MONTVALE, N.J.—After more than a year of hearings and without saying why, Waypoint Residential Services withdrew its application to build a 157-unit active-adult senior complex on a 28-acre lot at 127 Summit Ave. at the April 20 Planning Board meeting.
“I’m here tonight to confirm that Waypoint, unfortunately, is withdrawing its application,” said developer attorney Peter Wolfson.
He thanked the board, its professionals and board secretary and Land Use Administrator Lorraine Hutter and Hutter’s assistant, Erica Davenport.
Asked by Planning Board Chair John DePinto if he had any information to share about the future of the property, Wolfson said, “I do not.”
Hutter asked Wolfson to put the notice of withdrawal in writing to the board; Wolfson said he would do so.
The applicant had reduced its initial 170-unit senior complex to 157 units, hoping the reduced density might work in its favor.
However, at the previous two Planning Board meetings in early 2021, the high-density project faced questions about its height and density from Mayor Michael Ghassali, a voting Planning Board member, and DePinto.
Moreover, the project’s 11 variances, highlighted in a chart created by board planner Darlene Green, also seemed a sticking point for board members, with several asking if they could be reduced or the project moderated to require fewer variances.
Board members liked that the project was restricted to those 55 and older and included a public walking trail, but had problems with the high-density development on a site marked by steep slopes and wetlands.
At meetings in January and February, both the mayor and board chair offered suggestions to the applicant to reduce the project’s density.
Ghassali said he had spoken out consistently against the proposal’s high density, building height and parking. He said he “loved” the age restriction and the proposed public walking trail.
In February, he told Wolfson “The density is higher than what we need there, the height is an issue. These two will take care of the parking.”
Also earlier this year, planners voted unanimously against requiring a “D” or use variance of the applicant after an 11th-hour challenge by nearby Summit Ridge Condominium Association’s attorney Peter Kurshan. Wolfson had questioned the late legal challenge from the association nearly a year after Waypoint’s initial proposal.
The applicant proposed 186 covered parking spaces and 43 at-grade parking spaces. The complex had included 97 one-bedroom units and 60 two-bedroom units.
The property is surrounded by The Reserve at Montvale on Upper Saddle River Road to the north, Morgan Court single-family residential to the east and Summit Ridge Townhouse development and the parkway to the west. On the site’s south side is Summit Avenue, a commercial building and the former A&P headquarters previously approved for an 80-unit townhouse development at 2 Paragon Drive.