HILLSDALE—A redevelopment proposal for a 250-unit, four-story luxury rental apartment complex spanning 5.4 acres — with potentially 400 new residents — was presented April 6 to residents who raised questions about traffic, flooding, public safety, schools, taxes, and the first-ever high-density multifamily development in town.
The proposal, still being developed by Claremont Development, the borough’s conditional redeveloper for the former Waste Management site, has yet to be formally presented to the Planning Board for review.
The April 6 session, billed as a town forum, featured an in-person presentation in Town Hall and was aired live on Zoom. Officials said the forum, and site architectural renderings, would be posted on the borough website.
As the meeting was not an officially noticed public meeting, the mayor and Borough Council members could not comment during the session, said Joseph Baumann, borough special redevelopment counsel.
Baumann provided context on the redevelopment plan approved in early 2021, and noted that many more public meetings will occur as the proposal evolves.
Baumann said the redeveloper has not yet inked a redeveloper’s agreement with the borough.
Claremont Development said that it is negotiating with the borough’s redevelopment counsel and redevelopment financial advisor on the agreement as well as what community benefits the developer may provide to Hillsdale for an increase in density allowed under the redevelopment agreement.
The so-called bonus density provision in the Patterson Street Redevelopment Plan allows redevelopers to propose higher-density developments in exchange for providing a community benefit or benefits as mutually agreed upon by the developer and the town.
The redevelopment plan allows 28 dwelling units per acre but in certain cases. However, a bonus density of up to 60 units per acre can be permitted if the redeveloper and council agree on community benefits in exchange for the increased dwelling unit density.
While negotiations continue, the forum offered residents a first glance at what is being proposed on the former Waste Management property. The town forum featured two officials from Claremont Development, Morristown, who presented a short overview of their proposal, joined by the project’s architect, landscape architect and civil engineer.
The two officials, Richard Sciaretta and Anthony Marchigiano, showed building renderings and explained how the new high-end rental apartment building would improve the mostly industrial and commercial area with a luxury apartment complex.
The building would be designed in Second Empire style per the redevelopment plan design guidelines, and features mansard roofs throughout, bay windows, Juliette balconies, and amenities on the ground floor.
“We’ve taken a big building and we break down the scale of the architecture and try to make this as comfortable as we can for everybody,” said architect Bob Hillier of Studio: Hillier, Princeton.
One new feature, said Sciaretta, will be a public park to be built near the corner of Piermont Avenue and Patterson Street. Hillier said the building will feature towers seen off of Patterson Street, noting the structure “is a brick complex all the way around” featuring three colors of brick and external features designed to be attractive and present a residential-style feel.
Baumann said the will include 24 affordable rental apartments, which in effect fulfills the entire affordable obligation for the approximate 12-acre redevelopment zone.
Sciaretta said the developer would have its traffic engineer, John Korac, of Stonefield Engineers, immediately begin on a traffic study.
Sciaretta said that the 250 units would include single-bedroom and two-bedroom apartments, with amenities, and allocate 1.6 parking spaces per unit. Only a few three-bedroom units would be built for required affordable obligations.
Total parking would include 403 spaces in a parking deck to be built, along with 40 new spaces on nearby streets.
He said the complex would also provide spaces for electric vehicle charging stations. He said the development would manage its stormwater runoff according to state rules which mandate no net increase in runoff post-development.
Claremont officials said that construction may start by spring 2023 if plans move along and approvals are granted, and take approximately 18-20 months from start to finish.