MONTVALE, N.J.—With a major mixed-use development called North Market underway on Mercedes Drive—featuring retail, residential, and office space—another major developer now proposes a 170-unit three-story multi-family active-adult residential apartment complex on 28.4 acres on nearby Summit Avenue that includes affordable units.
It is not clear the borough needs more affordable housing units, having met its 2017-settled affordable housing obligations, Mayor Michael Ghassali said.
The project’s first Planning Board hearing is Tuesday, March 3 at 7:30 p.m. Applicant Wayside Residential Services LLC of Boca Raton, Florida, will testify on its preliminary and final site plan application at 127 Summit Ave. Day Pitney LLP are the applicant’s attorneys.
The first hearing on the proposal, which requests 11 bulk variances from local code, will offer a glimpse at plans for a 55-year-old-plus multifamily housing complex, and its “structured garage-level parking” that offers 202 parking spaces, plus 42 surface parking spaces.
Also proposed are eight surface parking spaces on a gravel parking area on the southeastern portion of the property, along with a mulch trail along the northern and eastern portions of the property that will give access to residents and the general public.
The property, Block 1002, Lot 7, vacant and wooded, sits in the AH-6 Affordable Housing Zone.
The proposal includes 110 one-bedroom and 60 two-bedroom units, with 26 affordable apartment units, according to a public notice published Feb. 21.
It was not clear what the breakdown of affordable units would be. However, Montvale’s affordable housing settlement, approved with Fair Share Housing Center in November 2017, lists the property as zoned for inclusionary housing from a prior round 255-unit obligation.
The zoning includes 13 rental units and 13 credits, which are provided as a bonus for providing affordable rental units.
A few weeks ago, S. Hekemian Group’s top development officer, Peter S. Hekemian, told 100 business leaders at a Montvale Chamber of Commerce event that three new buildings offering 71,500 additional square feet of retail space, 91,000 square feet of office space, and more than 300 high-end residential units, were under construction on Mercedes Drive, about a half-mile from the proposed Summit Avenue site.
Another S. Hekemian retail project, the Shoppes at DePiero Farm on Mercedes Drive, offers 231,000 square feet of existing retail space—anchored by Wegmans supermarket—and is fully leased, Hekemian said at a Feb. 4 local chamber event.
Asked about Wayside Residential Services’s proposal, Mayor Michael Ghassali told Pascack Press, “As a general statement, we’re not in favor of any more housing in our town. We are open for businesses to come in.”
He added, “We are obligated to hear all completed applications.” Ghassali noted he was not sure of the proposal’s connection to the affordable housing settlement. He said that with its 2017 affordable settlement, the borough has met its obligation for affordable housing.
He said the 127 Summit Ave. site had been owned by another developer, who encountered wetlands issues in the area.
11 variances requested
The applicant requests 11 bulk variances, notably for maximum dwelling units per building where apartment buildings may contain a maximum of 12 dwelling units and 170 dwelling units is proposed; for maximum length of building where permitted apartment building length is 160 feet and 360.17 feet is proposed; and for maximum building height where 35 feet and two stories is permitted and 38 feet, 4 inches and three stories is proposed.
Other variances include front yard setback, building setback to internal driveway, minimum landscape buffer, maximum steep slope disturbance, setback from internal street fence, maximum height fence, and parking space dimensions.
The applicant requests a variance from the borough’s number of parking spaces ordinance, where 2.25 parking spaces per dwelling unit is required. Approximately 1.44 parking spaces per dwelling unit are proposed.
Click here for more recent coverage on changes occurring in Pascack Valley and Northern Valley towns stemming from development spurred in part by affordable housing settlements, including Emerson, Haworth, Hillsdale, Old Tappan, River Vale, and the Township of Washington.
