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NJ TRANSIT’S $150 MILLION RENOVATION PROJECT BILLED AS CRITICAL MOMENT IN NEWARK’S ELEVATION TO CENTER OF INTERNATIONAL COMMERCE

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the staff of the Ridgewood blog

Newark NJ, “Today’s announcement represents the single most critical moment in Newark’s revival as a business location in a generation,” says John Saraceno, principal of Onyx Equities, LLC, owner and operator of Gateway 1, 2 and 4.   “Many companies are re-thinking their long-term plans, and the shared vision for Newark Penn Station among NJ Transit, the City of Newark, and the Murphy administration is sure to elevate Newark as a prospective location for businesses.

Continue reading NJ TRANSIT’S $150 MILLION RENOVATION PROJECT BILLED AS CRITICAL MOMENT IN NEWARK’S ELEVATION TO CENTER OF INTERNATIONAL COMMERCE

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Construction Begins at Old Sealfons Site in Ridgewood

sealfonds

the staff of the Ridgewood blog

Ridgewood NJ, construction begins at 257 East Ridgewood Avenue. The property is owned by 257 RIDGEWOOD AVENUE LLC .  The property will be known as the Enclave . In 2014 The developers of Enclave, a proposed 52-unit luxury apartment building on Maple Avenue between East Ridgewood and Franklin.  At the time it was one of  the four properties that applied for consideration as luxury apartment locations, two are on the sites of former car dealerships; one is the site of the former DMV inspection location; and the final is the Enclave.

Continue reading Construction Begins at Old Sealfons Site in Ridgewood

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Sealfon’s Project ;”minimal impact on downtown traffic” ?

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file photo

September 21,2017

the staff of the Ridgewood blog

Ridgewood NJ, at this point you can only laugh . Once again another ” independent traffic consultant” told the planning board on Tuesday night that a two-building mixed-use redevelopment project in the old Sealfon’s space would have minimal impact on downtown traffic , this time wait for it , “due to a massive reduction in the properties’ existing commercial space”. Where do they find these people? The “retail” is a teller less bank and  one retail store ?

The planning board showed great restraint not busting into laughter.  By the way where is the water going to come from?

The Enclave as it is called would encompass several properties, including that of the Hallmark Floor Company and Sealfon’s  on Maple Avenue, and would contain 39 luxury-rate apartments on four floors above one story of underground parking lot that will serve the building’s commercial units with 84 spaces. A second story of parking at street level would be reserved for tenants of The Enclave but would only contain 47 spaces 10 spaces short of what zoning codes require.

The Enclave would be the  fourth “Aronsohn” or  “3 amigo”  inspired project that followed a master plan amendment to rezone downtown Ridgewood for multifamily high density housing.

As a kicker 257 Ridgewood Avenue LLC would even be willing to add a $50,000 contribution to a fair share trust fund, which would partially fund a replacement traffic light for Maple and Franklin avenues. The would mean Village tax payers would be stuck with anywhere from $200-400,000 of the cost . Maybe the previous council majority should be asked to fund the upgrades or the developer should share ownership with the Ridgewood taxpayer ?

 

 

 

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Enclave to Host On-Site Open House at 257 East Ridgewood Avenue

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Enclave to Host On-Site Open House at 257 East Ridgewood Avenue

Enclave to Host On-Site Open House December 9th

RIDGEWOOD, NJ, December 9, 2014 – The developers of Enclave, a proposed 52-unit luxury apartment building on Maple Avenue between East Ridgewood and Franklin, will host an open house to present new data that answers lingering questions about prospective resident populations and other issues that have arisen during recent Planning Board hearings.

The meeting will be held at 257 East Ridgewood Avenue – the property that has applied to be considered to a Master Plan Amendment that would allow upscale apartments in Downtown Ridgewood – at 7:30 p.m. on Tues., Dec. 9th.

“Ridgewood’s planner has done a thorough job in modeling impacts and assessing benefits from prospective luxury apartment development in Downtown Ridgewood, but the legally required format to convey information has frustrated the public,” says John Saraceno, developer of the Enclave and himself a Ridgewood resident.

“Ridgewood residents have asserted a nearly unprecedented challenge to their planning professionals and planning board members to assure rents and household sizes,” says Mr. Saraceno.  “Some cynics believe those demands are a ploy to confound the process; but we took our neighbors at their word and we have developed data that supports the previous submissions of professionals – including those employed by the Village.  The numbers are undeniably persuasive and to sincerely interested people, the resulting data set that should allay their concerns.”

Of the four properties that have applied for consideration as luxury apartment locations, two are on the sites of former car dealerships; one is the site of the former DMV inspection location; and the final is the Enclave.  Each of the sites is zoned for office and/or other commercial uses whose traffic and quality of life impacts will be greater than the proposed residential development, but whose property tax contributions will be lower.  Each site essentially allows the same scope of development for other uses and each allows residential development.   The proposed amendment increases allowable heights modestly (by less than 4 feet) and would allow the developers to use their current buildable area (square footage) for residential rather than the currently permitted commercial or residential-above-retail.

“We have held five previous sessions in discussion formats where we can explore the data and explain things in a friendlier environment, and it is very helpful for people who are truly interested in obtaining information.  We also think that actually having people on the site will bring the project to life and demonstrate the advantageous of allowing retail rather than currently permitted uses.

“With the testimony of the Planner behind us and the final public comment period in front of us – plus now knowing the prospective resident profile – we felt it was a good time to have one last session to clear up any remaining doubts about the appeal of adding luxury residences downtown to sites where they are clearly the most beneficial, least impactful future use.”

www.downtownridgewood.com hosts a variety of documents related to the submissions to the Planning Board from the four developers applying for status under the proposed amendment.

Esurance

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Reader makes suggestions for the Enclave Development

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The Enclave at 257 East Ridgewood Avenue. Photo credit: 257 East Ridgewood Avenue LLC
Reader makes suggestions for the Enclave Development

The Enclave invites the community to an open exchange of information, pros and cons and all views, on Thursday, June 26 at 7 p.m. at the Ridgewood Library Arts Studio. I’ll certainly be there, and would like to suggest that we review these websites in advance for more background: downtownridgewood.com and citizensforabetterridgewood.com

The website for the developments is interesting. But a few suggestions:

The site should have more continuity. Each development should have its drawing on the first page. Then they should list the number and size of the units, the maintenance and the anticipated taxes.

They claim that they will be self sufficient for parking, but based on what? How many spots per unit?

There is no way that the addition of that many families will not impact congestion in the downtown.

They talk about “1.5 million net tax” but where did they pull that number from? The rumor v Reality section is not very good.

As I mentioned above, if I am going to downsize from a 4+ bedroom house I do not just want a smaller residence. i expect the carrying expenses to be downsized too. Otherwise I can buy a house in Saddle River.