The requirement that only a jazz club/restaurant can be developed at the former Kelly’s Pub property looks like it will be lifted by the Redevelopment Agency, allowing other options to be pursued for the site.
Continue reading Restriction likely to be lifted for jazz site
Years ago, the Redevelopment Agency agreed to sell the former Kelly’s Pub on the condition that the property at the corner of Irving Street and Seminary Avenue be turned into a jazz club and restaurant.
Serious financial issues have plagued the proposed KC Jazz Club to the extent that developers would like to explore selling the property as a simple tavern — only they would need the agency’s approval first. In a Sept. 19 letter to the Redevelopment Agency, Union-based attorney Ronald Esposito, representing E.T. Building, LLC, asks for a meeting to discuss issues in hopes of resolving “what appears to be a very serious financial problem.”
“The only possible way my client can recoup some of their money and reduce their loss, would be to explore the sale of the property and liquor license without the restriction that the facility must be a restaurant/jazz club,” Esposito wrote, adding that Realtors have indicated it would be easier to sell the property without the restriction that a jazz club and restaurant be built.
The property, at 1646-1654 Irving St. (Block 162, Lots 5-7), was acquired for $398,000 in April 2004, according to PropertyShark.com, and pays about $5,500 in property taxes. Only a few weeks ago, the KC Jazz Club website was still active, featuring the rendering below, and proclaiming a 2012 opening. The website was suspended sometime in the past couple of weeks.
City Administrator and Redevelopment Director Peter Pelissier said the attorney should be advised to come before the agency with an update. He told commissioners that the agency “shouldn’t just arbitrarily approve it” but wait for the applicant to present a plan for what to do. The intent of the redevelopment agreement, and the agency selling the property, was for a jazz bar/restaurant, Agency Attorney Frank Regan said, so they would have to come back to the agency for approval to make it simply a tavern.
Esposito details issues the developer has had with financing, including an original $1.5-million mortgage from RSI bank that fell through and a partner defaulted on sale of another property, the proceeds of which would have helped to fund the jazz club effort. Over the past three years, Esposito writes, his client has reduced the cost of the building from $2.3 million to $1.7 million in a failed effort to secure financing from a bank and then private investor. He claims that the anticipated value of the building was agreed upon at $1.75 million when completed ($2.3 million with the restaurant operational).
The bank was to extend a mortgage of $1.5 million, which was reduced to $1 million, Esposito said, which may or may not still be available since about six months ago RSI insisted on payment of the initial $400,000 mortgage money advance used for the property and monthly payments of $2,685 since April. [You can read the full text of the letter here.]
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| What site looked like two years ago |
In addition, Esposito explains that since December 2005 contract entered into with the agency, his client had to purchase a liquor license for $40,000, and pay annual licensing fees of $2,100 to the city and $200 to the state. He also details $32,000 in costs to obtain Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) permits, $15,000 in costs to obtain variances from the city, and $120,000 for engineering and architectural planning.
In a postscript (P.S.) to his letter, the attorney suggested that due to the length of time involved the agency consider, as an alternative, the temporary abatement of taxes and ABC fees until the matter is resolved.
Forgive me if I’m a little late with this, but check out last week’s Sunday New York Times for a review of Patria Restaurant and Mixology Lounge.
Another deli has arrived on East Cherry Street to fill a space vacated just a few months ago by another deli.
GK’s Big Belly Deli shut down in March amid charges that the owner was illegally hunting deer.
It was just a few weeks ago that a “Coming Soon” sign appeared in the window at 78 E. Cherry St., and now there’s a new, permanent for D&R’s Gourmet Deli and Catering.
The Star-Ledger’s Munchmobile stopped in Rahway again, this time at The Waiting Room (just a few dooors down from the new deli).
The garlic pork chops that were “the juiciest of the day” and the “right mix of saltiness and properly cooked,” according to the Munchers. The baby lamb chop were even better: “So tender,” and the seasoning was “remarkable” and “dynamite.” The Room’s most popular dish is the Buffalo shrimp and Buffalo wings but the Munchers said it was the voodoo chili, “with bubbling-over cheese and plenty of meat,” that deserves to be more famous than those wings.
The link includes video of owner Chris Wenson (2:42 in length) explaining some of the renovations to the former McCrory’s building before they moved into it in 2006 and an outdoor patio in the back that’s planned for next year (which was approved two years ago by the Planning Board).
The top 10 taxpayers in Rahway make up about a fifth of the city’s total assessed value. As part of an $11.65-million bond sale in the spring, the city put together a slew of documents on the city’s debt and tax assessments for ratings agency Standard & Poor’s.
Details of the bond sale, as they relate to redevelopment, will be included in an upcoming post. For now, here are the top 10 property taxpayers in the city (here it is an Excel file, maybe easier to read), followed by the total assessed value of their property (or properties):
Merck & Co., Inc. — $249,669,700Carriage City Properties, LLC — $27,128,400Park Terrace at Rahway, LLC — $6,684,500Giacobbe Investments Corp. — $5,762,400Alard Realty Enterprises — $5,477,900Renaissance at Rahway, LLC — $5,362,800Woodbridge Plaza, LLC — $4,329,500Rahway Industrial Site — $4,296,900Ninette Group — $3,659,600New Jersey Bell — $3,576,279TOTAL — $315,947,979
In some cases, like Merck and Giacobbe Investments Corp., the total figure includes multiple parcels, while for others, it’s just one property, like Renaissance, Park Terrace and Woodbridge Plaza.
“The city’s tax base has experienced, what we consider, limited, but stable, growth; it increased by just 2.1 percent since fiscal 2007 to $1.55 billion in fiscal 2010,” according to the S&P report. It considered the city’s per-capita market value of $134,775 “extremely strong.” Officials expect a tax base reduction for the subsequent year, according to the report. While the tax base is diverse with the 10 leading taxpayers accounting for 21.2 percent of assessed valuation (AV), Merck alone accounted for 17 percent of AV in fiscal 2010. Total assessed valuation is $1,486,291,000 in 2011, down 3.8 percent from $1,545,974,600 in 2010, according to the report.
Primarily due to a tax appeal by Merck (the first in more than 20 years) and to a lesser extent the economic downturn, the tax base will likely decline by 4 percent to $1.49 billion in fiscal 2011, according to the report. The city has settled the tax appeal and will repay about $1.6 million over the next three years.
There are a few more interesting (at least to me) statistics within the documents, as well as details of the bond sale, that I’ll post soon.
ABC 7 News‘ Neighborhood Eats paid a visit to Rahway recently, checking out Patria Restaurant and Mixology Lounge on West Main Street. A 2:41 report on the new eatery aired Friday, featuring a tilapia dish.
The Star-Ledger/nj.com on Friday had a review of Beana’s Para Siempre restaurant on St. Georges Avenue. (Para siempre, by the way, means “forever” in Spanish; I had to look it up).
Of course, one of the first things mentioned is the decor (which really is one of a kind):
“You’d shriek if you stumbled onto this restaurant along a dusty stretch of Route 66, pulling out your camera to document your touristy luck to your disbelieving friends. The place is thoroughly fun and kitschy, its walls crammed with 70-year-old license plates, sombreros, commemorative dishware, velvet paintings of bullfights and countless crosses, lizards and chili pepper lights.”
Not sure what it says about a review that spends so much time waxing about Census figures and decor though. In the end, Bean’s got two stars through the appetizers (chorizo, flaky empanadas) seemed to be a bigger hit than the entrees (standbys that you’d expect), and there were some drawbacks: “The kitchen is too cozy with salt, even for those who consider salt a friend. The salsa disappoints, and service is inconsistent. And no, you can’t order a margarita.” (Always good to have BYO options though.)
“Beana’s is fun, and perhaps offers a taste of what’s to come: an ever-evolving mashup of Mexican and American, even if that means the quite unexpected…”
At last count, there were more than 50 reviews aggregated on the restaurant’s Google listing, coming through Yelp, Urban Spoon, Yahoo! and others. What do you think?
Another Rahway restaurant received a favorable review last month: The New York Times on Saturday called The Rail House 1449 “only a few short steps from excellence,” with some complaints about noise and uneven service. They loved the sea scallops and dessert (the apple tart in particular), had positive things to say about the appetizers but would pass on the crab cakes, salmon and calf’s liver.
During their first visit, “the food was almost uniformly excellent, the service was spot on, and the atmosphere was warm and cozy and quiet.” It was the second time around when a private party upstairs, coupled with creaky, uncarpeted 18th century floors made for a noisy time. All in all, The Times rated The Rail House “Worth It,” behind the top “Don’t Miss” category but ahead of “O.K.” and “Don’t Bother.”
The Star-Ledger in February (.pdf) gave The Rail House 3 1/2 stars (3 stars = very good, 4 stars = excellent). There are no shortage of opinions at Open Table either, with almost 60 reviews.
The Rail House 1449 opened in December in the Irving Street space formerly occupied by David Drake, which closed almost a year earlier after almost five years in business. Have you paid a visit to The Rail House yet? Tell use what you think.
The Friends of Rahway Public Library will sponsor “The Amazing Rahway Race” on May 21, beginning at 10 a.m. at the library. Based on the popular reality show, teams of 2-4 people will compete by solving clues, completing challengs and racing through downtown. Check out this flier for more information.
Patria Restaurant and Mixology Lounge received a fairly positive review from The Star-Ledger/nj.com earlier this month. It was described as “fun and savvy, a smart, stylish mix of urban culture, food and music.”The review gave kudos for some “exciting concepts” as far as the menu — watermelon mojitos and crab cake sliders — and big thumbs up to the desserts, but “for the most part our dinner seemed like a gentrified version of Latin cuisine. It was fine enough, but not as fiery and exciting as the place itself.”