Holdings purchased the property for $65,000 from the Parking Authority and more than four years ago had proposed renovations to the Planning Board but those never went anywhere.
The steel beams for The Savoy sometimes pointed to as symbols of overly-ambitious redevelopment efforts, were finally dismantled last week.
The beams were installed in summer 2008 and by the fall, the project at the corner of Main and Monroe streets already had come to a standstill.
The original plan proposed by Dornoch Holdings called for 36 two-bedroom, two-bath units in a four-story structure, with 7,000 square feet of retail space on the ground floor. The units had starting asking prices of $315,000 in pre-construction, in early 2008.
The city has been in discussions with Capodagli Property Company about developing the site, but it would be upward of 100 units rather than the original 36 proposed. The Pompton Plains-based developer is working with Wells Fargo to acquire the property and complete the foreclosure process, according to city officials.
The Capodagli firm is scheduled to appear before the Planning Board Tuesday for its proposed 108-unit project behind the library, Meridia Water’s Edge. The company recently was selected as developer for 240 units on the former Bolmer Motor Car property in downtown Bound Brook.
More than three years after it was installed, the steel and foundation at the site of the stalled Savoy development could be coming out soon.
Continue reading Steel, foundation to be removed at Savoy site