HILLSDALE—The former Waste Management transfer station near downtown could be the first property to be redeveloped in the borough’s new redevelopment zone.
Two development companies who plan to offer a possible multifamily or mixed-use project on the former Waste Management site in the Patterson Street Redevelopment area showed a selection of their previously completed projects at the Oct. 5 council meeting — including Park Ridge’s new “The James” mixed-use, five-story downtown project.
Borough Administrator Chris Tietjen said the council will consider a resolution Oct. 12 to appoint Claremont Development of Morristown and March Development (located in New Jersey), as developers in the redevelopment zone.
That designation is required as part of the borough’s recently adopted redevelopment plan, Tietjen said.
Representatives from Claremont Development, Morristown, and March Development, along with Studio: Hillier of Princeton, made brief presentations at the Oct. 5 meeting of the governing body.
The borough’s special redevelopment counsel, Joseph Bauman, said that Claremont Development and March Development were the contract purchasers of the former Waste Management site.
The developers are working with architect Robert Hillier, who has designed numerous multifamily, commercial and office structures over a nearly half-century career.
Officials from both companies said they are likely to present “concept drawings” on a proposed multi-story building to council in closed session soon, and possibly later this year at a public council meeting.
One of Claremont Properties’ mixed-use projects includes the recently opened, The James, in downtown Park Ridge, a five-story, 240-unit complex that includes 17,000 square feet of ground-level retail space. Coincidentally, that project replaced a former waste transfer facility in downtown Park Ridge.
Asked about next steps in the developers’ process, Mayor John Ruocco said more meetings are planned.
“There will be a series of meetings between the council special design review committee and the developers as the latter make progress in preparing their architectural and structural designs. There will also be opportunities for the public to provide input in the process,” said Ruocco.
“It is my hope that the developers can produce a product that is visually and functionally appealing, while keeping the density to the base levels indicated in the Redevelopment Plan,” added Ruocco. He said the joint proposal from the development companies only recently came into focus and was brought up to local officials by Bauman.
Ruocco said it was his understanding that the developer’s proposal will need to be reviewed by the Planning Board not based upon Borough land use code but rather, design specifications as laid out in the Patterson Street Redevelopment Plan, adopted by council in December 2020.
The plan was vetoed by Ruocco mostly due to its inclusion of possible housing “density bonuses” for developers, but the council overrode his veto, 5-1. Density bonuses, or increases in the number of units per acre, can only be granted in return for some community benefit, such as a park or community center.
WM’s facility was long a thorn in the borough’s side and the focus of efforts to try to shut the facility over resident complaints of garbage truck traffic and odors. In January 2019, the governing body authorized the payment of $78,000 to Waste Management for Hillsdale waste transferred to and disposed of in the Fairview Transfer Station and the settlement of a related lawsuit.