The lot where Whole Foods Market is slated along with other retail sits awaiting construction. PHOTO BY GERARD TRABALKA METUCHEN — While the borough stands on the precipice of two major developments kicking off this summer, both projects remain in preliminary stages for the moment.
As both projects begin to unfold, officials are taking efforts to keep the public informed of their progress and potential impacts on residents.
“The communication aspect of this is so important as things evolve,” Councilman Jay Muldoon said.
While the closure of the Pearl Street parking lot was initially slated for June 1, Parking Authority officials announced that it would remain open until around June 15.
The Pearl Street Piazza project slated for the lot will include 273 residential units and about 12,000 square feet of retail space. The construction of a six-level, 750-space parking deck for residents and commuters will be its first phase.
Postponing the lot’s closure means commuters and others who park there will have had a couple more weeks before they must go elsewhere, as outlined in an interim parking plan created by Nexus Parking, the company that will build and manage the parking deck.
Lots on Halsey Street, at Lake and Middlesex avenues, and on Gulton Street will accommodate the displaced parkers during the anticipated yearlong construction of the deck. It remains unclear how long the entire Pearl Street Piazza development will take to complete, according to officials.
Nexus, the Parking Authority and other borough officials have worked in concert to keep those who park there abreast of the changes, which will involve valet and shuttle service for some commuters.
“That’s one thing we’ve tried to emphasize with Nexus,” Muldoon said of providing information to residents. “They were right on top of it.”
Along with letters mailed to homes, emails sent and notices placed on vehicles, residents are being kept in the know through a variable message board placed near the lot, he said.
The transfer of a small piece of land behind where the parking deck will stand was the reason for the delay in closing the lot, according to Mayor Thomas Vahalla and Muldoon. The developers were awaiting approval from Amtrak — which owns the tracks on which NJ Transit’s Northeast Corridor Line runs — for the small parcel, they said.
“They just got the approval … so they need to get it all formalized,” Muldoon said.
The other large development on tap is the District at Metuchen, which will include a Whole Foods Market.
Some site work has begun for that project, with workers clearing trees from the wooded area between the train tracks and existing parking lot, according to Muldoon. He added that as part of the approval for the project, developer Renaissance Properties must replace a number of trees on the site.
“I’m sure the demolition of the [former] hardware store is the next thing they’ll be doing,” Muldoon said.
Construction of the first retail building at The District at Metuchen is slated to start in June or July, according to Vahalla.
Because the two developments will be underway at the same time, borough officials recently hired a liaison to coordinate the projects and make sure that all runs smoothly. The liaison — Lewis Myerson, a licensed architect with Maser Consulting — will be paid through the three developers’ escrow funds, according to officials.