Readers may recall that in October 2013 the Housing Authority of Plainfield sought two city-owned lots on Block 247 for redevelopment (in green, above). The city never conveyed the lots to HAP and as I recall, one of the issues was the lack of a redevelopment plan. The redevelopment process has many steps, the first of which is an investigation to see whether a site meets certain criteria that indicate it is "in need of redevelopment." The governing body authorizes the Planning Board to perform the study and the results go back to the council. If a need for redevelopment has been found, the council can ask the Planning Board to make a redevelopment plan.
The block is bounded by Madison Avenue, West Front Street, Central Avenue and West Second Street and all eleven lots on the block will be studied if the council approves the resolution on Feb. 8. There are businesses along the West Front Street side and a large apartment building on the Madison Avenue side. Block 247, Lot 7 is Municipal Parking Lot 9, bounded by three of the streets. Block 247, Lot 9 is city-owned and is currently being used as a staging area for the PSE&G upgrade of the electrical system.
The work should be nearing completion soon.
There are several other items related to redevelopment on Monday's agenda, including two financial agreements for development on South Second Street and council approvals needed for the South Avenue Gateway project. Posts on those items will follow. The agenda-fixing session is 7:30 p.m. in Municipal Court, 325 Watchung Ave.
--Bernice
It's quite a distortion of fact to say the Housing Authority sought these lots. HAP was simply being used as a straw man so the City could hand over free publlc property to a shady developer and another interested party, both of whom were City officials at the time. Others have shown an interest in these lots as well, including Frank Cretella and Steve Cheung. Mayor Mapp even alluded to a meeting at his home where the original interested parties plead their case. He used the word "extort" to characterize the conversation.
ReplyDeleteIf these lots are determined to be 'in need of redevelopment' and a redevelopment plan is ultimately adopted by the City Council, specific ideas for use within the constraints of the plan should be solicited by means of a Request for Proposals.