A major first step has been taken toward the construction of the Pearl Street Piazza in Metuchen, but the action taken is not on the site of the project.
Instead, work is kicking off at the site of the new American Legion building, to be constructed on property owned by the Parking Authority at Wernik Place and Calvin Place, adjacent to the existing Halsey Street parking lot.
“The lot has been cleared and it’s all been fenced in, and … they’re going to start doing the utilities soon,” Councilman Jay Muldoon said.
Slated to be complete by late fall, the new building is necessary because Pearl Street Piazza developer Woodmont Properties struck a deal with Metuchen’s American Legion Fugle-Hummer Post 65 to move the post from its current home on the outskirts of the Pearl Street parking lot to a new building, to be provided by Woodmont.
After negotiations that were sometimes contentious, the parties came to an agreement.
Once the new single-story American Legion hall is completed, Woodmont workers can demolish the existing building, which will provide part of the future site of one of two residential buildings in the development, Muldoon said.
“Those are … the first two things that will be happening,” he said.
Woodmont placed its first construction trailer at the Pearl Street site, signaling the impending start of construction, Muldoon added.
The first phase of construction for the project at the site will consist of a 750-space parking deck to be built and managed by Nexus Parking.
A representative of the company laid out an interim parking plan for commuters and others who currently park at the Pearl Street lot at the April 20 Borough Council meeting.
Plans for the closure of the lot, which is estimated to happen June 1, include providing valet and shuttle service at three borough lots — one on Halsey Street, one at Lake and Middlesex avenues, and one on Gulton Street off Durham Avenue. Officials from Nexus and the borough have sent letters to permit parkers at the lot to alert them of the new setup. According to Muldoon, the borough’s variable message board will be placed at the Pearl Street lot to keep parkers abreast of the changes. In addition, he said, officials are encouraging Pearl Street parkers to provide their email addresses and/or cellphone numbers to Nexus through its interim parking mailing list form at www.metuchenparking.com. Muldoon added that the website, which outlines the full interim parking plan, will be the main resource for information throughout the process.
“Obviously, initially there are going to be some issues, because it’s going to be new,” he said of the temporary parking changes. “We anticipate there are going to be some new traffic and pedestrian patterns.”
Muldoon said he met with Police Chief David Irizarry on April 30 to discuss plans for the anticipated new patterns. Officers will be placed in areas where problems may arise, he said.
“I’ve heard from some residents that live in the vicinity of the train station that they think people will be trying to park on residential streets,” Muldoon said, adding that police will be enforcing parking rules.
Mike Ciesielka, president of Nexus, said interim parking plans typically take about three months for people to adjust to and for any kinks to be worked out.
“During that time is when we need to be kind of on top of it,” Muldoon said.
The interim parking plan is expected to be in place for about a year while the parking deck on Pearl Street is being constructed. Once it is finished, it will be available for use while the residential and retail buildings of the Pearl Street Piazza are being constructed, Muldoon said.