The former St. Mark’s Church property would be part of the first for-sale development downtown in more than a decade, under a concept plan presented to the Redevelopment Agency.

Become a Patron of RahwayRising.com

Three dozen, three-story townhomes across four rows would stretch between Hamilton Street and Seminary Avenue in a concept proposed by AST Development. A public park on about a third of an acre of city-owned land would be situated on the corner of Seminary Avenue and Irving Street, where a jazz club had for years been proposed.

Shane Serrano of AST Development and attorney Steve Mlenak of Woodbridge-based Greenbaum, Rowe, Smith & Davis made a brief presentation to the Redevelopment Agency during its Nov. 18 meeting.

There were no questions from commissioners before the board approved a resolution (26-20) authorizing a conditional redeveloper designation until Nov. 1 for AST Development to “allow sufficient time to finalize negotiations, and execute a redevelopment agreement, which will be presented to the Planning Board upon recommendation by the agency.” The resolution cites nine properties on Irving and Hamilton streets, Seminary Avenue and Gordon Place.

The concept envisions 36 for-sale townhomes, oriented to face the street or internally to face each other through a landscaped courtyard, according to Serrano. The two- and three-bedroom townhomes would be about 2,800 square feet, 20 to 22 feet wide, with two-car garages.

The location is ideal for a for-sale development, according to Serrano. “We generally see people plant their flag” in Rahway and eventually look beyond long-term tenancy,” he told commissioners, adding that the idea was to provide the walkability and convenience that tenants and apartment dwellers typically seek.

Downtown developments since the Great Recession have all been rental buildings [tune in to next week’s RahwayRising.com podcast for more on that], including the two that the Lavallette-based firm had a hand in constructing. Metro Rahway, which had opened in 2014 on the site of the former A&M Industrial Supply on Campbell Street, was proposed as 80 condo units before the housing market collapsed and in 2008 shifted to 116 rental units. AST also recently completed construction on Reva Rahway, a 219-unit rental development on the site of the former Center Circle athletic complex on Main Street.

“It’s early yet, there’s no survey or topographical information but this was our first step,” Serrano said. The concept plan extends some of the housing into the floodway, which they tried to avoid. Unit 36 depicted in the renderings  extends a bit into the 100-year flood plain, he said, and the same may be said for the bookend of that same building. Ultimately, there will be discussions with DEP to navigate flood hazard conditions here, Serrano said.

In addition to the former St. Mark’s church property, the five other lots are privately-owned, single-family homes that the developer would have to acquire.

After St. Mark’s church was demolished in April 2019, the Planning Board had the area studied and later designated a condemnation area in need of redevelopment before City Council designated it as a redevelopment area. Such a designation authorizes the city to “exercise the power of eminent domain to acquire properties within the study area in the event it is determined that such acquisition is necessary.”

The Hamilton Street redevelopment site is part of the Arts District Redevelopment Plan and was designated for redevelopment in August 2019. The redevelopment plan approved last year included a concept for 16 townhouses along Gordon Place and Hamilton Street and a four-story, 44-unit building on Seminary Avenue, for a total of 60 units.

If you enjoyed this post, please consider supporting RahwayRising.com by becoming a Patron.