Tag Archives: East Milton Avenue

hotels, motels, Routes 1/9

Sleep Inn out, Candlewood Suites in

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A long-planned hotel near the corner of Route 1 and East Milton Avenue looks like it will go through another round of changes.

The 4.4-acre site (667 E. Milton Ave./Block 338, Lot 3) already was approved for a Sleep Inn several years ago but the property changed hands earlier this year and now the plan is to bring in Candlewood Suites, an extended stay brand of Holiday Inn. The Redevelopment Agency was presented with the new concept earlier this month and owners are expected to file an application with the Planning Board as soon as possible.

The site was acquired several months ago for $2.35 million. Owners hope to break ground as soon as next spring, with construction anticipated for 10 to 12 months, taking it into the spring of 2010.

Plans still show an L-shaped building at the corner of Lennington Street with the same footprint, but the structure is four stories instead of three, with a maximum of 93 rooms. The mix of studios and one-bedrooms can be modified, such as combining two studios to create a one-bedroom.

An indoor pool and convenience store also were added to the original design, which had 72 rooms in three stories. Extended stay units also have kitchens and most clients stay an average of two to three weeks. A 8,000-square-foot restaurant is still planned but is not dependent on the hotel construction, and vice versa. The restaurant would abut the neighboring Best Western on Paterson Street with its parking lot at the corner of East Milton and Paterson Street.

The hotel site would have 90 parking spaces while the restaurant site would accommodate 42, for a total of 132. By city ordinance, an 8,000-square-foot restaurant requires one parking space for every three seats, which would meet the requirement for a 120-seat facility (40 seats).

The owners also operate the Horizon Inn on Route 1 in Avenel and told the Redevelopment Agency they already have approval for $7 million financing from Unity Bank. They would have a 10-year agreement with Candlewood which would be renewed based on performance.

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Some street parking to be restored

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After meeting with the Traffic Bureau on Monday, City Administrator and Redevelopment Director Peter Pelissier said areas around downtown have been identified to restore some parking spaces lost after two-way traffic was established. He estimated between 20 and 30 spaces might return and it would happen as soon as signage and striping can be completed, which he said could be a couple of weeks. About 40 spaces were lost initially.

Some of the parking spaces to be restored include two to three spots on East Milton just under the train tracks and on Main Street opposite the retail stores, where one owner said his business has dropped off by as much as 50 percent since on-street parking was eliminated.

In an interview after last week’s City Council pre-meeting conference, Pelissier also mentioned other long-term possibilities to address downtown parking: something on Coach Street to accommodate the arts center, and the corner of Elizabeth Avenue and Main Street, which currently houses a construction trailer for the Park Square project.

Changes in the Parking Authority’s rates that took effect Aug. 1 include the first 30 minutes free in the Main Street deck.

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Two-way traffic begets parking issues

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More than a half-dozen residents came before City Council last night to express their dismay or preach patience when it comes to the new parking configuration that came with two-way traffic.

Harry Patel, owner of Beverly Sweet Shop, estimates business is half what is was before now that on-street parking isn’t allowed in front of his Main Street shop, a few doors from East Milton Avenue. Others said the businesses along East Milton Avenue before Fulton Street also have been affected by on-street spaces no longer in front of their stores. James Pekarofski, whose family ran a shoe store on Irving Street for many years, said there was always parking on Irving and Main streets, even when downtown had two-way traffic. He suggested the new parking configuration “may be a subtle way of relocating stores.”

Council President Samson Steinman assured residents that the parking plan is not complete and more may be done, whether adding traffic lights or reducing Stop signs. He stressed that the changes were made for safety reasons, as the average speed on Irving and Main streets was 40 miles per hour. A portion of the approximately 40 parking spaces were actually illegal spots that people came to rely on, he added.

Bob Markey of West Main Street said time will prove the decision to create two-way traffic the smart thing to do, but changing a 75-year-old traffic pattern will not be easy, and could create an economic hardship for some. He suggested eliminated or modifying the turning lanes, which took away almost a dozen spaces near Elizabeth Avenue and West Main, in the same way as on West Grand where they’re active only during peak hours.

There have been some growing pains, said Josh Donovan, a member of the Rahway Center Partnership and Zoning Board of Adjustment, and hopes to bring stakeholders together in the near future to fix problems or suggestion modifications. “Those parking issues will remain if they’re not fixed today, no matter what business comes to town in the future.”

For some past posts on two-way traffic and parking, see:
Change of direction
More traffic changes afoot
Three side streets to change direction

Check out the new poll, above right, to let us know what you think so far of the new traffic patterns and parking.

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Station shop expected to open this month

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Welcome to Coffee Shop Awareness Month at Rahway Rising. After last week’s sharp back-and-forth among readers about the new coffee shop in the SkyView development, and the news about a coffeehouse in the Park Square project, NJ Transit expects the former Moca Motion Cafe to be open by the end of June.

The proprietor is in the process of obtaining inspection approvals, according to a spokesman for NJ Transit, and if all goes well, the shop is expected to open by the end of this month. The sign in the window (photo at right) says Express Cafe, but the spokesman indicated it would be called Metro News and Cafe. Let the debates ensue!

It was referenced in last week’s raging Cuppy’s debate, so in case you missed the marigolds spelling out Rahway, here they are. They’re located below the NJ Transit stairs off the northbound platform on Irving Street, near East Cherry (across the street from David Drake).

That’s three straight posts about coffee downtown. I’ll be sure to mix it up a bit more later this week…as long as everyone agrees to cut back on the caffeine…

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Realignment pushed back to May 1

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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).

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Downtown, Rahway

Irving-Fulton traffic light on line by April

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Between jetting off to Puerto Rico for a few days and preparing for fantasy baseball season, I haven’t been able to get to much posting this past week. I’ll try to make up for it in the coming week.
In the meantime, here’s a tidbit.

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City Council, Downtown, Rahway, Traffic

Irving-Fulton realignment

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Intersection improvements at Irving Street and East Milton Avenue are expected to begin next month, and wrap up by April, the same time the hotel is scheduled to open. Improvements will include the realignment of Irving and Fulton streets, as well as signalization. The winning bid came in at about $875,000, which the City Council on Monday night officially accepted from Rahway-based Berto Construction.

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