Clara Barton will become
Officials hope
Clara Barton will become ‘downtown’ Edison
BY MAURA DOWGIN
Staff Writer
American Dream Properties, Edison, recently broke ground on a redevelopment project on the site of the old Magic Fountain Ice Cream Shop on Amboy Avenue in Edison.
If Edison gets its way, the Clara Barton district will develop into "downtown" Edison.
American Dream Properties, Edison, is building the mixed-use Downtown Plaza on Amboy Avenue. The company anticipates that the $3 million project will be completed by Thanksgiving 2004.
The three-story building, located at 906-910 Amboy Ave., will have about 7,500 square feet of retail space on the ground level and 10, two-story condominiums in the upper levels, said Zigga Roshanski, co-owner of American Dream Properties.
The building has been designed in a 1920s motif that will fit into the character of the historic Clara Barton district, he said. The building will feature brick, limestone and stucco, with cupolas, balconies, and metal awnings.
Originally, the building was going to be a 75,000-square-foot, L-shaped plaza on 1.75 acres, Roshanski said. After talks with residents, the building was scaled back to 20,000 square feet with all retail frontage facing Amboy Avenue.
After scaling down the building, the developer sold about 1.2 acres of property to the township. The property, for which the township paid $475,000, will serve as a buffer for residents, said Michael Seidner, another co-owner of American Dream Properties.
Of the 10 condominiums for sale, each will be about 15,000 square feet, will have two bedrooms, two bathrooms, a fireplace and other amenities, he said. There will also be a gated parking lot for residents behind the building.
The homes are geared toward first-time home buyers who are attracted to downtown living, near mass transportation or major highways, Roshanski said. The beginning price for one of the condominiums is $249,900.
"Downtown living is not readily accessible in Middlesex County, especially for those looking for townhouses with all the features of new construction," Roshanski said.
The township is hoping to attract young professionals to what it hopes will become the downtown district, said Mayor George A. Spadoro. The 2000 Edison census shows that there are fewer people between the ages of 25 and 45 living in the township, officials said.
In addition to the housing component, the street level of the building will include five retail spaces, according to Roshanski.
The building will stand on the site of the old Magic Fountain ice cream shop, which burned down about a year ago. Owner Frank Dorando who was inside the building during the fire, died in the blaze.
The Dorando family intends to open an ice cream shop in the new building that will include an outdoor cafe, Roshanski said. The developers are still in negotiations with other businesses that are considering space in the building, he added.
Roshanski said he hopes that the businesses that choose to locate there will encourage window shopping and walking through town.
There will not be a parking lot built for the retail space, he said. The idea is to make the area someplace where people want to park and walk through, not just a strip mall.
The redevelopment project on the old Magic Fountain site comes on the heels of the completion of the township’s three year revitalization project for the Clara Barton district.
The project included installing sidewalk pavers, traditional-style street lamps, trash receptacles, benches, trees, and potted plants all along the one-mile stretch from Route 1 to the New Jersey Turnpike.
The building represents the "first significant redevelopment project since the revitalization project was completed," Spadoro said.
"Amboy Avenue will become the place where people can bring their children to browse through the local shops, get an ice cream cone, sit outside to enjoy a cup of coffee and reconnect with their neighborhood," Roshanski said.
Local business owners and residents are excited by the opportunities the downtown feel will bring.
"This has become a nicer commercial business district than it was," said Pat Rubin, who owns PM Studios on Amboy Avenue and has lived in the Clara Barton section for about 20 years.