One Project Reviewed, More Detailed

Photo collage of all Frank Cretella's downtown projects.


Thursday's Planning Board meeting included a review of all developer Frank Cretella's seven proposed projects in Plainfield as well as a hearing on aspects of the most ambitious plan, for 148 apartments and 12,300 square feet of commercial/retail space.

Plaintalker has previously described the array of projects in several posts. There are seven in all, in various stages of approvals. Click here for past posts on Plaintalker II. The original blog, Plainfield Plaintalker, may also be searched by putting "Cretella" or "Landmark" in the search box.

At Thursday's hearing, parking was a key part of the discussion. Only 132 spaces are provided in the application for the five-story building on West Second Street. Even though there is no parking requirement in the central business district, Planning Board members questioned how visitors to the residential portion and customers to the commercial part of the proposed building would be accommodated.

As presented, the plan includes tenant parking only, with nine spaces for the PNC Bank, which will relocate to the ground floor of the new building.

Although the notion has been floated that many residents of the 68 one-bedroom and 80 two-bedroom rental units will not own cars, board member Ron Scott-Bey said the plan was "creating congestion" because tenants of a two-bedroom unit were likely to have two cars.

"This is Plainfield, this is America - they're not riding horses, man," Scott-Bey told architect Antonio Aiello.

A large parking garage that stands across the street was ruled out because the city and the Union County Improvement Authority, which owns the garage and adjacent office building, have never worked out an agreement on its use. Councilman Cory Storch asked attorney Jay Bohn whether the developer was willing to negotiate directly, but Bohn said the developer is already dealing with the Plainfield Parking Bureau for permits at other sites. Bohn expressed reluctance to get involved with more outside agencies over parking.

In support of the plan, board member William Toth, an architect, said a main goal of LEED (Leadership in Energy and Design) standards was to encourage pedestrian traffic and to discourage parking. Transit-Oriented Development parking requirements are "a lot lower" than what was proposed, he said.

Another issue that came up was Cretella's broad interpretation of "retail" and "commercial" uses. He recently changed an approved ground floor retail use at a Park Avenue building to 10 medical offices at ground and basement levels. Planning Director Bill Nierstedt cited a recent court case in which a developer's notice made a "vague reference" to retail/office uses, but did not let the public know it included a large restaurant with a possible liquor license. Board attorney Michele Donato said a developer must declare what he is actually doing, although he may not know all details in advance. Board chairman Ken Robertson said the case made a distinction between those who don't know and "those who are trying to get over."

Planners also asked which of the seven sites Cretella owns. At present, he does not own the PNC Bank building and the bank-owned site proposed for the West Second Street apartment/retail proposal. He has purchased buildings for other projects.

Storch, the governing body's liaison to the Planning Board , said a lot of people come to the city to talk about development, but he was not aware of many who actually purchased property. He called Cretella's acquisitions "promising."

In other discussion, Aiello pointed out details of the proposed building's facade that would make it more appealing, such as setbacks, metal cladding and parapets to give a "separate structure look." Aiello said there will be a second floor elevated terrace and a green roof system using plants such as sedums.

Late in the meeting, planners said they wanted to hear testimony on traffic, as the developer is proposing to change a one-way driveway onto Park Avenue to two-way use, while other driveways will open onto West Second Street.

The hearing wll be continued at the Planning Board's Sept. 16 meeting, 8 p.m. in City Hall Library.

--Bernice Paglia