Tag Archives: Main Street

Luciano’s among best of ’08

Luciano’s Italian Ristorante and Lounge, which opened in January, was chosen among 11 of the state’s best restaurants of 2008 by The Star-Ledger last week:

“No jackets are required, but Luciano’s, a cavernous Tuscan-style restaurant, evokes a more genteel time. Not a mediocre dish on the table. Menu includes many standards — fried zucchini, mozzarella and roast peppers, veal saltimbocca. A great place to bring family for a good white-tablecloth meal at reasonable prices. Desserts, too, are made with care.”

Our last visit, for dinner just before Thanksgiving, was definitely a thumbs up — nice appetizer, great entree (Ahi Tuna) and good service. The chunks of blue cheese in the martini were a surprise; E for effort on trying to be distinctive, but I could do without it.

New timeline for Park Square: March ’09

A Transit Village Update in the latest edition of “Transit-Friendly Development” makes mention of several mixed-use projects in Rahway, including Park Square, where “occupancy is scheduled for early 2009.”

Eric Harvitt, a principal with Keasbey-based Landmark Companies, confirmed that they’re aiming for March for occupancy in the first of the 159 rental units in the four-story buildings. You’ll recall that at one point occupancy was expected by the fall. Harvitt attributed the revised timeline to “typical construction delays and maybe too aggressive a projection.”

Transit-Friendly Development is a newsletter by NJ Transit and the Alan M. Voorhees Transportation Center at Rutgers University.

Still quiet at The Savoy

With no work going on at The Savoy, now there’s not even any word from its developers.

Redevelopment Director and City Administrators Peter Pelissier reported at last month’s Redevelopment Agency meeting that the agency’s attorney has been unsuccessful in reaching attorneys representing Dornoch Holdings.

Pelissier said Dornoch is represented by Al Faiella, who for what it’s worth had some interesting dealings in Newark redevelopment.

Given the market, the guess here — and that’s all it is — is that The Savoy will go the way of other projects and shift to rentals. That would require an amendment to its redevelopment agreement, which would need approval from the Redevelopment Agency. The credit crunch has done the same thing to other projects in Rahway. Another Dornoch project, The Lofts, shifted to lease-to-buy options with three of the four units signed up at Irving and East Cherry streets. (Here’s an AM New York report about condo inventory rising amidst slumping sales in New York.)

Pelissier reported at the last Redevelopment Agency meeting (Nov. 12) that the mayor, in speaking with Dornoch principal Glen Fishman about the burned out East Cherry Street property, indicated he’s interested in selling and there may be a buyer.

Dornoch received approval last year for a plan to renovate that site, where a fire occurred some five years ago. Dornoch also acquired a strip of East Cherry on the other side of the street, along with multiple properties along Main Street in anticipation of The Westbury. That project is essentially on hold as the city and Parking Authority move forward on their own with the parking component.

Dornoch had been considered for the Hamilton Street project that would rehabilitate the Shami Apartments for senior and/or artist housing and turn the Bell Building into an arts space but you can expect that redeveloper’s designation will expire and another developer sought.

Three distinct retail districts downtown

Three distinct retail districts, with specific styles tailored to each, are recommended within downtown:

Continue reading Three distinct retail districts downtown

Rahway Survey results are in

Remember the Rahway Survey? I bet it’s been awhile since you thought about those signs around town last year that directed you to a Web site to solicit your opinions and shopping habits, among other things. A Phase 1 report by Merchantville-based Community Insights was presented Friday morning to several dozen people during a meeting hosted by the Rahway Center Partnership.

Continue reading Rahway Survey results are in

The Savoy at a standstill

Just a few months after steel began to rise at The Savoy, the developer that’s heading up several projects in the city has apparently run into unspecified “economic difficulties.”

Continue reading The Savoy at a standstill

Corner lot adds parking spaces downtown

As many as 20 parking spaces may be added downtown in the coming weeks. The property that housed a construction trailer for the Park Square project will become a surface lot for the Parking Authority. The trailer is expected to be removed today with resurfacing scheduled next week. About 16 to 20 parking spaces could be accommodated on the site, according to Parking Authority Executive Director Donald Andersen. Six of the spaces will be by permit and the rest metered.

The Parking Authority last week agreed to purchase the lot on the corner of Elizabeth Avenue and Main Street (1606 Elizabeth Ave./Block 158, Lot 3) from the Redevelopment Agency for $250,000. The agency had an appraisal for $215,000 but there were some costs associated with demolition and acquisition, according to Redevelopment Director and City Administrator Peter Pelissier.

The Redevelopment Agency acquired the 0.1331-acre parcel for $125,000 in July 2001, according to PropertyShark.com.