The Redevelopment Agency will receive another $100,000 in redevelopment fees from Metro Rahway, currently under construction on Campbell Street.
Continue reading Agency to get additional $100k in fees for project
Tag Archives: West Cherry Street
Redevelopment Agency, A&M settle for $215,000
The Redevelopment Agency approved a $215,000 settlement with A&M Industrial Supply last month, a year after the company filed suit in a dispute over relocation assistance.
A&M had been located on Campbell Street between Elm Avenue and West Cherry Street until last year when the property was acquired as part of the 116-unit Metro Rahway development that broke ground this summer. The Redevelopment Agency discussed the litigation in closed session during several of its meetings this year, including a 30-minute closed session at its Nov. 13 meeting.
A&M, which is still located in Rahway, filed suit in November 2012 seeking $300,000 and the settlement came about after court-ordered mediation in October. The agency will be required to make the $215,000 payment by the end of the year but admits no fault, Redevelopment Agency attorney Frank Regan said.
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| April 2013 |
A&M Industrial claimed that the agency, through Executive Director Peter Pelissier, agreed to provide relocation assistance in conjunction with selling their property to Heartstone Development. However, Regan said commissioners never formally approved and authorized payment nor was the agency ever obligated to provide assistance since it was not acquiring the property.
The only times the agency has provided relocation assistance in the past has been when it acquired properties itself, he said, such as the former Bell Drugs property on Irving Street for the YMCA’s expansion and as part of the Rosegate project on East Hazelwood Avenue. In the case of Metro Rahway, Heartstone Development acquired the parcels for the project, including the 1.56-acre A&M site on Campbell Street.
The dispute has its origins in 2005 when A&M Supply — after learning a few years earlier that its property was part of a redevelopment plan — sought relocation assistance from the Redevelopment Agency. The economic downturn delayed the project, including several changes to the plans, and A&M at times was not prepared to relocate, needing to find a suitable new location, according to the lawsuit. Heartstone acquired the A&M site in 2012 and got the project moving again.
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| November 2013 |
A&M was close to securing a new property that it had to close on by February 2013, according to the lawsuit, when in October 2012 it had been advised that the Redevelopment Agency would not be providing assistance, prompting the litigation.
A&M’s suit claimed that a Nov. 7, 2005 letter from Pelissier confirmed that the agency had adopted a resolution authorizing a redevelopment agreement with Heartstone that included $300,000 in relocation assistance. Minutes of the Redevelopment Agency’s Dec. 15, 2005 meeting indicate that commissioners were presented with the Nov. 7 letter from Pelissier to A&M, however, there’s no record of a resolution being approved.
Initially, A&M sought more funds, pointing to similar relocations in Carteret that received between $600,000 and $700,000 in assistance. The company claimed that Pelissier presented its request for additional funds to commissioners and a Dec. 22, 2005 letter to the firm indicated that its request was rejected, with the $300,000 offered previously being “all the funds that will be allocated.” The Redevelopment Agency, however, was unable to find records of executive session minutes going back to 2005.
Metro Rahway aims for late spring 2014
Construction has officially started at Metro Rahway, the 116-unit rental complex near the train station, and is expected to be ready for leasing in “late spring 2014,” according to this report. The four-story, $18-million project on Campbell Street between Elm Avenue and West Cherry Street will replace the A&M Industrial Supply building, which was demolished in June. A&M Supply was still in litigation with the Redevelopment Agency over relocation compensation and appeared headed for mediation last month.
Proposal for Lot B grows to 196 units
Developers are expected to return to the Redevelopment Agency later this year to present an updated vision for two downtown buildings proposed for Lot B on Main Street.
City Council approves PILOT for Metro Rahway
Lost amid the news of Mayor Rick Proctor’s resignation last week was the fact that the City Council approved a 15-year Payment In Lieu Of Taxes (PILOT) and financial agreement for the Metro Rahway project.
Continue reading City Council approves PILOT for Metro Rahway
Metro Rahway: $72k v. $265k v. $430k
The 15-year Payment In Lieu Of Taxes (PILOT) requested by Metro Rahway would be $265,000 annually, according to a revised ordinance (O-35-13) that the City Council is expected to approve tonight. The council will meet for a combined conference agenda/regular meeting at 7 p.m.
PILOT considered for Metro Rahway project
City Council is slated to approve the fourth Payment In Lieu Of Taxes (PILOT) for a new development in the last 18 months. The governing body last month introduced an ordinance for a PILOT for Metro Rahway and will have a public hearing and final vote at its meeting on Monday night.
Metro Rahway adds 13 parking spaces
A new plan for Metro Rahway will net an additional 13 parking spaces after acquiring an adjacent lot and adding a fitness center and leasing office to the original proposal. The Planning Board on Tuesday night unanimously approved an amended site plan, relaxing the parking requirements under the city’s redevelopment plan.
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| Building to left was acquired. |
With the addition of 20 spaces as a result of acquiring 91 W. Cherry St., a leasing office and fitness center was added to the Campbell Street side, eliminating seven spaces from the parking garage, according to Clay Bonny, managing member of Heartstone Development. He told the Planning Board that the project probably would be completed by about August 2014.
The 116-unit rental project on Campbell Street between Elm Avenue and West Cherry Street originally had about 107 on-site parking spaces in a ground-floor parking garage and another 18 on-street spaces (a ratio of 1.07 per unit). The additional 13 spaces will bring the total spaces provided to 138 (120 on-site), for a ratio of 1.18 — closer to the 1.25 required in the redevelopment plan. The added parcel also reduces the impervious coverage from 75 percent to 72 percent.
The addition of Lot 6 also allowed for moving the West Cherry Street entrance a little further away from Campbell Street as well as increasing the side setbacks, reducing the building’s footprint. Another adjacent property is for sale by owner but Bonny said it would not affect his project enough to acquire it.
Metro Rahway acquired 91 W. Cherry St. (Lot 149, Block 6) in May for $157,500, according to property transaction records. The property, assessed at about $110,700, paid almost $6,700 in property taxes last year. In all, The developer has spent almost $3.5 million to acquire the six parcels that make up the 1.6-acre Metro Rahway site. The six lots were most recently assessed for a total $1.285 million, generating property taxes of about $77,750.
One longtime West Cherry Street resident spoke during the public session of the meeting, supporting the project but raising concerns about the lack of on-street parking.