The Pearl Street Piazza in Metuchen is another step closer to becoming a reality. The closing on the sale of the 3-acre portion of the Pearl Street parking lot that is set to be developed by Woodmont Properties marked a major step forward for the development.
The Metuchen Parking Authority sold the tract to Woodmont for $7,189,700 — $6,960,000 for the property itself, based on the number of market-rate residential units, and $229,700 for the 11,485 square feet of retail space planned for the site, according to borough officials.
“They’re starting to go like gangbusters over there,” Mayor Thomas Vahalla said of Woodmont’s start of work on the project.
In addition to the land sale, the Parking Authority signed a lease agreement on the same day with Nexus Parking, the company that is constructing a five-story, 750-space parking deck on the Pearl Street lot.
Parking Authority Chairman Len Roseman said the lease spans 40 years and includes provisions for the sharing of profits from the deck between the Parking Authority and Nexus.
For the first 29 years of the lease agreement, Nexus will give 30 percent of its net profits — paid by the Pearl Street Piazza residents, commuters and visitors to the borough who park in the deck’s shared spaces — to the Parking Authority in lieu of rent for the property, officials said. From year 29 to the end of the lease, the Parking Authority will receive 50 percent of net profits from the deck.
“When Nexus pays it off, [the deck] reverts back to the borough,” Vahalla said.
Another entity in the multiple-party closing was the American Legion Fugle- Hummer Post 65, whose headquarters is housed on the outskirts of the Pearl Street lot along Lake Avenue. The parcel on which the building sits is needed for the Pearl Street Piazza. In January 2014, Woodmont struck a deal with the American Legion to cede its current building in exchange for a new, larger facility at Wernik Place and Calvin Place, adjacent to the Halsey Street parking lot on land owned by the Parking Authority.
The closing of the deal involved the American Legion giving up ownership of its current home and taking ownership of the new property from the Parking Authority, officials said.
According to Vahalla, the new building is under construction, and had trusses in place, along with plywood on the roof, when last he checked. He added that the post’s new headquarters is slated for completion in September or October.
Once it is completed, the developer will demolish the post’s Pearl Street headquarters, the mayor said.
Plans for the Pearl Street Piazza consist of 273 residential rental units — 134 onebedroom, 130 two-bedroom and nine threebedroom units. Along with the retail space, a large public piazza that will belong to the borough will provide an outdoor space for gatherings and events.
“I think what’s important is that there has been a strong constituency in Metuchen in support of turning the blacktop parking lot in the center of town into something different,” Roseman said.
He added that the project will be a financial boon for the borough at a time when municipalities are forced to become more and more self-sufficient.
“We’re also providing a population that will support the downtown and be a part of the larger community … and contribute to the community in many ways,” Roseman said.