I didn't feel well tonight and decided I would rather be half a block away from home at the Planning Board meeting than more than a mile away by taxi at the Community Meeting. So maybe it's time for some crowd-sourcing - I am inviting anyone who went to the meeting on South Second Street Redevelopment to give impressions, thoughts, opinions on what you heard.
--Bernice
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I arrived about a half hour into the meeting, which was sponsored by the city's Economic Development office and hosted at Ruth Fellowship. Rev. Tracey Brown, who is also councilwoman for the city-at-large, is the pastor of the church that sits across South Second Street from the city-owned property abutting the railroad targeted for redevelopment by this project.
ReplyDeletePatrick Terborg, a former Plainfield resident and founder of TD & Partners (tdandpartners.com) is leading the development team proposing a two-phase plan combining about 95 residential rental units and a new state of the art commercial facility to house ABC Supply Co., the nation's largest wholesaler of exterior building products. The redevelopment would extend from Grant Ave. to Muhlenberg Place along South Second.
As was noted, ABC already has a presence in the city, but has outgrown its facility at 300 W. 3rd Street and was looking for a new location, preferably in Plainfield but not necessarily so. ABC would sign a 20-year lease for the newly constructed building.
The tract would be subdivided, with the residential toward Grant Ave., and the ABC building closer to Muhlenberg Place. Each portion would be its own separate legal entity, and the financing envisioned would require some amount of tax abatements. This was a point of contention with the recent South Ave. Gateway project, but Mr. Terborg mentioned the importance of a PILOT agreement in obtaining the necessary bank financing for making the roughly $30 million investment in the development (the number may be off because I wasn't taking notes).
Phase 1 is the ABC building, with any agreement stipulating a completion date late next year, coinciding with the end of ABC's current lease. The second phase
of residential apartments was estimated to be completed during 2018. Though early in the planning stages, the idea is for a mix of 1 and 2 bedrooms, with 80% geared to average Union County working class income levels and 20% at market rate. The new apartments would provide modern amenities, while the common areas would contain green space, a fitness center, community room, and off-street parking at one car per unit. Terborg said he expects the majority of tenants would be city residents looking to upgrade their living situations to a modern building.
TD & Partners will be working with developer Michael Perrucci, who as I understand it will be the long-term property manager, and is a partner in the highly-connected law firm of Florio Perrucci Steinhardt & Fader.
Preliminary plans call for about 200 construction-related jobs, with a 15% set aside for local contractors. ABC will increase its personnel with 15 new full-time hires. As I mentioned earlier, my numbers may be off because I wasn't taking notes, but I also remember that the City is negotiating a 10-day window for all hires to maximize employment opportunities for Plainfield residents. And that is that.
One addendum- I did suggest to Mr. Terborg that a PILOT agreement be out on the table all along the way, what with the recent experience with the South Ave. Gateway. Terborg said his team has held discussions with each of the governing body members to fill them in on all the particulars about the project. Carlos Sanchez, head of the city's Economic Development office, added later that city representatives are meeting every Friday with the development team to advance the project and iron out details as the plan gels and moves through the approval process to completion. March 2016 was estimated as the point where the Planning Board would hear official site plans.
DeleteThanks for the info Alan. For a lack of notes, it was very thorough.
ReplyDeleteRichard Stewart
Thank you Alan, you can be a reporter for us bloggers anytime you wish.
ReplyDeleteI am not familiar with the current layout of ABC as I moved out of Plainfield last year nor do I want to douse this project with negativity but will this look and operate more like a lumber yard ( ie Homeowners Heaven) with heavy equipment like fork lifts moving stockpiles of wood, marble and granite slabs, pallets of tiles around, back-up beepers going off,?? If so, especially as a wholesale operation, this will mean trucks delivering stock and other trucks buying and taking materials out. This isn't the best operation to put with a residential development usually retail goods and services are built to serve mixed use developments.
ReplyDeleteThere you go from day one.
DeleteGreat job Alan.
ReplyDeleteDevelopers keep asking for PILOTs as if that wasn't another word for a subsidy with net present value. The purpose of the subsidy is not to get the deal done, but to get the cash out of the project and pay back investors at city taxpayers' expense. Just read the website: http://www.tdandpartners.com/#!strategy/c24i2.
ReplyDeleteAt least ABC Supply sends no children to the schools.
However, a PILOT subsidy will get it a new state of the art facility, but leave behind an old building complex. Maybe economic development should meet weekly with the owner of that building to help it find a new tenant. A reduced assessment on a vacant old building may lower tax revenues more than what a piddling PILOT on a new building brings in.
Although I wish Terborg, Perrucci, and ABC Su0pply all the best, I wish they didn't want it to come at our expense. After all, most builders manage just fine without PILOTs.
I keep saying this even though no one is listening. Look at Jersey City today vs 30 years ago. Yes it is location, but it was worse off than Plainfield ever was in most areas. PILOTS got it where it is today. Some of the priciest developments on the east coast. Even though they no longer need PILOTS to make it happen, they offer them because of what it brings to the coffers for everyone. The City, land and homeowners as well as jobs, both permanent and construction. Not to mention all the new business. Hotels, offices, shops, restaurants, etc. Plainfield needs to get on the ball. You want lower property taxes without moving out of town? You need new development spurred by PILOTS.
ReplyDeleteAnd kudos to Alan for his report. I think we found for when, God forbid, Bernice decides to hang up her hat and gulp, retire, a good replacement.
ReplyDeleteIf we do not build a larger factory ABC will leave Plainfield and jobs may be lost. If we do build ABC will have 15 new jobs that they have guaranteed Plainfield residents will have first dibs on. Not to mention as part of the deal Hannah Atkins will receive renovations. As for pilots, they are a way if doing business, have been for years. Take a look at New Brunswick, if you remember what it used to look like. Likewise we Morristown. I worked in 3 of the towers for AT&T and saw the transformation. Bottom line, should we continue to have the blighted site, whuc the city owns and brings no revenue sit there or let it be built and receive SOME revenue.
ReplyDeleteAs to the constant argument concerning the impact on the schools, with all of the charter schools here, our schools are not really crowded. I think those that show so much concern if the schools could better use their time being concerned about the quality of our children's education. Attend a BOE meetung and see what is really going on. Our district has been decertified for almost 30 years!