Tag Archives: rental

Apartments

Meridia Grand sold for $19 million

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Barely two years after properties were razed to make way for the the 88-unit Meridia Grand, the five-story rental complex has sold for $19 million. The sale (Block 379, Lot 2.01) closed Oct. 25 and the buyer was listed as a West Hempstead, N.Y.-based entity called 3101-15 Ave. I, LLC.

2010 rendering

The seller, Capodagli Property Company, last week gained approval for a 108-unit rental project, Meridia Water’s Edge, to be built adjacent to the city library. City Council will vote tonight on awarding a PILOT (Payment In Lieu Of Taxes) to the project. The Pompton Plains-based developer also is negotiating to take over the foreclosed Savoy project at Main and Monroe streets.

2008 rendering

The Meridia Grand, which was named Renaissance at Rahway throughout the planning process, is assessed for $5.362 million and paid about $31,000 in property taxes last year. Apartments started leasing last summer.

Renaissance at Rahway originally had been planned as a 72-unit condo development but that was changed in 2008 to 64 rental units, before bumping the total to its present 88. The plan originally also called for developing the entire triangle block but one property owner declined to sell. The project also eliminated a stretch of Montgomery Street from East Grand Avenue to Monroe Street.

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City Hall Plaza, library

Water’s Edge gains Planning Board approval

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The Planning Board unanimously approved a major site plan and parking exceptions for Meridia Water’s Edge after about two hours of testimony Tuesday night.

Continue reading Water’s Edge gains Planning Board approval →

City Council, City Hall Plaza

City Council gives OK for Water’s Edge

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The City Council last month approved the proposed Meridia Water’s Edge project for inclusion in the Lower Main Street Redevelopment Plan, paving the way for an application to be heard by the Planning Board later this month.

Fifth Ward Councilwoman Jennifer Wenson-Maier was the lone dissenter during a special meeting Oct. 24 when the council adopted the ordinance (O-26-11) by an 8-1 vote. An ordinance (O-29-11) regarding a Payment In Lieu of Taxes (PILOT) for the Water’s Edge project is scheduled to be introduced at Monday’s regular meeting of the City Council.

Capodagli Property Company has proposed 108 units adjacent to the city library and The Center Circle. The Planning Board is scheduled to take up the application at its Nov. 29 meeting and a redevelopment agreement is expected before the Redevelopment Agency at its Dec. 7 meeting.

(File photo)

Wenson-Maier was among the council members who raised concerns in September about density and size of units, pushing to have the ordinance tabled. While there may be a trend for smaller units in new developments, she said she didn’t like the room sizes but understood the concept. The proximity of Water’s Edge to the library, recreation center and downtown restaurants could address locally some of the amenities offered at similar projects around the country, such as lounges, pools and party rooms, she said.

“What was unacceptable for me as a registered architect and liaison to the Environmental Commission was that the developer refused to obtain a silver LEED rating,” which she said is very attainable. “LEED eventually will become a requirement of the international building code,” Wenson-Mailer, who sites on the Environmental Commission, said via email. The sustainablilty element of the city’s master plan, adopted by the Planning Board in spring 2010, encourages LEED building elements.

Redevelopment Agency attorney Frank Regan said the developer has a loan commitment and is trying to close by the end of the year. “Weather permitting, he’s anxious to get into the ground,” Regan said. The Redevelopment Agency last month extended its memorandum of understanding (MOU) with the Water’s Edge project.

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City Council, City Hall Plaza, library

Council moves forward on Water’s Edge project

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The City Council last night introduced an ordinance (O-26-11) to amend the Lower Main Street Urban Renewal Plan for the Meridia Water’s Edge project.

The Planning Board is expected to take up the matter later this month (Aug. 30) and provide a recommendation to the City Council before the governing body holds a public hearing and final vote on the ordinance next month (Sept. 12). The Planning Board then would consider a site plan, as early as its September meeting (Sept. 27).

Can you find the rainbow?

Capodagli Property Company of Pompton Plains has proposed 108 units on the 0.75-acre property (Block 305, Lot 5.04) adjacent to Rahway Public Library, Center Circle sports complex and Rahway Plaza Apartments. Capodagli last week presented the Redevelopment Agency with a revised project 108 units compared with the 116 units presented in the spring. The five-story, 108-unit proposal includes 52 two-bedroom units and 56 one-bedrooms compared with a 20/96 split in the earlier version. Since the plan currently only includes 90 parking spaces, some arrangement would be necessary for the project to use upward of 18 spaces in adjacent parking lots.

About six years ago, a day care center was proposed in the area (.pdf) at Block 305/Lot 5.03 (.pdf). The majority of the City Hall Plaza complex and adjacent lots at one time was planned as the Town Center project, a massive mix of residential, retail and parking (circa 2007).

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The latest from NJ Transit on the center stair repairs at the Train Station: Closed through September 2011. It really doesn’t even look like much work has been done of late, so I think I can speak for a majority of you when I say: WTF?!?!

The advisory comes on the the heels of another one earlier this week that repairs to the elevator on the westbound side “are scheduled to continue through September.”

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library

Water’s Edge proposal dropped to 108 units

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The Redevelopment Agency last night approved a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with Meridia Water’s Edge, LLC, to develop a 108-unit rental complex on a three-quarter acre site adjacent to Rahway Public Library and the Center Circle sports complex on Main Street. (A revised rendering is in this Google document; once I can convert it into a .jpg, it’ll be added to this post).

Pompton Plains-based Capodagli Property Company initially proposed 116 units in a presentation to the agency in April, with 91 parking spaces. The number of spaces remain the same as in the original plan and an arrangement to use some 12 to 18 spaces in nearby municipal lots would have to be pursued.

The original plan called for 96 one-bedroom and 20 two-bedroom units; the revised plan presented last night includes 52 two-bedroom units and 56 one-bedrooms (42 of which will also have an office, some 50 square feet larger overall). Two-bedroom units would be 816 square feet. The plans note that a “market study will determine actual unit mix, sizes, placement and phases of development.”

George Capodagli told commissioners that he has a “firm commitment” from a bank and wants to close on the property soon. The Redevelopment Agency last month designated Capodagli as redeveloper, agreeing to sell the parcel for $1 million. The developer will be responsible for the cost of removing soil that’s been on the site from library construction earlier in the decade.

At closing, $500,000 will be due to the Redevelopment Agency and the second $500,000 of the sale price will be due upon the final Certificate of Occupancy (CO). The cost of soil removal will be credited toward the developer’s second payment but City Administrator and Redevelopment Director Peter Pelissier expects the agency should still yield at least half of that payment. The city’s engineers will oversee and monitor the soil removal estimates and process, and Capodgali said his firm will do the work at cost.

Next, the City Council must approve amendments to the redevelopment plan, to be introduced next week and approved next month. The Planning Board also will be presented with plans later this month for recommendation to City Council before it considers site plan approval, likely at its September meeting.

There was some discussion about the project being within a flood plain. Commissioner Timothy Nash asked how residents would get into the building should the area be two to three feet under water. Capodagli said they likely would not have access to the building and the management company would have to make provisions for that and to disclose that in lease agreements. The back of the project would abut the levee, next to the property line with Rahway Plaza Apartments — toward the back of the library parking lot — while the front entrance would face the Center Circle complex (forming a sort of triangle that’s flatted at the top, which would be the front entrance. Got it? Working on uploading/scanning designs).

Officials were confident though that the area has not flooded since the levee was built along the Rahway River. Nash recalled Tropical Storm Floyd in September 1999 — which destroyed the former library where Berzinec Park is today — as  the worst flooding situation and the site did not flood then.

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Interesting story from NPR last month (“How A Park Helped One Town Weather The Recession”) about Greenville, S.C., and its development efforts, which included a $13-million, 20-acre downtown park and public garden created in 2004. Within two years, it’s estimated that $100 million in private investment occurred around the park. Sounds like a success story akin to New York City’s new High Line Park, which is looking to be replicated elsewhere. But there’s more to it – obviously – than just the park. It’s worth the quick read/listen.

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City Hall Plaza, library

Capodagli designated redeveloper

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A month after being presented with a conceptual plan for a 116-unit rental complex behind Rahway Public Library, the Redevelopment Agency designated Capodagli Property Company as redeveloper at its meeting on May 4.

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Apartments, Commercial, Downtown, Retail

Park Square targets June opening

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Corner of Elizabeth Avenue and Main Street

The second building of Park Square, one of the first cornerstone projects of downtown redevelopment efforts, should be ready for occupation starting in  June.

Joel Schwartz, principal with Keasbey-based developer Landmark Companies, appeared before the Redevelopment Agency at its meeting last week to provide an update on the 159-unit complex. He last appeared before the agency in late 2009 for an update.

Schwartz expects the second building to obtain certificates of occupancy one floor at a time — which also was done with the first building — so it should be fully occupied by about September. He said the second building boasts larger windows and more space. One-bedroom units list for starting rents of $1,600, two-bedrooms at about $2,000.

The project first broke ground nearly five years ago (October 2006) and the first building on the Irving Street side, which houses 63 of the units, was completed just about two years ago, beginning leasing in summer 2009. The Irving Street side also has 7,000 square feet of ground-floor retail space which is fully occupied, with five tenants, and Schwartz said the rental units are 100 percent occupied, with some turnover. The Main Street building, without any retail space, houses the remaining 96 units.

Corner of Elm Avenue and Main Street

Schwartz presented renderings that were part of Planning Board hearings in 2004 and 2005, and compared them to present-day photos of the project, as well as what the 2.4-acre site looked like before construction. He said they took a two-pronged approach: first, to redevelop in the spirit of what had been downtown, and second, to incorporate the best of redevelopment efforts from around the state and country. Some of the areas that inspired Park Square include Princeton’s Palmer Square, Forest Hills in Queens and Lake Forest, Ill. As time goes by, Schwartz hopes the complex has more of a connection with Merck as well as be more actively involved in the day-to-day activity of downtown.

The entire complex has 159 units and 205 parking spaces, including ground level parking on the Irving Street side, and two levels of parking on the Main Street side. [Note: The photos above are from last fall]

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City Hall Plaza

Meridia developer proposes 116-unit complex

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Parking and density issues are some of the initial concerns over a 116-unit development proposed along the Rahway River behind the public library. Developer George Capodagli made the presentation to the Redevelopment Agency Wednesday night with his daughter Kim, who manages the firm’s other complex in Rahway.

Pompton Plains-based Capodagli Property Company built Meridia Grand on East Grand Avenue, which broke ground in fall 2009 and started leasing last summer. He credited the Redevelopment Agency for its patience as his firm acquired several properties over the years before the 88-unit project could come to fruition.

The 0.755-acre lot behind the Rahway Public Library and Center Circle athletic complex is owned by the Redevelopment Agency and the initial design appears similar to Meridia Grand, with a sort of triangular-shaped building, with an interior courtyard, abutting the levee along the Rahway River.

The five-story complex, dubbed Meridia Water Edge, would have 116 units (96 one-bedroom/20 two-bedroom) with 91 ground-floor parking spaces. There would be 24 one-bedroom units (650 square feet) and five two-bedroom units (800 square feet) on each of the remaining four floors. Kim Capodagli, who manages Meridia Grand, said rents could run $1,500 for a one-bedroom and $2,000 for a two-bedroom but possibly more since it’s closer to the train station.

“A town grows on heartbeats,” said George Capodagli, who was effusive about redevelopment efforts in the city. “You need people to make a town move,” he said, adding that the proximity to downtown and city facilities like the recreation center and library, make it an ideal location.

To address parking concerns, Capodagli hopes to work out a plan to share spaces in adjacent, underutilized city parking lots, which he described as “virtually empty at night.” More parking likely will be necessary, as Capodagli said he’s not finding as many commuters as expected at his Grand Avenue development.

The project falls within a flood plain and Capodagli said parking would be two feet underwater  in a 100-year flood but residents could come out and parking in nearby city lots which are level.
City Engineer James Housten suggested to commissioners that the developer seek a preliminary application conference with the state Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) about the flood plain because he would have to demonstrate that residents could access the property during a flood. “I’m not saying it’s undoable but he has to address it,” he said.

Redevelopment Agency commissioners were complimentary of the design for the most part, with some minor questions about landscaping. While Capodagli told commissioners he’d like to be “in the ground” in six months, City Administrator and Redevelopment Director Peter Pelissier said that’s a very ambitious schedule considering the project would still needed approval from the City Council and Planning Board after a redeveloper is designated – which the agency should do next month.

Pelissier said the presentation was merely a preliminary conceptual proposal that was made on short notice to make Wednesday’s meeting but praised Capodagli’s cooperation with city departments and his track record on his previous project. He was confident that further discussion could iron out issues relating to parking and density.

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