Well, we guess you could assume it by taking a gander at his rock-star locks, but Dick Grabowsky, one of Baristaville’s two big real estate tycoons, is no banker. In today’s Ledger, Phil Read reveals that Grabowsky won’t give up any of his empty rental properties in downtown Montclair to house (shudder) a bank.
As you may recall, there’s an effort underfoot to bring a new bank into the property now occupied by Karl’s Appliances, and many people aren’t happy about the fact that banks seem to be taking over the suburban landscape.
“Banks close at 5 or 6 p.m., and they go dark,” Grabowsky said. “That does not contribute to Montclair becoming a full-time day and evening retail or restaurant environment.”
His holdout property was once a bank, evidenced by the “Night Depository” still protruding from the location, but Grabowsky said it’s not the best spot for one. Nor was his property across the street a couple years ago when he held out amid offers from banks before leasing space to the Rascal’s Comedy Club.
Grabowsky, meanwhile, envisions a Bloomfield Ave. that will be unrecognizable in a few years:
“In five years, we’ll not be able to recognize Bloomfield Avenue. We’ll have an upscale look of a town like Summit or Westfield or Red Bank.”
Perhaps, though, we’re already more successful than those towns. At least if you measure it by the cost of trying to park there. The Barista, who happened to be in Summit the other day, noticed that a quarter went much further in the parking meter. Forty-five minutes or something like that. If Montclair becomes even more of a destination, what will we be paying for on-street parking then?