A s the years-in-the-making Pearl Street development project moves closer to fruition, at least one quandary remains: What will become of Metuchen’s American Legion Fugle-Hummer Post 65?
The post, which sits on the outskirts of the Pearl Street parking lot along Lake Avenue, stands in the way of the development as proposed. The borough’s Parking Authority and the developer, Woodmont Properties, have offered up property and a new building for the organization, but an Aug. 20 meeting between the groups yielded no agreement.
“We don’t want to take less than we have,” American Legion 2nd Vice President Bob Benitz said.
Steve Santola, executive vice president and general counsel for Woodmont, was on hand to discuss the proposed new building along with Mayor Thomas Vahalla, Council President Jay Muldoon, Borough Administrator Bill Boerth and Parking Authority Chairman Len Roseman.
The offer is for a yet-to-be-constructed building on property owned by the Parking Authority at Wernik Place and Calvin Place, adjacent to the existing Halsey Street parking lot.
At a proposed 3,900 square feet, the new building would surpass the existing post in size by about 475 square feet, Vahalla told those in attendance.
“What I’m trying to say is, the borough isn’t trying to do this on the cheap,” he said.
Although neither he nor Roseman could speak to the value of the proposed property, Vahalla speculated that between the tract and the building, the new American Legion post would cost $1 million or more.
Along with the larger overall size, the new building would come equipped with a larger rental hall able to accommodate 96 people, as opposed to the current capacity of 84.
Several in attendance expressed concern about the restroom setup, which consists of four stalls each in the men’s and ladies’ rooms.
One issue raised was that bar patrons and attendees at children’s parties would have to use the same restrooms under this setup, which could be seen as inappropriate.
Another in attendance said a full party crowd paired with a full bar — 106 total, at capacity — could create long bathroom lines that may potentially hamper repeat hall rentals.
“I think two sets of bathrooms is an enormous waste,” Santola said, adding that the number of stalls meets code require- ments for the building’s capacity.
In addition, the bathrooms would meet requirements set forth by the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), unlike the cur- rent building’s bathrooms, which were grandfathered in because they existed be- fore the regulations.
Santola went on to say that Woodmont would look at the possibility of adding stalls to the restrooms.
Another concern echoed by several was storage space, and whether the new build- ing would house enough of it. Santola high- lighted several storage areas in the floor plan that could be made accessible from outside. When others inquired about out- door containers, he said those could be made available.
Santola pointed out that the energy- efficient building would also come with all new appliances.
Planning Board member Martin Jessen, whose property is contiguous to the site of the proposed new post, said he will allow the American Legion to place its cannon and flagpole on his property.
The new site would come with 12 re- served parking spots for the post, situated along Wernik Place. The existing post has 13 reserved parking spots.
Stanley Lease, 3rd vice president of the post, asked what would happen if the Amer- ican Legion refused the proposal.
“I think we’re going to come up with a plan everyone agrees with,” Santola said.
If not, Woodmont would tweak its plan to work around the existing post. However, it would leave the American Legion with only its 13 designated parking spots, leaving overflow members and guests to have to pay for parking in the parking deck that is slated along Pearl Street — a significant walk for anyone who is elderly or disabled, Santola said.
Along with the parking deck, the devel- opment’s plans include 16,000 square feet of retail space, 249 residential rentals and a public plaza.
“This is going to be an incredible proj- ect,” Santola told the group in closing.
He said after the meeting that his hope is to coordinate with Post Commander Wal- ter Zjawin and Benitz to meet again before Labor Day and iron out the details.
Woodmont must strike an agreement with the American Legion before the devel- oper can address the Planning Board. Ac- cording to Roseman, Woodmont is expected to present its proposal to the Planning Board by the end of this year to early 2014