HAP Wants City Lots, Council to Discuss

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Two city-owned lots, eyed by both the Housing Authority of Plainfield and more recently by developer Frank Cretella, will be up for City Council discussion Monday on whether they should be conveyed to the Housing Authority.

The meeting is 7:30 p.m. in Municipal Court, 325 Watchung Ave., unless rescheduled due to the predicted snowstorm.

The larger parcel on the map above, Block 247, lot 7 on the tax maps, is Municipal Parking Lot 9 at present. It spans the block from the corner of Central Avenue and West Second north to West Front Street. The smaller lot, at the corner of West Second and Madison Avenue, is a vacant parcel where twelve condos were once proposed but never built.

A team including the Housing Authority unveiled a conceptual proposal back in October to put 86 apartments on the two lots, but the group was advised to deal with the city first before returning to the Planning Board with an actual application. In December, developer Frank Cretella made public his plans for a brew pub, artisanal distillery and a green market including a "food incubator" with restaurant and kitchen space for development of  food products to supply nearby restaurants. (See post here.) Cretella's firm seeks the two parcels plus two existing buildings between them.

The discussion Monday is on an ordinance conveying the two city-owned properties to the Housing Authority. Like Dr. Yood, I hope to visit the Plainfield Public Library to view the packet for details, if available. For example, an appraisal was mentioned at the October meeting, so does the Housing Authority or the development team intend to pay for the land? The team included Cecil Sanders and Malcolm Dunn; will their roles be spelled out? Mr. Dunn says he is not involved. It was unusual to have two development entities vying for the same city property conceptually, so in fairness should Cretella's idea be part of the discussion?

One hopes the discussion will be concise, as there are two other discussion items. One is appointments to the Citizens Budget Advisory Committee and the other, dear readers, is Legal Shield.

--Bernice

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