One is Municipal Parking Lot 9, which extends from the corner of Central Avenue and West Second Street and jogs north to West Front Street. The other lot is at the corner of West Second Street and Madison Avenue.
"Cut your deal with the City Council before you come to us," Planning Board Chairman Ken Robertson advised the team that includes Wendell Martin of Matrix Real Estate Group, the Plainfield Housing Authority and the Plainfield Community Development Corporation.
Martin said an appraisal of the property had been completed and negotiations with the governing body will begin soon.
Planning Board members had many other questions in the session Thursday, regarding the project's effect on affordable housing numbers, emergency access to the buildings, traffic flow, trash removal, loss of downtown parking at Lot 9, the small size of the proposed one-bedroom units and access to open space for residents.
Presenting themselves as West Second Street Association LLC with the tentative name "Cove Apartments," the team said the $23.6 million project will be financed by a combination of low-income housing credits, NJ HOME, NJHMFA and other sources. Once completed, the mortgage will be $6.5 million, Martin said. He predicted the project would have "tremendous economic impact" on the downtown area.
The proposed 1-, 2- and 3-bedroom units will have rents ranging from $850 to $1,550 and each unit will have a washer and dryer and its own "Magic Pak" heating and cooling system. The three buildings will be five minutes from the main train station.
Of the three 6-story buildings, the one on the lower part of Lot 9 would have 67 units. The second one would have retail space on West Front Street and 22 apartments. The third, on the southeast corner of the block, would have 15 apartments and a commercial laundry.
The conceptual hearing was for discussion only and was non-binding on either the Planning Board or the presenters. Planning Director Bill Nierstedt said the small lot was part of a redevelopment plan and might need an interpretation by the Zoning Board of Adjustment.
Any future land use application for the project will be subject to the new Transit-Oriented Development Downtown zoning ordinance and to rules governing apartment size in the Central Business District. One-bedroom units must have 750 square feet, while the plans discussed Thursday called for 600 square feet. Nierstedt said that amount fell between a one-bedroom and a studio at 500 square feet, and would require a variance.
The block where the developers hope to build already has a large apartment complex on the Madison Avenue side. On a block just east of the site, developer Frank Cretella has proposed 148 apartments. Most recently, newcomer Mario Camino has announced plans to built three stories of apartments above a former bank building on Park Avenue. Nierstedt said the Planning Division is tracking all the approved and proposed apartment developments downtown.
--Bernice
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