Published in the Star-Ledger, Thursday, March 6, 2008
[Landmark Developers]Orange ends deal for new housing
Project put on hold for lack of progress
BY KEVIN C. DILWORTH
Star-Ledger Staff
The Orange City Council has voted to terminate an agreement with a housing developer to construct market-rate housing, including a high-rise apartment building, in the city's Valley section.
The 2006 redevelopment initiative would have covered 10 lots, including the Bravo supermarket on Scotland Road, but is now on indefinite hold, Marty Mayes, the city's director of development, said yesterday.
Frank Cretella, manager of Landmark Developers, also known as LMD Orange Urban Renewal Co., said in a letter to city officials that he tried to make the dream come true, but found no investors and he himself determined the venture to be way too costly.
"We're going to look for another developer, but we're not going to look for one right away because we want to concentrate on other redevelopment areas, primarily the (former) Hospital Center at Orange site, and two former hat factory sites," Mayes said.
Those three housing initiatives are expected to finally take shape this year, officials have said.
In a Feb. 13 letter to Mayes, Cretella wrote that building market-rate housing on the Bravo store site, part of Orange's Central Valley Redevelopment Area, is not financially viable.
"My anticipated acquisition costs, along with the relocation fee to Bravo, bring my cost, per dwelling unit, too high," wrote Cretella, whose Landmark Developers firm is based in Jersey City. "In addition, the project, as designed now, in accordance with the redevelopment plan, calls for a seven-story structure.
"The cost of constructing a seven-story-versus-a five-story structure is about $50 per square foot higher," Cretella said. "We had analyzed redesigning the project to five stories, as well as decreasing the average unit from 1,150 square feet to 950 square feet, but I still feel our cost basis remains too high.
"I also have not had any success in attracting other investors or developers in today's market," Cretella said.
Should the city of Orange find a replacement developer to undertake the market-rate housing venture, all architectural plans, tests and appraisals will be provided to them and to the city, Cretella promised.
That is not the only Orange redevelopment project that has been sidelined.
The multimillion-dollar clustered-brownstone residential community in the East Main Street redevelopment area, a 2 1/2-square-block area near the East Orange border, has been sidelined since September 2005.
The two property owners -- Nicholas Del Spina Jr., of Dell Spina LLC, operator of Truck Body East, and Allied Health Care Systems, a 6,400-square-foot medical equipment rental and supply business at 64 Main St., filed a lawsuit as part of an eminent domain fight with the city.
The owner of each property complained they operated viable businesses and should not be forced to give up their livelihoods for the proposed 283-unit residential brownstone community.
That case remains in litigation, officials said.
The three Orange developers whose housing developments are about to finally see the light of day -- partially because of 20-year-long payment in lieu of tax deals the city council approved -- are:
Metrovest -- the $100 million Avenue at Orange
Following a projected year-long asbestos removal effort that is expected to get under way soon, every building on the 8.8-acre, long-closed hospital site will be demolished.
That will pave the way for the construction of a midrise building complex called the Avenue at Orange, which will consist of 375 luxury one- and two-bedroom condominiums, 18,995 square feet of retail space, and a 12,000-square-foot community center with a pool and gymnasium.
F. Berg Hat Factory -- the $10 million Valley Renaissance Center
Berg Development Urban Renewal Associates -- a consortium consisting of the nonprofit Housing and Neighborhood Development Services agency in Orange, the Alpert Group of Fort Lee, and Ironstate Holdings LLC, a division of the Applied Development Co. of Hoboken -- is behind the plan to convert the building into a residential and commercial locale.
The new structure off Nassau and Jefferson streets will feature 29 condominiums on the upper floors and artist's studios and artist-related retail spaces on the ground level.
No Name Hat Factory -- a $1.4 million artist's loft residence
Harvard Development Associates LLC, a co-developer with the Housing and Neighborhood Development Services Inc. agency in Orange, plan to convert the three-story, century-old building at Mitchell and Jefferson streets into 16 lofts where artists will both live and work.
Kevin C. Dilworth may be reached at kdilworth@starledger.com or (973) 392-4143.
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Published in the Star Ledger, Thursday, February 21, 2008
In a hat tip to past, city sells factory
Old Stetson site will become housing
BY KEVIN C. DILWORTH
Star-Ledger Staff
A proposal to transform one of the old Stetson hat factory buildings into artists' residence cleared a major hurdle after the Orange City Council approved the sale of the structure to a consortium of developers.
The council voted 4-3 Tuesday night to sell 540 Mitchell St. for $300,000. Those opposed to the sale argued the price was too low.
"My issue is, and has been, the price," said Councilman Edward Marable. "I'm not convinced that the price is fair and equitable."
But supporters said the sale would lead to a transformation of what is being called the Valley Arts district.
"We will restore this historic landmark building, and make it a destination, with artists living and working in the renovated struc ture," said Patrick Morrissy, direc tor of the nonprofit Housing and Neighborhood Development Services (HANDS) Inc. organization, a partner with a consortium of developers known as Harvard Development Associates, said yesterday.
"We're going to buy the property next door, demolish it, and then build a new building, with 14 artist live-work lofts, and it will be connected to the historic struc ture," Morrissy said.
A century ago, the building partly comprised the Stetson family's "No Name Hat Factory" complex. It is just one of several properties that the city of Orange, as part of a Aug. 2, 2006 contract, is obli gated to sell to the consortium. It is all part of the city's Central Val ley Redevelopment Plan.
That plan calls for breathing new residential and business life into that section of the city, where 33 hat manufacturing firms were part of a renowned hat manufacturing capital, between the late 1800s and early 1920s.
Today, the area today is dubbed the future Valley Arts District, and the consortium, that also includes Alpert Group LLC of Fort Lee, and Ironstate Holdings LLC, a division of the Applied Development Co. of Hoboken, is responsible for transforming a five-block area, along Jef ferson Street, into a community for artists.
The sale of the building was approved by council members Has san Abdul-Rasheed, Tency Eason, Vivian Gaunt and Lisa Perkins. In addition to Marble, council members Donald Page and Coram Rimes voted against the sale.
During the meeting Tuesday, questions were raised about the appraised value of the building, and why the city should not renege on its contractual obligation, risk a lawsuit, and accept a $400,000 bid and sell the building to someone else.
Marable, along with Janice Mor rell, chairwoman of the Orange Zoning Board of Adjustment, chastised city officials for getting just one appraised value on the building, and for using that single figure to seal a deal, without any negotiation.
The Rev. G. Wiggins, who iden tified himself as the pastor of the Memorial West Presbyterian Church in Newark, said the city was making a big mistake by not accepting his counteroffer to buy the building for $100,000 more.
A contract is a contract and such a suggestion is unethical and illegal, Jewel Thompson-Chin, the city's business administrator, told the religious leader, city council and the public.
"Why backstab our partners?" Thompson-Chin asked rhetorically. "That is not how we do business in the city."
Orange, as part of an approved redevelopment agreement with the consortium of developers, is obli gated to "convey parcels out, as part of that redevelopment plan," to the developers associated with Harvard Development Associates, Thompson-Chin said. "We cannot consider his (Higgins) offer."
Marable agreed, and cited how the council has a fiduciary responsibility and "good faith" obligation" to live up to its agreement with the developers.
Higgins disagreed.
"This is a bad decision," said Higgins, who suggested Orange break its contract with the developers and risk the unethical backlash that might result.
"A black eye is better than selling (Orange's) future down the tubes," Higgins reasoned.
Councilwoman Tency Eason said she was baffled by Higgins stance.
Up until last month, "I never heard of him or his church," Eason said. "He came out of nowhere."
Now that the boarded up 540 Mitchell Street is in the hands of the approved developers, the city is better off, Eason said.
"It's a great opportunity for the city," Eason said. "It'll be a great project. It's going to revitalize the Valley (neighborhood). It's been so long, and now, to see some life come back to it. Everybody should be happy."
Higgins could not be reached for comment yesterday.
Kevin C. Dilworth may be reached at kdilworth@starled ger.com or (973) 392-4143.
Online story here. Archived here.
(Note: Online stories may be taken down by their publisher after a period of time or made available for a fee. Links posted here is from the original online publication of this piece.)
(In accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. Section 107, this material is distributed without profit to those who have expressed a prior interest in receiving the included information for research and educational purposes. Plainfield Today, Plainfield Stuff and Clippings have no affiliation whatsoever with the originator of these articles nor are Plainfield Today, Plainfield Stuff or Clippings endorsed or sponsored by the originator.)
Published in the Star Ledger, Friday, January 25, 2008
Hearing set on sale of factory
Residential, work lofts planned in Orange
BY KEVIN C. DILWORTH
Star-Ledger Staff
Orange has scheduled a public hearing on the planned sale of one of the old boarded up factory buildings, where John B. Stetson and his family built a thriving hat manufacturing business in the 1800s and early 1900s.
The hearing and final vote on selling 540 Mitchell St., a three-story brick building that was part of the famed Stetson family's No Name Hat Factory complex, is scheduled for Feb. 19.
The city is planning to sell the building to a partnership proposing to create residential/work lofts.
The final vote on the sale had been originally scheduled for Jan. 15, but was postponed after the last minute discovery of a sales price typographical error.
"It was a mistake within my department and I take full responsibility for it," Marty Mayes, the city's director of planning and development said.
Some 40 supporters of the planned affordable housing community showed up at the meeting to support the proposal offered by Harvard Development Associates LLC, a co-developer along with Housing and Neighborhood Development Services Inc. (HANDS) nonprofit agency in Orange.
The sale's figure was supposed to be $300,000, not $330,000, and that correction must be the subject of a new public hearing, along with a second and final city council vote, Mayes said.
If the measure is approved, the co-developers plan to spend more than $1.4 million to gut the structure and transform it into affordable residences. The developers also plan to construct another building on an adjacent lot. In all the development would have 20-30 artists live-work lofts, according to Patrick Morrissy, the housing agency's executive director.
"We're very excited about it," Morrissy said of the No Name Hat Factory building's plans.
The boarded up hat factory, next to NJ Transit's rail line and its Highland Avenue rail station, has been an unoccupied eyesore for more than 20 years.
The factory complex originally was built by Stephen Stetson, along with his sons, including John B. Stetson. The Stetson family collectively created what became Orange's third largest hat manufacturing business, the No Name Hat Factory.
John B. Stetson trademarked the Stetson name and built his own hat manufacturing empire under his world-renowned name, in Philadelphia. Yet, neither he nor any of his other family members in Orange could ever come up with a name for the factory there, other than, No Name.
Morrissy said he remains cautiously optimistic about the rebirth of the No Name Hat Factory struc ture.
"What you'll have is this old turn-of-the-century factory building, which is three stories, plus a full basement, that will be completely rehabilitated," Morrissy said. "And then we're going to build a new building, south of it, facing Jefferson Street. It will be a two-year-long project."
Kevin C. Dilworth may be reached at kdilworth@starled ger.com or (973) 392-4143.
Online story here. Archived here.
(Note: Online stories may be taken down by their publisher after a period of time or made available for a fee. Links posted here is from the original online publication of this piece.)
(In accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. Section 107, this material is distributed without profit to those who have expressed a prior interest in receiving the included information for research and educational purposes. Plainfield Today, Plainfield Stuff and Clippings have no affiliation whatsoever with the originator of these articles nor are Plainfield Today, Plainfield Stuff or Clippings endorsed or sponsored by the originator.)
Published in the Bergen Record, Sunday, December 23, 2007
How EnCap pair played winning hand
By JEFF PILLETS
STAFF WRITERS
State officials investigating the EnCap Golf debacle are probing the close personal and professional relationship between EnCap's lead attorney and a major dirt vendor who won a $14 million contract at the troubled landfill project.
The lawyer is Eric D. Wisler, a senior partner in the powerful DeCotiis firm of Teaneck.
The contractor is Leroy I. Robinson, a part-time political operative from Essex County who managed to win millions in government contracts while working as a maintenance foreman for the Garden State Parkway.
He is also the unindicted co-conspirator mentioned in federal documents from a corruption investigation in Monmouth County, according to one of the disgraced officials involved in the scandal.
The 10-year relationship between Wisler and Robinson has been beneficial to both.
Robinson, as a commissioner of the Essex County Utilities Authority, approved millions of dollars in no-bid legal work the authority gave to Wisler as general counsel.
And Robinson gave Wisler's wife, Merry, a job working for yet another of his ventures, a title-insurance company with offices on the 15th floor of Newark's landmark One Washington Square.
For his part, Wisler helped Robinson set up a private fill-supply partnership with the chairman of the utilities authority. And it was Wisler who led Robinson to the EnCap contract.
"I was out with Eric and they were looking for a fill provider,'' Robinson said last week in an interview at his attorney's office. "That's how it all got started.''
Robinson and his attorney, Patrick Collins of Franzblau Dratch in Livingston, said they have been questioned extensively by investigators working for state Inspector General Mary Jane Cooper, who for the last 10 months has been probing how EnCap secured $300 million in public financing.
Robinson acknowledged that Cooper has forwarded information about his dealings with Wisler to the state Attorney General's Office, which is evaluating Cooper's findings for possible criminal prosecution. Both Cooper's office and the Attorney General's Office declined comment for this article.
In a statement Friday, Eric Wisler denied that there was anything improper in his relationship with Robinson:
"EnCap urgently needed to bring in a contractor who could provide immediate fill that met state standards. [Robinson's company] was a qualified fill and transfer operator who EnCap believed would get the job done. They were brought on after others had failed, and any suggestion that my wife's brief time there in a clerical position was a factor is an absolute lie."
A separate statement from EnCap itself echoed Wisler's.
Many of the cost overruns and construction delays that hobbled the project stemmed from EnCap's inability to obtain and manage the 8 million cubic yards of fill material needed to cover the old Meadowlands landfills at the heart of the golf village venture.
While Robinson's 2004 contract with EnCap obliged him to supply clean fill at a price of $2.85 a cubic yard, he was largely unable to deliver material at that price, and later submitted estimates as high as $20 a cubic yard.
Robinson's company has sued EnCap, saying it still is owed $1.3 million for the dirt it delivered before the project collapsed earlier this year. Robinson said the company received $5.7 million.
Robinson blamed fill problems on EnCap's incompetence and "complete failure" to manage daily operations at the 795-acre site in Lyndhurst and Rutherford. The developer, he said, also reneged on promises to furnish a processing center onsite.
"They're trying to lay all the blame for EnCap at my feet, and that isn't fair,'' Robinson said. "This project was messed up beyond belief.''
Robinson and his attorney also downplayed his 10-year business and social relationship with Wisler, and dismissed the suggestion that their mutual success in collecting taxpayer money through public contracts was at all related. He said he employed Wisler's wife for only two to 2½ years, and claimed she was paid nothing at first and just $20,000 to $30,000 total, doing secretarial tasks.
"Leroy Robinson is a qualified fill contractor and Eric Wisler is his friend, that's the end of the story," said Collins, Robinson's attorney. "Leroy gave Merry Wisler a job because she was a friend, a bored housewife looking for something to do. The idea that there is any quid pro quo is ridiculous.''
Collins did, however, concede that Merry Wisler's employment with Robinson was "a serious lapse of judgment on Wisler's part.''
"I'm sure he regrets it, because now he's answering questions about it from the state,'' Collins said.
Tied to scandal
Court documents filed in September by U.S. Attorney Christopher Christie in the ongoing Monmouth County scandal describe a kickback and money-laundering scheme involving someone identified only as "C-1," a "co-conspirator not named as a defendant."
Former Keyport Mayor John Merla, the brother of the defendant in that case, told The Record last week that Leroy Robinson was "C-1."
The former mayor was one of 11 officials arrested in 2005 in Christie's "Operation Bid Rig" investigation of public-contract awards. He has pleaded guilty to bribery in the scheme and has been sentenced to a 22-month prison term.
Robinson and Collins declined to answer any questions about the federal investigation.
Michael Drewniak, a spokesman for Christie, declined to answer questions about Robinson.
The court papers describe how undercover federal agents wearing concealed wires recorded a series of meetings in 2004 between Keyport businessman Joseph "JoJo" Merla and "C-1."
Federal prosecutors say "C-1" greased the conspiracy's wheels by writing money-laundering checks for consulting work that never happened. On one check, "C-1" wrote: "Consulting Services Fill Protocol.''
In state documents concerning the EnCap project, Robinson is described as a fill-protocol consultant. One of Robinson's companies, LIR-Consulting, was set up by Wisler, who is listed as the partnership's registered agent.
State records also list the DeCotiis firm as registered agent of the Uptown Keyport Bar and Grill LLC. According to John Merla, Robinson and his mother were once partners in the business; another brother, Charles Merla, owns it now.
Joseph Merla pleaded guilty to conspiracy in September of this year; federal authorities have requested that his sentencing be postponed until March, pending his "continued cooperation in an ongoing investigation."
Won dubious loans
In recent months, The Record has reported extensively how Wisler and another DeCotiis attorney won a series of lucrative concessions for the EnCap projects from state regulators overseeing the project.
State documents and interviews with top regulators showed that the firm was instrumental in engineering an unprecedented series of low-interest state loans that made the project possible. Former Department of Environmental Protection Chief Bradley Campbell and Treasurer John McCormac both said they opposed a loan but were told by the Governor's Office to make it anyway.
With the loan now in default and EnCap verging on extinction, state officials admit taxpayers may be stuck with a $51 million bill for part of the loan proceeds that cannot be recovered.
Terms of the loan and a series of environmental breaks -- including permission to bring millions of tons of contaminated materials to the EnCap site -- were largely negotiated by Wisler during the McGreevey administration.
At the time, Wisler's law partner, Al DeCotiis, was James McGreevey's chief fund-raiser, while another Wisler partner, Michael DeCotiis, was McGreevey's chief counsel.
Documents recently obtained by The Record show that McGreevey's first attorney general, David Samson, scolded Wisler for holding inappropriate private meetings about EnCap with McGreevey Cabinet officers. "This is not the first time you have been warned,'' Samson wrote in a 2002 letter to Wisler.
"This project was clearly one that the Governor's Office wanted, and there was little chance that anyone could stop it,'' Campbell, the former DEP commissioner, said in a recent interview. "Eric Wisler and the DeCotiis firm clearly had a lot of influence.''
Checkered past
It is unclear if the state ever looked into Robinson's checkered employment record with the state before approving his exclusive contract to supply 2.5 million cubic yards to be placed near the surface, above the landfill caps that were to be installed at the EnCap site.
In 1999, Robinson was suspended from his $92,000-a-year job for allegedly stealing paint from the New Jersey Highway Authority. Investigators said he gave the paint to a friend in South Jersey who owned a chicken farm and was seeking poultry contracts in Atlantic City -- where Robinson served on the convention center board.
Three years later, Robinson was placed on leave again after a private detective hired by the authority videotaped him routinely cutting hours from work to run errands or relax at home.
Robinson denies any wrongdoing on his parkway job, from which he retired in July 2005 with a pension of $3,200 a month. He said he was easily able to manage all his part-time ventures, including political fund raising, fill work and affirmative-action consulting, while working for the parkway.
Robinson's success in winning major public contracts while working as full-time highway foreman for the state underscores how closely private and public interests can intersect in New Jersey.
Consider Robinson's record with the Essex County Utilities Authority, an agency where he served as one of nine commissioners -- including periods as vice chairman and a steering-board member -- from August 1997 to February 2003.
Robinson won his appointment to the authority after volunteering as a fund-raiser and minority-outreach worker for Gov. Christie Whitman's 1997 reelection campaign. He was officially nominated to the board by then-Essex County Executive James Treffinger, another Republican, who was sentenced in 2003 to a 13-month prison term on a federal corruption conviction.
As a board member, Robinson voted on millions in spending, including legal fees paid to the authority's general counsel -- Wisler -- with whom Robinson was forging close ties as a friend and legal adviser.
Robinson also formed a business partnership with another board member, Nutley Township Commissioner Mauro Tucci. In 2001, Wisler filed papers with the state declaring himself the registered agent for G & I Associates, a fill-supply company that had Robinson's suburban Maplewood home as its address.
Under Tucci's chairmanship of the authority, the agency board approved millions in fees to Wisler and the DeCotiis firm. In Bloomfield, where Tucci worked as township administrator and Robinson was awarded a lucrative "affirmative-action" consulting contract, the DeCotiis firm was paid $350,000 for legal work between 2001 and 2003.
Robinson resigned from the utilities authority in June 2003 as it was preparing to get bids on a five-year, $9 million contract to dispose of ash from the county incinerator. Although five firms submitted bids for the exclusive contract, the winner and low bidder turned out to be a business partner of Leroy Robinson.
Robinson and Newark demolition contractor Ted Fiore formed a company called LIR-Fiore registered to the address of Robinson's consulting and insurance office.
Tom Barrett, a spokesman for the utilities authority, said that after winning the contract in February 2004, Fiore directed the authority's financial officer to send all paperwork, including bimonthly payments and invoices, to LIR-Fiore's office in Newark.
"We had no way of knowing Robinson was involved,'' Barrett said.
Robinson denied being partners with Fiore at the time the ash contract was awarded to Fiore, and said he didn't join the partnership until several days later, when, he claimed, Fiore approached him to help finance a bond needed in connection with the contract.
Robinson disclosed his financial interest in the contract on a 2005 state ethics form.
Competitor removed
For Robinson and Fiore, who did not respond to requests for an interview, the Essex County contract tied in nicely with their developing plans for EnCap. Robinson said he planned to mix some of the highly contaminated incinerator ash with sewage sludge and dump the mixture at EnCap.
EnCap demurred on the ash, but Robinson and Fiore moved ahead with their plans to supply other fill.
The Robinson and Fiore team was the third in a succession of haulers who had at one time been tabbed by EnCap as a main fill provider for material above the cap.
One of the spurned companies, owned by prominent New Jersey hauler Nicholas Mazzochi, lost out to Robinson after obtaining a DEP permit to do the EnCap work and building a $5 million facility for the work.
Mazzochi said Wisler engineered his removal from the site so EnCap could gain control of a huge amount of clean material he already had placed there.
"They forced me off the site, ordered me to remove my fill, but then a year later take control of it themselves and plow it under,'' said Mazzochi. "I was screwed beyond being screwed, and it was all engineered by Eric Wisler to make money in that rats' nest they created in the Meadowlands."
Robinson's contract gave him huge influence over the environmental health of the future EnCap development, a site where 5,000 people were to live eventually. As a "fill broker" for the project, Robinson was charged with finding clean material and policing hundreds of haulers who arrived there every day.
He was, in essence, a watchdog for the largest redevelopment project in New Jersey history.
RELATED LINKS
Video: Trump tours EnCap
Video: Guided tour of the development site
Letter to Senate Pres. Codey from Inspecter General Cooper
DEP list of violations by EnCap
Meadowlands Commission Web site
More coverage on Encap
* * *
Some key figures in probe of EnCap deals
• Eric D. Wisler: Partner in DeCotiis, FitzPatrick, Cole & Wisler; lead attorney for EnCap; former attorney for the Essex County Utilities Authority.
• Merry Wisler: Wife of Eric Wisler; former employee of Leroy Robinson.
• Leroy Robinson: Partner in LIR-Fiore, a major fill provider for EnCap; former member of the Essex County Utilities Authority board.
• Ted Fiore: Partner with Leroy Robinson in LIR-Fiore; partner with Robinson in Essex County ash-disposal contract.
• John Merla: Former mayor of Keyport; pleaded guilty in January to a single federal bribery count and is due to begin a 22-month prison sentence next month.
• Joseph "Jo-Jo" Merla: Brother of John Merla; pleaded guilty in September to a single federal count of money laundering.
• Mary Jane Cooper: New Jersey inspector general; expected to release a report in coming weeks on her office's investigation into the EnCap project.
• Mauro Tucci: Former board chairman of the Essex County Utilities Authority; formed fill company with Leroy Robinson.
Staff Writer James Quirk contributed to this article. E-mail: pillets@northjersey.com and brennan@northjersey.com.
Online story here. Archived here.
(Note: Online stories may be taken down by their publisher after a period of time or made available for a fee. Links posted here is from the original online publication of this piece.)
(In accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. Section 107, this material is distributed without profit to those who have expressed a prior interest in receiving the included information for research and educational purposes. Plainfield Today, Plainfield Stuff and Clippings have no affiliation whatsoever with the originator of these articles nor are Plainfield Today, Plainfield Stuff or Clippings endorsed or sponsored by the originator.)
Published in the Asbury Park Press, Tuesday, December 11, 2007
A blip in beachfront boom
Esperanza halts condo construction
By Nancy Shields • COASTAL MONMOUTH BUREAU • December 11, 2007
ASBURY PARK — The Hoboken developer building the 224-unit Esperanza high-rise on the city's beachfront says it is temporarily closing down the construction site and sales office.
Dean Geibel, president of Metro Homes, said the company recently informed the city that it was halting construction and sales "until such time market conditions allow us to move forward and successfully complete this important luxury beachfront development.
"We are convinced that the national mortgage crisis now impacting real estate markets around the country represents a temporary setback, and we remain fully committed to Asbury Park and its rebirth," Geibel said in a telephone interview Monday.
Geibel said there are sales contracts on about 70 of the condominium units in the two-tower building, which is three stories out of the ground and is being constructed on the site of the failed C-8 condominium project that dogged the city for 17 years until Metro Homes imploded the unfinished steel skeleton in the spring of 2006.
Geibel said the money people put down on their units is being held in escrow. "It's too early to decide how they'll be impacted," he said.
The Esperanza promised buyers beachfront homes with hotel amenities in an architectural design that evokes images of waves and ships.
"I understand what they're going through, and I do not blame them," said City Councilman John Loffredo, who said that Metro Homes had told the city a couple of months ago that it might have to alter the design.
Loffredo, who wants the Esperanza built as is, said redesigning it would mean starting over with the city's technical review committee and Planning Board to get a new project approved.
Metro Homes' decision comes as Madison Marquette, the national retail developer, has formed a joint venture with master developer Asbury Partners and is restoring and renovating the Paramount Theatre and Convention Hall, the Casino, the Power Plant and boardwalk pavilions.
Upbeat outlook
City Manager Terence Reidy said he talked to about 50 investors at a luncheon Monday at the Market In The Middle restaurant downtown.
"I feel badly about this hiccup with Metro Homes. Dean has come to us and said he's regrouping. This is a good time to do it, in light of winter and the market. I think it's a positive strategic move for Dean. . . . We'll be there and work with him every step of the way."
"I think what is so significant about Asbury Park is a solid stream of people coming in to fix up homes, starting businesses," Reidy added. "The foundation is so strong in this city now that it's not built on one person, one developer, one project. . . . It's literally built on thousands of people who are coming in saying, "This is where I want to live.' "
Bob Davis, president of the Rumson-Fair Haven Bank, which plans to open a fourth branch to be known as the Asbury Park Community Bank in the city's downtown next April, said he did not think the news about Metro temporarily closing down affected his bank's project.
Local businessman Steve Troy, who is on the city's Planning Board and a leader in the Chamber of Commerce, did not like the news that Metro is shutting down, saying it is happening at a time when the city's revival seems to be particularly successful.
"This (Metro Homes) really is more a statement about the turmoil in the real estate market than the future of Asbury Park," Troy said.
Deputy Mayor Jim Bruno said he found out about Metro Homes' decision on Friday.
"They have to regroup, may have to downsize it, refinance it," Bruno said. "I guess they're not going to have enough money to finish this project. It won't be as high-end as they thought it would be."
South end slowdown
With the site between Third and Fourth avenues closing down, it will mean that only Paramount Homes is still building on the waterfront north of the newly reopened and renamed Berkeley Hotel.
Earlier this year, Kushner Cos. made significant changes in its housing investments, and its affiliated company, Westminster Communities, halted going forward on its second block at the south end of Asbury Park next to Wesley Lake. Westminster opened a new sales office at its existing site of townhomes and condominium flats to sell those units already built.
Larry Fishman, chief operating officer of Asbury Partners, the master developer that bought up the waterfront and sold off parcels to individual developers, said Monday that a number of companies, including Madison Marquette, are interested in buying out Westminster's real estate interests.
Gary Mottola, Madison Marquette's president of investments, could not be reached for comment.
"Asbury Partners is very sad that the current financing and real estate market has caused Metro to suspend construction on the Esperanza," Fishman said.
"It's a great building in a fabulous location," he added. "Reported sales were going well in terms of pre-sales and prices despite an overall negative market. We are hopeful Metro will be able to start construction soon or sell to another developer."
Fishman said the building was designed three years ago and Metro may require certain modifications that affect both the marketability and profitability.
Fishman said he could not comment if his company could decrease the amount of money it is slated to make as the master developer on the Esperanza.
Geibel said Metro Homes is not stopping construction or sales or any of its other projects, including the huge Trump Plaza Jersey City condominium project. Metro and partner Donald Trump are the builders.
"There are some adjustments that have to be made," Reidy, the city manager, said. "We don't live in a static environment; we live in a world that is in flux. I think Metro Homes is a solid organization and I think they have a very positive vision. We'll work together."
CARE TO COMMENT?
angelface wrote:
dankaplan, if you reread my comment, there is no mention that my business failed. I simply stated I moved my business to a thriving, safe area. Not sure about the tillie guy but I do know a few business that left. I know many people who moved out of Asbury in the past year. My business did pretty good in Asbury. I left once again, because of the bs in Asbury and mainly because of the trash. Living there, I witnessed many a morning, prostitutes, crack addicts, etc. and many times heard gunshots. I simply thought my life was more deserving. If you must know I opened my business in Lavalette. I , once again, thought Asbury was going to be the Old Asbury we all loved. As for advice my dear, this is my third location I opened so I evidently know what I am doing. By the way I have been back to Asbury , I know quite a few of the merchants. They tell me the truth of what is going on. Not impressed . Did you hear about the family held at gunpoint on Cookman. ?
12/14/2007 7:30:34 PM
dankaplan wrote:
Angelface, I'm sorry to hear that your business failed. It seems like you and Tilliesdead had bad experiences in Asbury Park. Opening a business is a significant endeavor and can take planning, including a contingency for failure. I hope you have such a plan for your new business in the other town. What town is it? What type of business? I hope this time you sought the advice of someone who could develop a business plan with you. If you come back to Asbury Park sometime, you can see the families, singles, couples, young and old attending events along the waterfront. The rest of Asbury Park is cleaning up, and currently there is a variety of levels of "cleanliness". Currently, I'd recommend only about 3/4 of the city to families with children, and much less at night. That will change. It is a good feeling to support a place that has such a brighter future over the next few years and decades. I hope you have found something that you can support, be happy with, and be proud of.
12/14/2007 9:55:52 AM
angelface wrote:
I jumped on the boat 3 years ago!!!!! I JUST JUMPED OFF!!!. I not only lived in AP , I opened a business. I was so sick of the BS in that town, never mind the rapes, shootings, burglaries, gangs, etc. I was pro ASbury, defended it everytime someone knocked me down and told me I was crazy. They were right. Yes, Asbury has lots of good people living there but the bad is BAD, very ugly and scary. I now live in a very peaceful area where I hear the ocean in the still of the night, not gun shots. My business in thriving in another beach town where families cann not only go to the boardwalk but can walk ALL over the town. Yes, progress has been made but they should put more effort in cleaning up the streets first then the waterfront . Good Luck to all. Its so sad what is happening to what was once a beautiful beach town. They missed the boat trying to sell the upscale crap. The new Asbury will never be the old Asbury. The other reason I left.
12/13/2007 9:31:03 PM
AsburyFuture wrote:
I have a problem with building low income housing by the beach as well. It will not work. Just look at the souyth west section of town. That is the area that needs the most help. Fix up the neighborhoods there, not shift people around. People need to learn how to take care of themselves before they can take the responsibility of owning their own home in the tourist area. No one wants to see people throw garbage on the ground, or people who don't know how to rake leaves etc... I don't see the benefit of putting low income housing in the tourist area.
12/13/2007 4:05:33 PM
SilverSurfer wrote:
OK what was that article. That guy died for his nice or daughter or something to that extent BUT SHE WAS IN A GANG>>>>> They weren't trying to hit him; they were going for another gang member. I'm sure he knew she was in a gang. It's sad true, but think about it this way 2 gang members of the street. And maybe that girl will rethink about being in a gang and start to convince others. Unfortunately the world need martyrs. Stopping gangs starts at home.
12/13/2007 3:39:58 PM
Emile wrote:
>>>So people get shot every now and again. They probably deserve it<<< Yeah, Silver, they probably deserved it: http://thecoaster.net/wordpress/?p=1668 I guess you subscribe to the Sharpe James school of sociology - "They ain't shootin' at me!"
12/13/2007 2:53:33 PM
SilverSurfer wrote:
IT DOES NOT STOP AT THE BEACH FRONT. THE BEACH IS FOR THE UPPER CLASSES which is fine . It gives me something to aspire to. If they put AFFORDABLE HOUSING ON THE BEACH I WOULD BE PISSED OFF because i would not qualify. Why give the poor the best location????? That�s Madness.
12/13/2007 2:19:24 PM
SilverSurfer wrote:
Ok I've been reading posts on all the stories. I find it pretty funny how people just go after any thing about AP. They say its a ghetto, everyone that bought there got ripped the school systems suck yada yada... I moved to AP 3 years ago I almost bought a house on the "bad side" I really did not care because its really not that bad. Secondly all the people that criticizes AP where do you live? I have A side walk a house with a nice size yard and 9 blocks from the beach. We have some of the best restaurants on the shore, an art community that can rival any jersey town. So people get shot every now and again. They probably deserve it gangs are a problem everywhere. Here people get shot Manalapan Egg harbor kids die too usually OD under their parents nose. No i don�t have kids and guess what if i did i would send them to private school anyway. One more thing there are at least 6 houses that have been redone or built on my block and 2 more in the process of being redone.
12/13/2007 2:18:19 PM
dankaplan wrote:
Emile,�thanks for pointing me to that Esperanza web site.� I never looked there before.� Yes, the advertiser could have done better with the boardwalk picture.� Asbury Park's boardwalk looks similar, but the diagonal boards give it more character.� Also, the benches in Asbury Park are a bit newer and cleaner looking.� I've never seen that particular girl in the surf and the bowling balls look newer than the ones at Asbury Lanes.� I guess they used artistic license.� On the nightlife page,�the bar picture looks similar to the Harrison, the microphone looks like something I'd see at Georgie's on Karaoke night and the mixing board scene is something I'd see at Paradise or the Circuit.� On the dining page, the latte looks like one I've gotten at Wish You Were Here, the red chairs at the long table look like one of the coffee shops, maybe�America's Cup.� The food looks like something I've seen on my dinner plate at Moonstruck, Isabella's, or Laila's.
12/13/2007 12:46:28 PM
Emile wrote:
P.S. If you go to esperanzanj.com and click on community, the site tells you "However you choose to entertain yourself in Asbury Park, you're promised something new, something fresh and something never seen before." Then you click on recreation, and they show a picture of AVON's boardwalk. If that doesn't speak volumes about where the developer's heads were, I don't know what would.
12/13/2007 11:18:16 AM
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Published in the Star-Ledger, Sunday, December 02, 2007
[See Hughes, Kaplan quotes]
Real estate slump has developers stymied
Perth Amboy, Carteret, East Brunswick slowed
BY SUE EPSTEIN
Star-Ledger Staff
More than $2 billion in redevelopment projects were planned in Perth Amboy, East Brunswick and Carteret, where officials hoped declining business districts and abandoned industrial spots would be replaced by luxury condominiums, townhouses and homes.
But with the real estate boom a fading memory and some housing developers declaring bankruptcy, the grand plans for redevelopment linked to housing have been shelved, scaled down and put in jeopardy. Some underestimated how quickly the housing slump would set in.
"I thought we'd just be going downhill, but we went off a cliff," said Jason Kaplan, president of Kaplan Cos., a developer with multimillion-dollar projects planned in Carteret and Perth Amboy.
In East Brunswick, where Toll Brothers has a contract to redevelop the "Golden Triangle," the formal application for the $35 million project was expected to have been submitted to the planning board already, but the plans have been delayed.
The project would replace a shopping center off Tices Lane, Old Bridge Turnpike and Route 18 with a mix of retail, office and residential units. The site currently includes the Route 18 Flea Market, Jason's Furniture, Sam's Club and the East Brunswick Transportation Center, all of which have leases running through 2008. Toll Brothers now wants to extend the leases until late 2009.
Mayor William Neary said he believes the housing market could have been the reason Toll Brothers has taken longer to file its formal project application.
In Perth Amboy, officials said Kushner Cos., developers of the $600 million Landings at HarborSide project, have delayed the start of the next phase of the project until spring because of the market.
"The question looking back historically is -- were the success stories based on regular market pressures or the housing bubble?" said James Hughes, the dean of the Edward J. Bloustein School of Planning and Policy at Rutgers University in New Brunswick. "We won't know that for several years because this downturn will last several years."
Hughes said he expects the uncertain housing market to continue to decline through 2008 and maybe longer.
"The market is almost paralyzed right now," he said.
Carteret Mayor Dan Reiman and Perth Amboy Mayor Joseph Vas said they are willing to work with developers to tweak projects and make them more marketable in today's climate.
"We have to work to accommodate the needs of the market," Reiman said. "We're fortunate that we have so much going on, not only residential but commercial. We have 13 independent projects. While some have slowed, others have not."
Reiman said the borough worked with Kaplan Cos. to redesign the Gateway at Carteret, the largest redevelopment project in the borough, to reduce the number of the townhouses offered, and their price. The borough also has seen the amount collected from building permits drop $300,000 this year, Reiman said.
Vas acknowledged that effects of the national housing slump have been felt in his city, but he said the impact has been minimal.
"It's difficult to be isolated from a national trend," Vas said. "But I'm confident about what Perth Amboy has to offer."
The next phase in the Landings project has been put off until the spring, and Vas said that the project's developer, Charles Kushner, is taking advantage of the lull in the market to fine-tune the project's specifics.
He said Kushner was examining ways to make the housing units more cost-effective than the first three buildings, so that the development can offer more for less.
Still, Vas maintained that he is not worried by the lagging sales in the national housing market. The first three buildings in the Landings at HarborSide project sold out, and he expects similar success with the additional buildings planned.
Staff writer Allison Steele contributed to this report. Sue Epstein may be reached at sepstein@starledger.com or (732) 404-8085.
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Published in the Star-Ledger, Sunday, July 29, 2007
High-rise project: Hotel Suburban becomes Vista
BY KEVIN C. DILWORTH
Star-Ledger Staff
East Orange's former Hotel Suburban, the once ritzy lodging establishment that used to draw celebrities, politicians and socialites, is getting ready to undergo a $10 million face-lift.
The long-closed hotel-turned office tower became an eyesore that has marred the city's landscape ever since it closed in the mid-1980s.
It's a dream ready to come true, according to Arij Hasan, a developer-investor who successfully bid $1.4 million to purchase the building at an East Orange municipal property auction last summer.
Hasan expects to transform the high-rise into upscale residences and lofts next year, and the idea now bears the name: Vista Towers.
"We're looking to deliver this project by the summer of 2008," said Hasan, referring to creating 100 planned condo residences, mostly one- and two-bedroom units that might sell anywhere from $150,000 to $300,000 each. "We're selling a trend, in terms of a modern, urban lifestyle building. It's all about vision. It requires a lot of ingenuity."
There also will be nine elaborately decorated bi-level penthouses, ranging from 1,200 square feet to 1,800 square feet, created between the existing top 11th floor, and a soon-to-be-added 12th floor, Hasan said.
Four of the penthouses -- two in Vista Towers' front corners, facing the Manhattan skyline, and two in the rear, facing the South Mountain Reservation -- also will feature 5-by-12 balconies.
The construction of the one- and two-bedroom condominiums and barrier-free lofts there could begin as early as late next month. The East Orange Planning Board is expected to vote on whether to give a go-ahead to Hasan's proposal at its 7 p.m. Wednesday meeting in city hall.
"We're currently in the construction document phase of the project, getting ready to secure work permits," Hasan said of the building at 141 S. Harrison St.
The building has been environmentally cleaned up and all asbestos removed from the building, said Hasan, a Newark-based developer who heads both Insight Properties and the Blackstone Group LLC.
Mayor Robert Bowser, a city planning board member, said he likes what Hasan's plans show so far, including a goal to transform a two-story, 12,000-square-foot rear portion of the former hotel into a leased day care facility, with half the roof being turned into a playground area for up to 100 youngsters, and the other half, a sitting area for others.
Plus "there will be adequate parking for residents, visitors and employees," said Bowser, referring to Hasan's plans to create 133 on-site parking spaces alongside the high-rise, and in a rear portion of the site. The underground parking lot of the former hotel has been eliminated.
The building has a rich history in East Orange, beginning as a 250-room high-class lodging facility that became renowned as the Hotel Suburban.
It opened for business on Feb. 28, 1926, when business and social references initially were required to even stay there. The hotel finally went out of business in the late 1970s.
After undergoing a dramatic facade transformation in 1978, it reopened as the Suburban Essex Tower office building. It later became known as the Essex Towers office building.
Since going into foreclosure and getting boarded up in the late 1980s, it has stood in sharp and negative contrast to the otherwise aristocratic and upscale looking charm of the other residential buildings in that same neighborhood.
"We've kept in mind the historic nature of this building," said Hasan, explaining his plans to restore the high-rise and to ensure the new facade blends in with the street's other brick and limestone-facade residences on that once-fashionable thoroughfare. "Now we're bringing it into the 21st century.
Goldie Burbage, president of the Historical Society of East Orange, said her single hope is that Vista Towers mirrors the look of the immediate area.
The pending transformation plans "will definitely upgrade the area," Burbage said. "I just pray that everything will complement the architectural features of the existing buildings."
Hasan reiterated that it will, saying, "It's going to have a modern look, but yet it will pick up some of the historical architecture."
The Hotel Suburban featured a rear first-floor ballroom that could seat up to 500 people, and later, dining facilities known as the Crystal Room, the Mimosa Room and the Rose Room.
Beginning about Dec. 31, 1960, the ultra fancy Paris in the Sky supper club opened up on a then-newly created 11th floor.
That is where club owner Dick Kollmar, a popular radio personality, along with Dorothy Kilgallen, his newspaper columnist and "What's My Line" television program panelist wife -- offered patrons, including Hollywood and Broadway stars, some of the area's best food, entertainment and views of the Manhattan skyline.
Kevin C. Dilworth may be reached at kdilworth@starledger.com or (973) 392-4143.
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Published in the New York Times, Sunday, July 29, 2007
In New Jersey, the ‘Backyard’ Up on the Roof
By ANTOINETTE MARTIN
EVEN in a thoroughly urban setting — maybe especially there — people want a patch of the outdoors to call their own, according to Dean Geibel, a New Jersey developer whose company, Metro Homes, is based in thoroughly urban Hoboken.
“Everybody wants a place to have a cup of coffee in the morning,” he said. “They need a spot where they can see the sky, and breathe the air.
“Or maybe,” he added, with a less embracing fervor, “somebody wants to be able to smoke a cigar from time to time.”
Increasingly, New Jersey developers are going above, if not beyond, to satisfy that buyer demand. They’re looking to rooftops — above a building’s parking garage or its penthouses — to create shared, or even private, garden spots, in locales as diverse as the Hudson riverfront and the East Orange inner city.
A short list of rooftop projects now under construction includes the seventh-floor space with pool and “great lawn” at the 55-story Trump Plaza in Jersey City, a landscaped deck at One Hudson Park in Edgewater (where most units have balconies as well), elevated terraces at two different condo developments on the beach in Asbury Park — one a huge open garden and the other offering individual penthouse rooftop spaces — and five small condo structures in East Orange that will have overhead lawns and patios.
“Rooftops are hot in Jersey,” crowed Tom Bauer, a landscape architect with Melillo & Bauer in Manasquan. “Finally.”
Mr. Bauer was a pioneer in rooftop development in 1979, when he had black pines helicoptered to the top of the Caesars Boardwalk Regency Hotel Casino in Atlantic City to meet a local “green space” requirement.
More than a quarter century after that Atlantic City job — when high winds and inexperience literally blew an electrician off the rooftop and down two floors, resulting in a broken arm and leg — Mr. Bauer says he is constantly busy putting green icing atop the cake, as it were.
“It is the right thing to do, for so many reasons,” he said. He cited “aesthetic improvement,” meaning that people living and working up high get to look down on garden greenery as opposed to black tar and gravel, and “environmental improvement” — the natural cooling effect of “green” roofs and their efficient use of rainwater.
In Asbury Park, where several new beachfront complexes are under construction, Mr. Bauer’s firm recently hoisted loads of soil up to the roof of Paramount North Beach and then planted ornamental grasses and ground cover around the pool deck and private garden patios.
At the other end of the beach, town homes at the Wesley Grove development are being given individual rooftop terraces.
On the central beach, the two-tower Esperanza is rising. The project, being developed by Metro Homes, will have a lavish — and lush — plaza on the roof of the parking garage between its towers, similar to the planned configuration at Trump Plaza, where a second tower is in the works, Mr. Geibel said.
The Esperanza’s fourth-floor plaza will feature a pool, a children’s water park and jungle gym, a lawn large enough for soccer and pet walking, and a “tiki hut” offering food and beverages.
“People love to eat outside,” Mr. Geibel said, “and a lot of them have jobs where they don’t even get outside for lunch. I worked on Wall Street for 16 years and could never leave my desk.
“So we make that a provision in our buildings,” he said. “Outdoor eating is allowed, and even encouraged.”
Of course, that brings up the related subject of seagulls, or pigeons, depending on the local habitat. “You just have to make sure to clean up after people eat,” Mr. Geibel said. “It’s worth the effort to have that amenity.”
Besides, Mr. Bauer pointed out, one pleasure of urban rooftop gardens is that it is possible to experience “wildlife” in the city. Mr. Bauer said he had done some “beautiful bird-watching” from that vantage point, although he conceded he had never spotted a rabbit or deer on a rooftop.
Michael Barry, a principal of Applied Properties, which has installed rooftop gardens and two pools and a children’s playground atop various roofs in its Shipyard complex of condo and rental towers in Hoboken, spoke of such space as being “neighborhood parkland.”
“We put green anywhere we can physically put green,” Mr. Barry said. “It’s simply good urban planning.” Also, he said, it is a way to help keep tenants from leaving cities for suburbs once they have children.
“During the summer, the pool area is a great place for moms and young children to gather during the day," Mr. Barry said. In wintertime, some parents take their children up to the roof to build snowmen, he said.
Snow removal from rooftops can be very challenging, developers say. Mr. Barry spoke of having to scare up a fleet of snow blowers and send out a team of maintenance workers for several days after one big storm last year.
Mr. Bauer said the reason he can’t sell every developer on the idea of a roof garden is that it costs about 10 to 20 percent more to engineer a green rooftop that is structurally sound, completely waterproof and can handle a load of snow.
In East Orange, where the start-up developers Keith Miles and Marlon Haniff are putting up 12 units in 5 buildings on neighborhood lots, Mr. Miles said he has been dragging a hand mower up and down two flights of stairs to maintain the green oasis he created atop a two-family structure on Tremont Avenue. “I think I’m going to have to build a little shed up here to hold that thing — and the snow blower,” he said.
Mr. Miles and his partner, whose company, South Atlantic Assets Holdings, is among a small group of entrepreneurs aiming to lure middle-class home buyers back to old neighborhoods in Orange and East Orange, said providing green space was crucial to that cause — but extremely difficult on small urban lots.
“So we decided to put the backyard up top,” he said. The third-floor “backyard” at 555 Tremont Avenue, which has a velvety carpet of grass, a small paver-stone patio and a gas barbecue, is only 35 by 55 feet. On the other hand, the entire lot is only 50 by 125 feet.
“Size is not the important part,” Mr. Miles said emphatically, and then he started to sound like Mr. Geibel, the builder of the 862-unit Trump Plaza in Jersey City. “You just need a little place to drink your beverage in the morning or at night, and to take a breath outside, and get a feel for the day.”
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Published in the Star-Ledger, Friday, July 13, 2007
Developer looking to rezone his townhomes
Wants age restrictions cut in Flemington
BY JOHN HOLL
Star-Ledger Staff
Citing a downturn in the real estate market, the owner of a Flemington property zoned for senior living is asking the borough for a change.
Dennis Gabinelli hopes the planning board will rezone the 2.7-acre Allen Street properties so he can make the units available to the general public.
"There is interest," he said, "just not by people who are eligible."
Approved for the project in 2005, Gabinelli completed 16 of 22 planned units and so far all of them are empty.
People age 55 and older are eligible to purchase the properties, according to the zoning rules.
The plan calls for 14 two-bedroom townhouse units priced starting at $350,000. There are also four one-bedroom units that start at $220,000. Four units are to be designated as affordable housing, with a price around $80,000.
The board was scheduled to hear Gabinelli plea on Wednesday night but continued the matter to their next meeting on July 24.
Should the board side with Ga binelli, they would need to find new places in town to meet the state's affordable housing standards.
"If the units were no longer affordable units, however, then Flemington would have to provide alternative units," said Chris Donnelly, a spokesman for the state department of community affairs.
Gabinelli's attorney, Julie Goldstein, dismissed questions that opening the units up to the general public could potentially bring new families to town who would use the borough's already overcrowded school system.
"By design, by price, these are not the types of properties that would appeal to people with school-aged children," said Goldstein.
Sue Bennett, an Allen Street neighbor, said she would just like to see the units filled.
"It's too bad seniors are not staying to be close to their children," she said. "But, we don't want to see them empty."
Following the meeting on Wednesday night, Gabinelli walked through the model unit at the complex, a town house appointed with hardwood floors, stainless steel ap pliances and cherry wood kitchen cabinets. He would like to sell to seniors, he said, but no one is buy ing. "I don't want to give this to the bank," he said. "I need help."
John Holl may be reached at jholl@starledger.com or (908) 782-8326.
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Published in the Star-Ledger, Friday, July 27, 2007
With high-rise, Rahway is now moving on up
At 16 stories, with Manhattan views, it'll be tallest residential in county
BY JONATHAN CASIANO
Star-Ledger Staff
From a barren concrete shell high above the Rahway train station, city officials and builders marked the "topping off" of the Skyview at Carriage City Plaza tower yesterday, the signature building of Rahway's extensive downtown redevelopment.
At 16 stories, it's the tallest residential structure in the county, dwarfing the rest of Rahway's modest Main Street. Its 178 feet are second only to the Union County Courthouse in Elizabeth and its upper floors offer something most folks in Rahway never knew they had -- a clear view of the Manhattan skyline 22 miles away.
But at yesterday's event, Mayor James Kennedy said it's the building's symbolism, more than its height, that makes it important to the city. After years of redevelopment talk, the towering downtown hotel provides a concrete example of what Rahway might look like a decade from now. Kennedy said the city has already received proposals for a 15-story apartment building across the street and another high-rise on the other side of the railroad tracks.
Coupled with several other downtown projects already underway, the new Rahway will be distinctly taller with far more people living in the town center.
"Because of this development we've been able to market the city of Rahway," he said. "This adds energy to the town."
When finished, Skyview will fea ture 222 condominium units and 102 hotel rooms under the Hotel Indigo brand, a new boutique chain launched by Intercontinental Hotels. It will also feature some 40,000 square feet of ground floor retail space, where developers hope to lure a gym, spa, upscale restaurant and small supermarket.
"We want to mirror Jersey City and Hoboken with similar lifestyle amenities," said Jason Pierson, one of the brokers marketing the ground floor.
Altogether, the project is ex pected to cost $101 million, said developer Carlos Silva of Silcon Group, including the roughly $500,000 his firm paid Rahway for the land several years ago. Its two- bedroom units are being marketed for around $350,000, while the tower's 13 penthouses will be priced at $800,000 and up, Silva said. From each condo sale, $10,000 is given to the city, he added.
The building isn't expected to open until sometime next summer, but with more than 100 condo units already under contract, Silva said his belief in Rahway is paying off.
"I've been an Elizabeth resident all my life and Rahway was always something of a missing equation," Silva said. "Now everyone's coming on board saying Rahway's the new New Brunswick, the new Hobo ken."
While the Skyview gives Rah way an encouraging start down that road, much remains to be seen. Skyview is Rahway's tallest project to date, but its most ambi tious -- a plan to replace City Hall and police headquarters with a new retail and residential village -- remains controversial, with some in town opposed to selling City Hall for development.
Jonathan Casiano may be reached at (908) 527-4012 or jcasia no@starledger.com.
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Published in the Courier News, Monday, July 16, 2007
Shopping, condo projects moving forward in Plainfield
By MARTIN C. BRICKETTO
Staff Writer
PLAINFIELD -- Four major redevelopment projects promising commercial and residential growth -- with more tax revenue for the city coffers and more shopping opportunities for the city's residents -- are expected to move forward in upcoming months and years, Mayor Sharon Robinson-Briggs said.
Robinson-Briggs met with the editorial board of the Courier News last week to discuss what's been happening in the 48,000-person city since she took office as its first female mayor in January 2006.
Topping her list was news about the four new developments:
-- The Teppers II project from 216 to 226 W. Front St. will replace a dilapidated building with a four-story structure combining 12 market-rate condominiums with 6,250 square feet of commercial retail space on the ground floor.
Robinson-Briggs said she expects the project by Hearstone Development LLC to be finished by next year.
-- Work is under way on the North Avenue Transit Village, encompassing the downtown train station to East Second Street and Watchung Avenue to just west of Park Avenue and West Second Street.
The project is expected to include market-rate condominiums and about 120,000 square feet of retail space across several mid-rise structures, Briggs said. City Administrator Marc Dashield said the project by Landmark Development Corporation will take place in phases, starting in about two years.
-- At Plainfield Avenue and West Front Street, AST Development Group wants to build 63,000 square feet of commercial space at the former Marino's tract, including a major supermarket, Robinson-Briggs said.
A redevelopment plan for the 7.3-acre parcel now owned by the Liccardi Auto Group of Green Brook has been in place since 2000.
"This would be a way to provide jobs for people in Plainfield and surrounding areas as well as more ratables," Robinson-Briggs said.
The project -- still years away -- would generate $190,000 in annual revenue for the city, officials estimate.
Lavallette-based AST Development -- the company responsible for the redevelopment of the downtown Park-Madison tract -- received City Council approval in August 2006 to negotiate and execute an agreement with the Union County Improvement Authority for the redevelopment of the former Marino's Tract.
-- Earlier this month, the city broke ground on a new Senior Citizens Center on East Front Street. The four-story facility is expected to include a senior citizens center and veterans meeting space on the first floor with 63 two-bedroom condominiums on the upper three floors, Robinson-Briggs said.
The new building will generate $400,000 in ratables for the city, officials say, and has an anticipated completion date of early 2008.
All four projects were highlighted during a community forum conducted last month at Washington Community School.
During the session, residents could question city officials directly on the development plans poised to transform existing streetscapes.
"We were trying to add a personal touch," Robinson-Briggs said. "We wanted to let the community know we want them included in the projects. This is their city."
Other outreach efforts
During the editorial board meeting, the mayor also reviewed other services and programs her administration is offering for the city's residents.
- With sweltering, 90-degree temperatures leaving no doubt summer is here, Robinson-Briggs said all of the city's pools at three separate locations are up and running.
- The city will sponsor outdoor film screenings in upcoming weeks. "The Pursuit of Happyness" will be shown at 9:30 a.m. in Aug. 4 at Library Park on East Eighth Street and Park Avenue.
- For young people, the city is running a job placement program that will put about 100 teenagers in touch with public and private employment opportunities for the summer, she added.
- "It really isn't enough to tell them don't do drugs, don't be in gangs, stay off the corners," Robinson-Briggs said. "We have to provide them with options."
- The city has partnered with Union County College to distribute information on how high-school drop outs can receive free GED training at the college's Plainfield campus, she added.
- Robinson-Briggs said the city is investigating an expansion of teen center services or the creation of a new teen center. Existing centers don't offer extended hours that may address the needs of the city's older youth, she said.
Sense of security
Officials also are working to create a sense of security within the city's borders. As part of Operation Taking Care of Business, police officers have stepped up patrols on foot, bike and Segway motorized scooters in Plainfield's business district to crackdown of quality-of-life crimes like loitering and graffiti.
Briggs added that officers have been rewarding children with coupons to the local Dairy Queen if they see the children wearing helmets while bike riding.
Plainfield is also one of the newest municipalities in New Jersey to undertake Operation Ceasefire, a state-funded program that uses community outreach, strategic planning and state-of-the-art equipment to reduce gun violence.
Dashield said the city has been putting the community outreach side of the program together since February with clergy members, school officials, police officers and other community members. A nonprofit agency has been selected to provide services for shooting victims.
Dashield said he expects the program to be in full force this September.
Complimenting the police efforts are smaller but important municipal beautification efforts, Briggs said.
The city, private-sector partners such as Comcast and local volunteers have worked to clear debris-filled lots and alleyways as well as other properties, including a cemetery on Plainfield Avenue, partly owned by the First Park Baptist Church.
Briggs added that, with the assistance of a local master gardner, the city has also started a community garden on Berkley Terrace to grow squash, string beans, tomatoes and other produce for its senior citizens.
The idea is already paying off.
Local Girl Scouts visited the mayor's office a few weeks ago with about 30 pounds of produce, Briggs said.
Martin C. Bricketto can be reached at (908) 707-3176 or mbricket@gannett.com
WHAT YOU CAN DO
For more information on upcoming programs in Plainfield, including the date of the next community development forum, call the mayor's office at (908) 753-3310.
Link to online story.
(Note: Online stories may be taken down by their publisher after a period of time or made available for a fee. Links posted here is from the original online publication of this piece.)
(In accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. Section 107, this material is distributed without profit to those who have expressed a prior interest in receiving the included information for research and educational purposes. Plainfield Today, Plainfield Stuff and Clippings have no affiliation whatsoever with the originator of these articles nor are Plainfield Today, Plainfield Stuff or Clippings endorsed or sponsored by the originator.)
Published in the Star-Ledger, Tuesday, July 3, 2007
Newark tries to take back city lots sold on the cheap
Some in bargain-basement deals haven't built homes, lawyers say
BY IAN T. SHEARN
Star-Ledger Staff
Newark Mayor Cory Booker is looking to reclaim acres of city land sold by the previous administration at cut-rate prices to developers who have not built the new homes they promised.
City lawyers have identified more than 250 lots and have sent out letters to 32 builders, informing them that the city will "invoke the full range of remedies," including taking back the land.
"Your purchase of the property was for the purpose of redevelopment and not for speculation in land holding," the May 16 "Notice of Default" letter sent to the property owners said. "The City of Newark has elected to invoke the full range of remedies available to it under the agreement, including but not limited to the reacquisition of title."
Several of the developers enjoyed "cozy relationships" with former Mayor Sharpe James, "and have been sitting on the properties for years," Booker said in an interview.
Most of the redevelopment contracts call for new home construction within 18 months of purchase, according to Stefan Pryor, the city's director of housing and economic development. The city reviewed properties that were sold between 2000 and 2003.
Booker said his administration also is finalizing a public land policy, which will include putting city-owned land up for bid, as opposed to the $4-per-square-foot, below-market price it was selling for. The policy should be complete within a month, the mayor said. If prices are discounted, Booker said, it will be to induce benefits that come back to the city, like building parks and utilizing local labor.
During the past seven years, under the James administration, more than 5,000 city lots were sold at cut-rate prices, in some cases to developers with close ties to the mayor or city hall.
Federal agents are investigating city land sales to developers with ties to the mayor, according to sources close to the investigation, who asked not to be identified because the probe is ongoing.
One property owner who received the May 16 Notice of Default letter is Tamika Riley, a local businesswoman who bought nine parcels from the city during the James administration for a total of $46,000 and resold them -- in some cases just a month later -- for $700,000. The city also tried to sell her three more properties in James' final months as mayor, but a judge halted those plans.
FBI agents subpoenaed city records related to Riley's land deals late last year. The subpoenas, copies of which were reviewed by The Star-Ledger, instructed Newark officials to deliver the documents to the federal grand jury that has been investigating James' travel bills and city land deals during his last years in office. Federal prosecutors last month formally notified James he was the target of the grand jury probe and likely faces indictment.
Agents also have interviewed Riley about trips she made with the former mayor in the past four years, according to two sources familiar with the probe. Investigators are trying to determine her role on the trips and who paid her expenses. The sources declined to characterize the 70-year-old former mayor's relationship with Riley, except to call them "travel companions."
The phone for Riley's business has been disconnected, and she could not be reached for comment.
James did not respond yesterday to requests for comment, but last week he delivered a handwritten letter to the Associated Press, dated June 16, denying any responsibility for the cut-rate city land deals, saying they were the responsibility of the city council.
Messages left for 10 of the property owners went unanswered yesterday, while two who responded said they have developed the properties in question and have informed the city it is in error. Newark attorney Francis Giantomassi, who said he represents three of the property owners who have been sent notices, said he has responded to city lawyers and that his clients will answer the letter.
Eight of the 32 developers did not meet a May 29 deadline to respond to the city's letter, said Booker spokeswoman Desiree Peterkin Bell.
Aney Chandy, the city's corporation counsel, said that if any of the owners has a legitimate reason for not building, or if the city's findings are inaccurate, she would be happy to hear it. But absent a reasonable excuse, she will pursue putting the properties back in the city's hands.
If the city is successful in reclaiming the land, it will not reimburse the owners, Peterkin Bell said.
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(Note: Online stories may be taken down by their publisher after a period of time or made available for a fee. Links posted here is from the original online publication of this piece.)
(In accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. Section 107, this material is distributed without profit to those who have expressed a prior interest in receiving the included information for research and educational purposes. Plainfield Today, Plainfield Stuff and Clippings have no affiliation whatsoever with the originator of these articles nor are Plainfield Today, Plainfield Stuff or Clippings endorsed or sponsored by the originator.)
