photo by Boyd Loving
May 4,2017
the staff of the Ridgewood
Ridgewood NJ, the Pike Company made a very impressive parking garage presentation to the Ridgewood Village Council . Pike uses a pre-manufactured system , like a modular home ,and they have been doing so for 15 years.Pike looked at Hudson Street ,and came up with a precast approach to the Hudson Garage . The reason for pre-cast is to keep down the cost and also cost controls.
Pike was founded in 1873 and is a billion dollar company ,has no debt and no law suits .Pike views Ridgewood as a good risk and they would front the costs ie… a “no money down ” deal.
Pike used aerial drone footage and then semi imposed the proposed garage on the site . Pike pointed out that there would be fire access on all sides of the garage . Pike said there would be no encroachments on any easements. The company seemed to go to great lengths to fit the garage into the Central Business District ,be respectful to Mount Carmel Church and think through the logistics of building the garage unlike in the past. Planning included everything from lighting ,safety to the brick face.
Pike offered many options including even a management lease option .According to Pike the project would take about 8 months of construction with cost estimates for 240 spaces coming in at $8 million dollars. Pike would provide all financing using lender mandated requirements .
Unfortunately, despite the fact that the new price tag is significantly less than when the Aronsohn cronies were running the show, this parking garage is still destined to become a financial disaster of major proportions. I predict that parking rates throughout the Village will skyrocket and parking times will be extended in an attempt to raise revenues. This will kill the restaurant business for sure, and maybe even some service businesses and retail stores. Unless the garage is filled to the brim, it won’t even break even. The only way to fill it is to force all commuters there. An operational and financial fiasco in the making. Just you wait and see.
Our nightmare has arrived,,beware of strangers bearing gifts…
Their claim to fame is that they build a lot of WalMarts, he said. That should be attractive!
Message to fellow Ridgewood taxpayers: We are screwed, big time. Why you ask? Because, the most of the questions posed by Village Council members during Wednesday night’s meeting dealt with the proposed garage’s appearance. They’re way, way too focused on how the thing will look. Few questions about finances; I guess it’s more important how it looks than how we’ll pay for it. There was even talk about spending a minimum of $600K over the current estimate in order to get a better looking facade on one side. Are you kidding me?????????? It’s a parking garage. No matter what color or texture it is, you’re not going to be able to hide the fact that it’s a parking garage. So why spend even one penny above and beyond what Pike tells you they can build it for? Nuts I say, simply nuts. You just wait and see.
Will be a ruinous littered blockhouse prefab drug and mugging center across from an historic church and neighborhood
Fish and others will be long gone as the price of this boondoggle comes upon the taxpayers
STOP this mistake now
Sounds perfect. Build it. Quickly.
Just one question–where did Pike come from? Any relatives or friends of the powers that be getting paid on this?
Pike is a well known billion dollar company doing work all over the country
I would defer to Rurik Halaby whther this is worth it or not.
But seriously, I am getting disappointed that the VC is still discussing for a garage. I thought it was over. There are so many other needs around the village. If they care so much about appearance then pave the whole village streets. It would make it look a million times better than a pretty garage facade.
build it , please
Please build it. We are in need of parking.
Heart sinks. What if we built NOTHING, EVER? Just repair what we already have.
Unfulfilled demand equates to a business opportunity. That is, an opportunity for someone to make BIG MONEY. So, if parking spaces are indeed such short supply, why hasn’t a private parking provider materialized? The answer is simple – there is no opportunity to make money because there is no unfulfilled demand. Smoke and mirrors is all it is.
My prediction is that the council has already decided to move forward on a garage that will fit on the Hudson space. The new garage proposed offers 240 spaces in total. I believe we have something like 80-90 spaces there now so we are picking up 150-160 additional spaces. Will that solve the parking problem?? of course not. I think it will end up being used as a commuter parking garage which will free up spaces in other lots. Adding another level adds about 60 extra spaces.
Churches and Schools in that neighborhood area need to rally the local community against this huge mistake. Because once it is built it will become a neighborhood buster as well as a money looser that will be another tax burden loadstone around the village home owners who will have to bear the tax increases on home properties or sell? This is being
foisted on the village taxpayers by the developers and the restaurants.
If it is such a great idea then bid it out to parking companies at 80 %private
20 percent VOR share..This will be an epic mistake for the VOR to take this on.