Tag: downtown Ridgewood.

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In Bergen County, an upscale downtown struggles for answers

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“This news article, about the increased number of storefront vacancies in an “upscale” Bergen County downtown, may be of interest to many of you, particularly since Joseph A. Banks Clothiers shut their store on East Ridgewood Avenue last week.” Boyd Loving

Editors note : “I am a  Joseph A. Banks customer , yet I never set foot in that store , always shop on line ” PJ blogger

By Fausto Giovanny Pinto | NJ Advance Media for NJ.com

on January 22, 2017 at 7:30 AM, updated January 22, 2017 at 7:32 AM

ENGLEWOOD — Signs that advertise available space are prominent on the windows of empty storefronts along Palisades Avenue in the heart of Englewood’s downtown shopping district.

A man walks by two empty storefronts on Palisade Avenue in downtown Englewood.Fausto Giovanny Pinto

Officials and realtors say the changing landscape of retail shopping has affected this area, filled with ritzy boutiques, chain stores and a host of eateries.

“Englewood is not the only one with empty stores,” said Carol Rauscher, president of the Englewood Chamber of Commerce. “Two things have contributed to the decline, online shopping and off-price stores, and that’s something we don’t have and won’t get.”

Recent departures from downtown include Victoria’s Secret, Chico’s, Nine West and Wendy’s. The downtown currently has a 5 percent vacancy rate, according to recent survey by the city’s Economic Development Corp.

https://www.nj.com/bergen/index.ssf/2017/01/in_bergen_county_an_upscale_downtown_struggles_for_answers.html#incart_river_home

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Proposals call for senior apartments, luxury duplexes in downtown Ridgewood.

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Proposals call for senior apartments, luxury duplexes in downtown Ridgewood.

March 9, 2015    Last updated: Monday, March 9, 2015, 1:21 AM
By CHRIS HARRIS
STAFF WRITER |
The Record

RIDGEWOOD — More than two acres of land downtown could soon be transformed into luxury duplex apartments or assisted-living housing for seniors.

Ridgewood issued a request in September seeking proposals from developers for the 10 properties — including the former gas station site at 132 Franklin Ave. — that make up the village’s redevelopment zone.

The plan from Kensington Senior Development, based in White Plains, N.Y., calls for two structures: a 60-foot-tall residential building — with 98 assisted-living units and 5,000 square feet of retail space — and a parking garage the village would own and operate.

The garage, which will be accessible from Walnut Street, would add more than 130 much-need parking spots to Ridgewood’s downtown, said Harley Cook, one of Kensington’s founding partners.

Cook said Ridgewood could expect an additional 18,000 visitors each year to the village, should his plan gain the appropriate approvals.

https://www.northjersey.com/news/plans-seek-to-transform-downtown-ridgewood-1.1285094[/fusion_text]

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Sounds Familiar : More development pressures in Bergen

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Sounds Familiar : More development pressures in Bergen

News and commentary from Bergen County’s many municipalities besieged by heavy-handed development proposals underscores boiling dissatisfaction with plans for gross changes in heretofore cherished communities.

Ordinary residents can’t accept claims that big development won’t bring negative impacts, and they can’t understand why their elected and appointed officials and “experts” paid with local property taxes buy into those claims.

Montvale’s Hoboken-based “master planner,” who touts experience developed in Johannesburg and elsewhere in Africa, has told locals that state planners encourage denser development than has prevailed in Bergen traditionally.

That requires zoning changes blessed by planners and local officials alike. The blessings can lead to snags. Montvale’s mayor has told residents he testified in court for four days in a lawsuit brought by The Great Atlantic & Pacific Tea Co.

In a case that has received virtually no public attention, A&P makes the thunderous charge that Montvale is guilty of “spot zoning” in favor of one family of local farmers and their development partners.

Whether or not the court agrees, proposals in Montvale and elsewhere in Bergen are pitting the few against the many.

Kurt F. Kron

Montvale, Nov. 21

 

https://www.northjersey.com/opinion/opinion-letters-to-the-editor/the-record-letters-tuesday-nov-25-1.1140816