Borough allows denser mill plans

Owner/developer hopeful again

By: Vic Monaco
   HIGHTSTOWN — Borough Council is in position to once again choose a redeveloper for the former rug mill property after approving a revised ordinance that would allow the number of units proposed by the owner.
   The council on Monday unanimously OK’d an ordinance that calls for a maximum of 130 units at the Bank Street site. That compares to John Wolfington’s latest plan for 119 condominiums and eight townhouse units.
   The ordinance also continues to require the redeveloper of the 7-acre tract to renovate or rebuild the nearby borough hall and have a minimum of 35,000 square feet of nonresidential space. Those apparently remain hurdles in the process but Mr. Wolfington expressed hope this week that they can be overcome.
   "The plan will change," said Mr. Wolfington, who later added, "I’m optimistic we can come up with a good plan everyone likes and everyone can agree on."
   The next step for council is to name a redeveloper, and Borough Attorney Fred Raffetto told members Monday that Mr. Wolfington’s recent purchase of the property should weigh heavily into their decision-making process.
   On Tuesday, Mayor Bob Patten agreed.
   "We’ve been negotiating with Mr. Wolfington’s company for some time now, it’s been three years, so I think it would be proper to continue with someone who has a definite stake in the process," he said.
   Councilman Walter Sikorski said he hopes his colleagues at their next meeting, Oct. 16, either name Mr. Wolfington the redeveloper, which would allow him to provide escrow money for borough review of a developer’s agreement, or simply allow other developers to present proposals based on the new ordinance before making a choice.
   "These would be the most expedient methods especially since the plan will have to go through the normal (site plan) review of the Planning Board," he said.
   Mr. Sikorski and Mayor Patten said they don’t want to see the borough once again enter a time-consuming and possibly costly process of formally soliciting request for proposals (RFPs) from developers.
   Mr. Wolfington’s Greystone Mill firm was named the conditional developer of the land in the spring of 2004. The borough let that designation lapse about a year ago after Mr. Wolfington quickly raised the number of planned units from 80, the maximum allowed at the time, to 130. Soon after, Satish Mehta, a partner of Mr. Wolfington, made a presentation with 100 units.
   In February, Borough Council sought proposals from other developers. That process rendered one new plan, for 143 units, and exhausted the borough’s redevelopment planning funding of $10,000.
   However, that denser plan, from Dranoff Properties of Philadelphia, included a new borough hall while Mr. Wolfington’s latest plan does not. It calls for 6,300 square feet of new municipal space along Main Street on the second floor of a building with a similar amount of retail space below. And Mr. Mehta has offered the borough $50,000 as a payment in lieu of borough hall construction or reconstruction.
   Contacted Tuesday, Mr. Wolfington sounded hopeful despite the borough hall issue.
   "We need to sit down with everyone and figure out what this final plan really will be. It’s still open to discussion and depends upon what everyone wants, including the borough," he said. "Now that we’re passed the ordinance phase, hopefully we’ll be picked redeveloper soon and get the plan finished."
   The new ordinance reduces the amount of nonresidential area required by the borough from 60,000 square feet to 35,000. Mr. Wolfington pointed out that in addition to the Main Street space, his plan includes retail, restaurant and office space on Bank Street. However, his latest publicly viewed plan shows only 29,725 square feet of nonresidential space.
   Councilman Patrick Thompson — who initially opposed more than 80 units but lauded the Dranoff plan after leading the call for RFPs — called Monday’s action an "important beginning of the process." He said a "perception of divisiveness" was perhaps just part of the borough’s "collaborative process."
   Borough Council was met by angry members of the Planning Board and community last month after saying it planned to remove both the requirement for borough hall and on-site affordable housing. Both requirements, which were longtime objectives, were kept in the ordinance with Monday’s vote.
   Borough government critic Gene Sarafin commended council for its action Monday night but added that "it’s kind of hard to understand why it took three years."
   Mssrs. Sikorski and Patten, Planning Board members who have previously criticized council members for delaying the process, defended the time it has taken. Councilman Sikorski said the redevelopment project is a very complex one that includes a potential tax abatement program and parking issues.
   "I wish to differ with people who say we’ve been slow on this project," he said while adding that the process has been "very open."