Emerson
After dragging on for over four years, maybe 2025 will see a settlement of Emerson’s court battle against the redeveloper as well as progress on the massive downtown redevelopment. After reviewing the extensive pre-trial briefs submitted by both sides, Superior Court Judge Nicholas Ustuni ordered both sides to try to settle the matter before heading to trial. It was unclear how much the holiday break would affect what might happen at trial.
Throughout 2024, work on Emerson Station’s 147 units, with 15,000 square feet of ground level retail space, appears to have ground to a halt. The developer, Emerson Redevelopers Urban Renewal, is being sued by a subcontractor for $1.4 million in unpaid invoices.
Moreover, the developer was involved in a mortgage lawsuit on a property in Kenilworth (since resolved) and also was in arrears for nearly $10,000 in 2024 property taxes on 129 Kinderkamack Road, leading to a recent tax lien sale.
Also, only days before the originally scheduled Nov. 4 trial date, ERUR’s attorney, Sills Cummis & Gross PC, asked to be relieved as counsel due to unpaid invoices for nearly a year. The matter was resolved pre-trial due to a judge’s order and its attorneys continue to represent ERUR.
On a related matter, ERUR’s attorneys recently presented its case to the Borough Council to use the 129 Kinderkamack Road property to construct seven off-site affordable units. It was clear during the session that middle ground was unlikely to be found due to some sharp exchanges between Borough Attorney John McCann and ERUR’s attorneys.
No decision on the request to amend the redevelopment plan was made, and the matter is pending. The Emerson Station redevelopment, or Block 419, included 29 affordable units, the bulk of Emerson’s third round obligation. None of them have been built despite the appointment of a Mount Laurel implementation monitor (retired Judge Harry Carroll) in 2021 by the Superior Court.
Also, 2025 might see progress toward elevating about four homes in the borough, part of a federal grant received in early 2024.
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