Thursday, December 13, 2012
Developers interested in a prospective retail property will need to have an appraiser put their stamp of approval on a bid.
Seemingly on course to another 3-2 vote, the Ridgewood Village Council on Wednesday night found a way to compromise, advancing a unique proposal that could see the construction of a large retail facility and multiple parking garages in the downtown. The council majority last week said they simply wanted to determine what a 12,000 square foot building smack dab in the middle of East Ridgewood could retrieve on a land lease and in property taxes. A request for proposals (RFP) would be drafted with interested developers offering how much they'd pay to construct the bricks and mortar and lease out the space to businesses. The revenue from the property would theoretically fund the construction of a parking garage at the Hudson lot and …
Sunday, December 9, 2012
A vote on Dec. 12 could authorize up to $15,000 to determine what price developers will pay to lease a building that's central to a multi-faceted parking garage plan.
Ridgewood is nearly at the critical juncture that will determine if an ambitious plan to construct parking garages and a retail building downtown is financially feasible. The council next week is likely to approve spending up to $15,000 on drafting a request for proposals (RFP) to gauge a developer's interest in leasing what's currently a parking lot on East Ridgewood Avenue and constructing a bi-level 12,000 square foot retail facility. Ridgewood's chamber of commerce believes a developer would pay enough on the land lease and in property taxes to fund construction of a parking garage to replace the Hudson lot (which includes a 4,000 square foot retail facility), and possibly the Walnut Street lot as well. In total, there projects to be …
Tuesday, September 25, 2012
A request for proposals to assess the value of the major retail component will answer "99 percent of the questions," Paul Vagianos says. A public forum for residents is also planned.
The Ridgewood Village Council has had some time to chew on the Chamber of Commerce's ambitious retail/parking garage proposal, and soon the residents of the village will have the same opportunity in a public forum. Paul Vagianos, owner of It's Greek to Me, and one of the lead designers of the project, said Wednesday night that they're planning an informal public forum next month to answer questions residents might have. The details have not yet been determined. Vagianos on Wednesday night also strongly pushed the village council to move forward in tackling a request for proposal (RFP) to determine the revenue a 12,000 square foot retail facility between The Gap and Gilsenan's Realty could generate in a land lease. The question of how much …
Tuesday, September 11, 2012
"We can walk and chew gum at the same time," Deputy Mayor Albert Pucciarelli said against the concerns of rushing the process from two dissenting council members.
In a 3-2 decision, the Ridgewood Village Council elected to pursue drafting a request for proposals (RFP) on a large downtown real estate property to assess if it can generate enough revenue to fund several parking garages. Members of the Ridgewood Chamber of Commerce last month approached the council pitching a plan that if funded would see the construction of a two-story 12,000 sq. ft. retail facility between Gilsenan's and The Gap and parking garages at the Hudson and Walnust Street lots. All properties are village-owned. Chamber members said they would only support pursuing construction if the plan was completely "revenue neutral," a point echoed again Wednesday night. The retail components – which also includes a 4,000 sq. ft. …
Dan Johnson
2:17 am on Sunday, December 16, 2012
Parking. If someone will fund it and it won't cost us taxpayers anything. Why complain. 3-2 voting. Been true for years. But now at least it is 3-2 voting to do the right thing. We need solutions. And for a change we seem to be getting them. more ›