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Valley Renewal : building a new facility, not renewal
I didn’t realize that the current building is about 540,000 square feet and that the proposed “renewal” is somewhere between 1.1 and 1.44 million square feet. I think this doesn’t qualify as a renewal, renovation or even an expansion.
When you increase something from it’s current size to twice or maybe 2.67 times it’s size i’d say you are building a new facility. Imagine if you went down to the building department in Ridgewood and wanted to put in a giant underground parking garage, expand your house to the boundaries, raise the height of your home substantially, and tell them construction will at best last 10 years. After they finished laughing, they would politely throw you out.
This project is way beyond the scope of a renewal. Imagine Paramus Park Mall on that property. I’m sure Valley can come up with revised plans with lower room counts, a smaller footprint, less digging, less height, better setbacks so it keeps more within our community. p.s. i don’t live anywhere near Valley.
