Urban redevelopment expert Richard Polton of Value Research Group said Monday Plainfield has assets that will blossom when coupled with an anticipated one-seat ride to Manhattan.
Polton is working with the city's visioning study group to shape the city's future in the 21st century. The city already has great architecture, a tradition and history of diversity and a level of sophistication in the community, all of which should be taken advantage of while awaiting transit development that will provide a one-seat trip to New York City, Polton told the City Council.
Opening up of the Raritan Valley Line within the coming decade could make Plainfield's housing market part of the regional market, he said, stressing the need for "great housing," based on home ownership or rentals. He urged the council to let the market decide.
"I'm suggesting you keep an open mind," he said.
Polton said downtown residential density could succeed through a "balanced approach" based on access, parking, neighborhood amenities, good architectural design and proper scale. Possible residents might include young couples, college graduates and empty-nesters.
To work, creation of a downtown community might require from 200 to 400 new residential units, he said. The most important thing is to "create the framework" for development, he said.
Asked by Councilman Adrian Mapp what the governing body should consider to help decisionmaking, Polton said if a developer proposes a self-financed project , city land use boards would say whether it meets the city's plans or not. Otherwise, the city might have to offer municipal land, tax abatements and other inducements, which he said was more likely to be the case.
When Councilman William Reid asked whether Polton had any idea when the city would attract developers, Polton said, "If I really knew, I wouldn't be sitting here, I would be out making tons of money."
Polton said he did not think the city would see development until the transit situation improves dramatically, targeting 2014 as the time when the one-seat ride may be realized.
The visioning process is ongoing. To learn more about its inception, go to the city's web site and scroll down to "New Vision for Plainfield. "
--Bernice Paglia
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In my opinion the "bright future" for Plainfield that hinges on the one-seat ride into Manhattan is a fantasy that will be exploited by both developers and Pollyanna politicians.
ReplyDeleteThe chance to gather momentum towards parity in the Raritan Valley sweepstakes passed about five years ago. That's when the Union Station caught on; Fanwood, Garwood, Cranford and Raritan started to develop their train station villages; and Somerville turned toward mainstream respectability. In the next five years Bound Brook's perennial flooding problem will be solved. By comparison we're still at ground zero, still studying, still talking. The only developer who's managed to build anything is a bottom feeder whose project induces widespread scorn.
The Netherwood station is in a progressively dilapidated stretch of closed or marginal storefronts, including an adjacent fire station whose long term viability is in question. We just allowed a potential lynchpin (look it up, Jerry) development site to become a charter school and added a supermarket where there was no need for one.
The Plainfield station is surrounded by collapsing buildings, bail bondsmen, bodegas and bars, not the kind of downtown that attracts young professionals looking for a place to put down roots. And what's the secret grand stroke to spur redevelopment? To buy a 100 year old masonry building that's not good to anyone without millions of dollars in renovations.
And as far as the one-seat ride itself goes, I don't believe it will happen within the fore-seeable future. In Paul Mulshine's column (blog?) that CLIPS linked to on Sunday, there were some commonsense points made about the likelihood of funding continuation for the ARC Project which cast reasonable doubt on its completion. Even if it does get done, 2014 is a complete fantasy; 2020 would be a better guess.
By that time, Union, Cranford, Garwood, Fanwood, Bound Brook, Somerville and Raritan will have eaten our lunch many times over. And by that time who knows what the work situation in Manhattan will be like? To assume that job growth in the center will continue unabated is about as smart as that which assumed that all home values would continue to rise. If the jobs trend continues to be stagnant or reverses then so will the need for transit villages.
Sometimes, even Sarah Palin is right about that hopey- changey thing.
Would be nice to see developers interested in Plainfield. Were I a developer though, I would take notice of the many issues such as commercial properties in dilapidated condition, broken windows, mish-mosh of styles and an over abundance of low-end retail stores. Need there be a "GAP OUTLET" to not be considered low-end? No..absolutely not. And nice looking doesn't mean it needs to look like Westfield's design/decor...but it could be clean and well kept to start.
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