The crowd at the train station redevelopment plan public workshop. (Photo by Brian Donohue. Click to enlarge.)
By BRIAN DONOHUE
Gene Horowitz asked for “a lot of speed bumps” on the streets.
Peter Cavalier suggested builders reconnect the long disjointed north and south sections of Pearl Street to create another route through a traffic choked neighborhood.
And dozens of attendees scribbled on sticky notes wishes like “No high rises,” “No Rahway Here,” and “bike/walking connection from Drs. James Parker Boulevard to train station.”
Those were just a few in a dizzying whirlwind of requests by Red Bank residents in the first public workshop for a planned redevelopment of 13 acres around the Red Bank train station Wednesday night.
Peter Herms, owner of the Red Bank Armory Ice Complex adds a note asking for parking for his ice rink, which currently leases part of a NJ Transit train station lot for its customers. (Photo by Brian Donohue. Click to enlarge.)
And while officials from the company planning to build the project did not attend, it also became clear by the end of the evening what they are expected to ask for: a tax abatement.
“We anticipate they will be asking for a PILOT,’’ said Susan Favate, partner with borough planning consultants BFJ Planning, using the acronym for Payment In Lieu of Taxes. “But we are not at that stage yet.”
Favate was referring to Denholtz Properties, the developer who owns multiple properties around the station and which has been designated by NJ Transit as the builder of a proposed high density “Transit Village” on the eight acres of the redevelopment zone it owns.
About 75 people attended the meeting at the Red Bank Senior Center where borough officials and planners solicited input on the plans being drawn up for the zone, designated in April by the Borough Council as an area in need of redevelopment.
Following a presentation by Favate on the redevelopment process, attendees headed to displays on various aspects of the design to discuss and submit comments with post it notes; or place green or stickers on illustrations of design elements they liked or disliked.
Green stickers meant people liked a design element. Red, not so much. (Photo by Brian Donohue. Click to enlarge.)
Favate called the project, and the process of getting it done, a once in a generation opportunity that needs strong public input to succeed.
“You do have input in this matter,” she said. “You will be helping us write the plan.”
Favate said planners hope to have a draft redevelopment plan before the borough council by the end of the year.
“It basically becomes the new zoning for the area,” Favate said. “So it’s really important that we get it right.”
The preparation of redevelopment plans is often a delicate push and pull between municipalities and developers, as communities push for things like public amenities, affordable housing and density limits; and developers ask for tax abatements and other concessions from the town.
It became clear Wednesday that a request for tax abatement is expected to be part of the equation.
Christopher Otteau, managing partner of Otteau Group, a Matawan-based real estate brokerage and consultation firm who has worked with Denholtz Properties said he was not sure if a final decision had been made by the developer about seeking a PILOT.
But he added, “No developer would go through this process and not ask for it, in my opinion.”
The next step in the process, as outlined by Favate, is for Denholtz to come forward with a plan.
NJ Transit has selected Denholtz as the designated developer for “The Center at Red Bank”, which its web site describes as a “multi-phase, mixed-use project will include residential and retail spaces, as well as structured parking facilities servicing residents, commuters, employees, and visitors.”
The web site gives no specifics for the number of units, or square footage of residential or commercial space. But it says twenty percent of the apartments will be dedicated as affordable housing.
“The development will include beautification of the station area, historic preservation of the Dan O’Hern Train Station, improved circulation and station access, and enhanced social and environmental sustainability, with a new public square and increased tree canopy and green space throughout.”
As for the specifics behind all that, Red Bank residents had no shortage of ideas, from green space to preserving parking for the Red Bank Armory Ice Complex.
And those ideas, included, in at least one instance, not giving the developer any tax abatement.
“I really have a strong objection to negotiating something with the developer with the sole purpose of increasing his profits,” said resident Mary Ellen Mess, a comment which drew applause from some of those in attendance.
Moments later, planning board member Wilson Beebe stood to provide a counterpoint to the argument that a PILOT agreement would deprive the borough of future revenues.
Of the thirteen acres in the redevelopment zone, he said, eight are owned by New Jersey transit and currently pay no taxes at all.
Do you value the news coverage provided by redbankgreen? Please become a financial supporter if you haven’t already. Click here to set your own level of monthly or annual contribution.
