NOVEMBER 5, 2015, 5:43 PM LAST UPDATED: THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 5, 2015, 6:16 PM
BY STEVE JANOSKI
STAFF WRITER |
THE RECORD
RIDGEWOOD — Local officials expect plans to construct a parking garage in the downtown commercial district to progress quickly after the overwhelming support showed by village voters in Tuesday’s referendum.
The referendum was non-binding — meaning it was only meant to take the public’s pulse, said Mayor Paul Aronsohn. But now that the public has okayed it, shovels could hit the ground as early as next spring — even though the project’s size and design haven’t been finalized, he said.
A rendering of the proposed parking garage in the downtown commercial district in Ridgewood.
“We’ve zeroed in a lot of this — we have a sense of what it could look like,” he said, noting the council has been considering a four-story, open-roofed rendering. “We’ve been very aggressive … in the way we approached this.”
The mayor anticipates nine to 10 months of construction for the garage, which is expected to benefit local commuters who use the village’s train station, as well as customers of the downtown’s shops and restaurants.
Although the ballot question asked voters to approve a bonding of up to $15 million to fund construction, Aronsohn said it would likely be more in the $12.5-million range. The referendum gave the question 3,236-1,777 voter approval. Village officials said voter turnout was around 30 percent.
