After many months of work, plans for apartments over Park Avenue commercial space are nearing fruition. It was interesting to see these new windows over the dollar store.
The developer is also creating apartments in the building next door, which also has new windows. A couple of tenants, including a floor covering store and what appeared to be a house of worship have come and gone on the ground floor.
Here's a rear view of the adaptation to apartment usage.Plans for one of these projects date back to 2008. Click here to read Plaintalker's report.
Apartments - you know, where renters live - were considered anathema back when about 200 people took part in a two-year effort to make a strategic plan for the city's future. One of the stated goals was to reduce rental dwellings by 10 percent. About half of city residential units at the time were rentals.
How times change. Not only did these two projects get approved, many of developer Frank Cretella's proposals involve apartments rather than owner-occupied units. The target renter lately is one who is committed to the use of public transportation or who will settle for offsite parking. Plaintalker will be watching to see how things work out.
--Bernice Paglia
Too bad no place to park
ReplyDeleteUgh! Great - - more rooms for rent. Yes, rooms, not apartments - - it will eventually become another rooming facility. I hope I'm wrong; and the back of that building is an eye sore!
ReplyDeleteAnother cheap quality job for Plainfield! Complements the rest of our City's wonderful architectual treasures - - NOT!
Can someonoe get it right, please!
The misguided people who think transit oriented development is the solution to all problems, they believe people living in town don't need a car do they?
ReplyDeleteWhat they completely miss is a mid-income to upper income family will have at least 2 cars. They might take the train to work, but they have to take kids to the doctor, other errands that MOST PEOPLE want a car for. Yes you could walk to shops downtown -- BUT WHERE ARE THE SHOPS for the middle class?
Market conditions being what they are, these apartments will appeal to the low-income families without cars, crowding many people to a room.
The developer doesn't care -- he gets his money. The Administration can say they are doing "economic development."
The reality is Plainfield gets more kids in the school system, more crime, more low income.
Just what we want.
Renters should not be shunned in this economy. They will bring people, and revenue to the city.
ReplyDeleteWhat we really need to ensure is that the landlords keep up the property and rent to working, upstanding citizens, not low life cretins. And, the city MUST hold landlords accountable.
Renters can always turn into owners once the economy gets better.
I for one don't view EVERYTHING as a negative. It's something that is done. We need to have different housing options either way. Do we all want wonderful condo type apartments with room for 2 car parking, an in house health spa, etc., sure!
ReplyDeleteBut at the end of the day we have to accept and applaud completed projects. I prefer this to anything boarded up or fenced in as a construction project.
At least 1029 gets it... You have to start somewhere. And in this economy, people are not buying, they are renting. I just wish they didn't use such cheap looking windows. And the back does look horrible for now since it is not finished. Get a stable rental base of market rate units, not the affordable housing units we are so accustomed to, then it becomes attractive to sales units and the buyers for them. So many Debbie downers as usual... Lets see you open your pockets and do something.
ReplyDeleteJeff, with all due respect - - I'd be happy to open my pockets and personally invest in Plainfield.
ReplyDeleteIf only some of our leaders would take more careful steps in planning when making their decisions, then, possibly, it would make it more feasible to attract entrepeneurs that would gladly take advantage of low commercial rents downtown, including myself.
However, as long as you have high crime in that concentrated area and numerous abandoned properties that line the main commercial thoroughfares, the likelihood is that small businesses that will attract a middle income demographic downtown, will not invest in our City.
It is a good thing that things are being done, but it's about doing them correctly and devising a common standard that benefits the City; and not just doing things because it's the "lesser of two evils" - (i.e. suggesting to the owner of the building to possibly invest a few more dollars and use more attractive windows, etc.).
We live here. Let's take pride in what we do and do it right!
The windows to the rear look awful. Doesn't the designer and contractor have a sense of balance -- equal spacing -- and a level so they are straight?
ReplyDelete