TOWNSHIP OF WASHINGTON, N.J.—Approximately six months ago, a lawn sign advertising “available” appeared in front of 450 Pascack Road, not long after a developer withdrew a proposal late last summer to build a 48-unit senior housing complex on the property.
Over the past six months, however, it does not appear many serious offers occurred and the sign remains.
Behind the sign lies a run-down 1,800-square-foot-home, partly shielded by a blue tarp, with gutters peeling away from the front porch’s roof.
Also on the property: a farmhouse and barn, with a couple vehicles visible. Mostly, the gently rolling, partly sloped parcel is dotted with more than 700 trees, including 200 mature trees, which township officials said provide one of the largest remaining tree canopies in town.
The township has been eyeing the property for years, hoping to acquire and preserve the buffer between Memorial Field and Washington Elementary School and Ridgewood Boulevard East.
Mayor Peter Calamari, recently explaining his rationale in pursuing this tract and the 6-acre private Washington Township Swim and Recreation Club, said, “We look back and question why previous administrations chose not to proactively acquire 450 Pascack Road when they had the opportunity to protect it from overdevelopment.”
Immediate past mayor Janet Sobkowicz says her administration tried to purchase the property for $700,000 and after apparently securing a deal, she said one owner, Robert Morris, came back and requested an additional $100,000 to close the deal.
The deal fell apart, said Sobkowicz, who said the prior two administrations also made overtures to purchase the tract without success for over a decade. [See “Sobkowicz speaks on her efforts to land Pascack Road lot,” April 26.]
But the property is being marketed by a property marketer and real estate agency for the exact same price: $2.1 million. How that valuation was determined was not exactly clear, though it appears potential market value of the property when developed has a bearing on such valuation.
Local critics of the 450 site’s development have pressured public officials to not consider the land’s speculative potential in an appraisal and Township Attorney Kenneth Poller recently said the appraisal would not consider speculative value.
While township officials may soon make an offer to an owner or developer of the tract to begin purchase negotiations, mixed opinions exist about the value of the property and likely success of negotiations.
Property’s value debated
For tax purposes, the property is assessed at about $320,000, with land assessed at $254,600 and improvements at $65,500. Annual property taxes are $7,954, note publicly available tax records.
Its property assessment has held steady at $320,00 for the past eight years, following a reduction in 2013 from a prior $541,900 assessment.
RealtyTrac, a real estate information company, estimates the property’s value at $603,000.
Zillow’s estimate is $546,371 (within a range of $470,000 to $634,000), noting on April 24 that this is up 3.3% over the prior 30 days, increasing $17,393 in value.
It was not clear how recent these values were, though sites appeared to be updated regularly. The property was listed as off-the-market on most residential real estate sites visited by Pascack Press.
450’s listed property broker Edward K. Bonner gives a price of $546,371, noting “this property includes a 1920s farmhouse and barn (both as is condition) and is waiting for a visionary buyer.”
From late 2014 to early 2015, ReMax listings show the property worth $495,000 without a sale taking place.
Most property listings for 450 Pascack note either an approximate 1,800- or 1,900-square-foot home, with two small farm buildings on site. The bulk of assessed value lies with 3.2 acres of undeveloped, forested land.
The two companies hired by one of 450’s owners, Robert Morris, take different marketing strategies and offer different incentives for would-be buyers, though both list the property for sale at $2.1 million, mostly due to its development potential.
That might be a hard sell as no development proposal has yet to be approved for the parcel.
What do you get for $2.1 million?
Property marketer CODY offers two separate sets of development plans as part of its $2.1 million purchase price. The two development options include site plans for an approximate 46 unit senior residential development and a separate set of site plans for a 12-unit single-family subdivision.
Neither development plan was approved, and Tsapatsaris’s Lakos Construction Inc., withdrew a plan for a 48-unit senior development months after submission in late summer 2020 following strong public pushback.
Taking another marketing tack, STEAM Realty, of Ridgewood lists two separate “scenarios” available to potential buyers of 450 Pascack Road. Its property broker is Stacey Tsapatsaris.
Calling 450 Pascack “a rare development opportunity”, Scenario Number One notes the home on 3.2 acres in the R-2 district (it’s actually in the “AA” district that permits homes on half-acre lots) is in a “particular zone that has allowed senior independent living SUBJECT TO [Zoning] BOARD APPROVAL.”
But that marketed potential use has currently not been approved for 450 Pascack Road, and no applications are pending.
Scenario 2 calls the home a “handyman special” on 3.2 “pristine acres” in the heart of Bergen County “with tremendous upside potential.”
If that doesn’t suit a buyer, the property description notes “or buy the property with a building permit for your dream home at the top of the hill.” It does not indicate who is securing the building permit.
Under “investment highlights,” it calls the property “one of the last pieces of undeveloped land in Washington Township.”
However, critics including Diane Ferrrara, of STOP (Stop Township Overdevelopment Projects), allege the property as currently zoned, which is “AA” for one-family homes on half-acre lots, is “unbuildable” due to front and rear yard setbacks required and lack of prior subdivision approval.
Moreover, they note, constructing road access for fire and emergency vehicles on the narrow site appears problematic, if not impossible, due to its limited width and sloped terrain.
Lakos Construction Inc signed with Morris as the “contract purchaser,” of 450 Pascack Road, but whether the township will negotiate with Tsapatsaris or Morris was not immediately known.
Pascack Press reached out to McNerney & Associates to learn how an appraisal is done and what its value reflects and does not reflect. The appraisal—which cost taxpayers $2,500—had not been received by April 19, said Poller.
He noted the appraiser, McNerney & Associates, was hired Feb. 16 by council to conduct the appraisal and was also selected in case future legal testimony was needed. McNerney charges $150 per hour for court testimony.
Most discussions about possible options for acquiring and/or condemning the property have been limited to closed sessions by mayor and council , with officials only making generic statements about the value of acquiring open space. Should the township make an offer, and negotiations not be successful, public officials have said condemnation is an option.
Poller previously said that the appraiser hired was done so because they could provide testimony. He told Pascack Press in March that the Township believes it has “more than enough justification for condemnation.”
We reached out to Poller and McNerney & Associates for comment on the appraisal but did not hear back by press time.