Ongoing conflict over development in Montclair made the New York Times yesterday, in an article entitled Montclair’s City-Suburb Conflict Surfaces in New Development.
The article echoes concerns familiar to Baristanet readers of residents fearful of the impact that MC Hotel and Valley & Bloom “a pair of six-story buildings, an eight-story hotel and a refurbished parking deck” would have on the town.
Besides quotes from resident Jason DeSalvo (who says the developments will look “hideous”) and Martin Schwartz, Montclair planning board (“we want redevelopment — we just don’t want it to look like Route 46 New Jersey”), as well as those in support of the redevelopment (Mayor Jackson who believes the development “will liven up that corner and bring activity and life to our downtown.”) there’s also this big news about Lackawanna Plaza:
In September, the Pinnacle Companies and the Hampshire Real Estate Companies bought the plaza: the retail building, two sprawling parking lots and an empty office building. The developers hope to renovate it as a mixed-use complex, with potential plans for a national grocer, office and retail space and possibly a row of restaurants.
Fourth Ward Councilor Renee Baskerville says that while she hasn’t heard details about what the actual plans are, she and other officials are meeting with Brian Stolar tomorrow for what she hopes will be a briefing.
“The Lackawanna Plaza/ Parking lot area certainly needs to have some ‘new life!'” says Baskerville. “I hope that whatever the plan is that it will include some trees and areas of green space tastefully incorporated into the design and maintain the present height restrictions.”
Concerned about future development? The Planning Board has scheduled a public hearing for January 26, 2015 at 7:30 pm in the Council Chamber at 205 Claremont Avenue to present the findings of a study evaluating three areas in the Bloomfield Avenue/Glenridge Avenue corridor, as shown on the map below, to determine if they meet the criteria for an area in need of redevelopment. See details here.
The Planning Board should postpone this hearing until the Council fills the 3 open positions. There is no rush to have the hearing now and some of the new members might ask some pointed questions about the report. While the PB should have a quorum, the Mayor will likely abstain. This will be the largest redevelopment area in the history of Montclair and to be short-staffed on the decision sends a bad message.
Montclair’s Lackawanna Station is listed in the New Jersey Office of Historic Preservation Historic Sites Inventory. It has a National Historic Designation since 1973.
The Historic Significance Report, prepared by Columbia University states:
Once called the “handsomest and best arranged suburban railroad terminal in the United States”, it was to be demolished for new commercial development. It is now scheduled for adaptive re-use and to be centerpiece of a re development plan for this section of Montclair. Passenger service here will soon terminate for the tracks are to be re routed and a new station constructed east of here in 1981.
“The Station previous to this one was not considered impressive enough to serve as the gateway of this prosperous railroad suburb. Through a cooperative effort between the D.L.& W. Railroad and the town officials, the new terminal was built and all the surrounding area was improved. The architect was William Hull Botsford, chief architect for the railroad. Young Botsford never saw the completed station for the loss of his life in the Titanic distaster of 1912.
The Building was placed on the National Register of 1973. The Station is Pictured in Lawrence Grow’s , history of the commuter railroads, On The 8:05, p.85. also see: The American Architect”, Vol. CIV, Nov 19, 1913, pp.193-199. Station and surrounding area are pictured and the construction details are discussed.”
(note: The Lackawanna Station’s facade seems to be a copy of the Opera House of Verdun, demolished in WWI. The glass globe lighting (some still in place) became a status symbol locally and some residents installed them on the entry gates of their properties. Thomas Edison, from West Orange, has recently developed the light bulb.
https://youtu.be/NdsLBupTNcc this is a link to the 1943 trailor of the film Cheaper by the Dozen, depicting the Gilbreth family of Montclair. In the full version of the film there is a departure scene at our Lacakawanna Station.
While looking for that segment, I found a film clip that shows the Gilbreth Family and some glimpses their house on Eagle Rock Way and of bustling local streets … Dr. Lillian Gilbrath (mother of the 12 children) and her husband were motion study experts for american Industies.
https://archive.org/details/OriginalFilm
i agree with Frank R about postponing the hearing until proper preparation for such an important descision and the planners seem biased against preservation and are promoting overdevelopment.
“planners seem biased against preservation and are promoting overdevelopment ”
(my opinion, not frankr’s… sorry frank!) … and there are no statistics or impact studies presented to be able to make a correct descision.
Has anyone questioned why all the new development is being done by the same company?
frankgg, good work on the background and very interesting. I agree that the meeting should be postponed but I would think Pinnacle doesn’t want that. They want to move fast so the town doesn’t have time to really look into it. Also I agree with jerseygurl, why only one developer doing all of this? Inside track? Knows people?
@Jerry Agree!
@Frank Thanks for the historical info, quite interesting.
@Jerseygurl everyone can certainly question it but when it comes to private property sales, we cant really control the sellers bid choice.
I also want to point out that this review was a consolidation of 3 proposed redevelopment zones (Seymour, Glenridge & Lackawanna) into a single, comprehensive redevelopment zone because it was deemed a ‘holistic approach’ to the entire Montclair Center was a smarter way to go.
So, the clear message is redevelopment (and TDRs) is the priority over making the PB appointments. The appointments will have languished for 3 months. Of course. the council doesn’t seem to make this connection.
Whatever happened to Clever Commute by the way? Sorry, can’t find another place here to post this query?
Ah – I was curious why so many shops were closing within Lackawanna Plaza (I live across the street from there.) I think all that’s left in there is Pathmark, Popeye’s, Dunkin, Romano’s, Radioshack, and the Laundromat.
Truthfully, I don’t mind Pinnacle buying up the property – hopefully they’ll do something more than the previous owners did (read: nothing.)
I am for preservation for the high cultural & artistic value of Montclair’s emblematic buildings as well as GOOD development, done with intelligence and respect.
However, I am EXTREMELY opposed to poor planning and this type of construction, for Montclair… or anywhere. https://www.nj.com/news/index.ssf/2015/01/massive_edgewater_apartment_complex_fire_left_more.html
@brigattista – Hmmm…still here…better than ever. Please drop us a note via our (recently-overhauled) website.
OMG I thought the State of NJ took their license away after the Siena Mold Fiasco
https://montclairlocal.net/2011/12/on-the-siena-mold-tour/
As my wife said, “Quaint kind of goes out the window when the average property tax is $17 thousand.”
I’m fine for building something large above and near Lackawana Station as long as it has some architectural detail and keeps what needs keeping. There is a lot of emptiness now, so plenty of room for economic activity.
It’s fine to build on the Pathmark parking lot as long as we go in with the understanding that a that a 10 story mixed use/parking structure on just that one lot could easily be over a 1,000,000 sf of space. Hopefully, technology will eliminate the need to visit the Main Post Office.
Lets not forget 2 things; 1 – Pinnacle bought buildings across the street from their Valley and Bloom project. Expect more of the same on the other side of the street and maybe even the police station. 2 – Will this be more of the same? Boxy design and build with no studies done on traffic, water usage (remember we are already at full usage), effect on existing infrastructure such as sewage and etc. More traffic, water use and sewage. BUT remember we will get more taxes……..well, in a decade or so because they will all be in the PILOT program. So what did we do that helped Montclair in this development? We got full taxes from the project in a decade or more, we spent more money on water plants and usage, we had to build more infrastructure to support the new buildings and residents and the traffic is now on the level of NYC. Fun….
Its unlikely that anyone would shed a tear if Lackawanna Plaza goes the way of the wrecking ball. What goes in its place, though, could be even worse than whats there now. Given Pinnacle’s track record in town, I wouldn’t expect much.
amen claremont!…Thank You…I hope that everyone in Montclair will understand what you are saying before more harm is done.
A broken pipe cancels the first scheduled hearing and now a blizzard will likely cancel this one.
There is already some bad karma around this MC Redevelopment Area.
Nice NYT article, but where’s the ending? It leaves off with loose ends dangling and no real conclusion. A few comments: NYT should have included more opponents to counter mostly pro-development voices featured here. If there is a conflict, then surely more than just 2 people are opposed. Regarding Mayor Jackson’s argument, an abandoned car dealership is undeniably aesthetically unappealing, but it is the sheer bulk and volume of what it is being replaced with that’s the issue. It’s like removing a CVS and replacing it with the Sears Tower! Finally, and most disturbingly, the idea of re-locating township offices to a new Lackawanna Plaza development is tantamount to subsidizing the developers! That’s a “sweetheart deal” if ever there was one, and would be like the City of New York leasing 90 floors of the new WTC to “support the project!” If a development is unable to attract enough legitimate commercial tenants, then it should not even be built! Period.