A city best known for its multiple historic districts looks like they will be welcoming a brand-new mixed-use project to a parcel that’s just about a quarter-mile away from a transit hub.
Last month, Plainfield’s planning board granted approvals that will allow the redevelopment of a 1.36-acre site currently home to Nerpac Auto Body. The long and narrow property abuts railroad tracks to the north and is owned by 803 South Avenue LLC, a subsidiary of Edgewater-based Eden Property Company.
Plainfield’s planning board memorialized the development’s approvals during their July 2 meeting, the final government step needed for the project to move forward. Designed by Minno Wasko, 803 South Avenue will feature a brick exterior mixed with cement panels on a building that is set to rise five stories and just over 57 feet.
Of the development’s 104 units, there are 10 studios, 61 one-bedrooms, and 33 two-bedroom apartments. An internal parking area includes 115 spaces for future residents and a separate bicycle storage room will have space for 52 bikes.
Amenities within the project include a club room and fitness center on the property’s second floor. The development features 870 square feet of commercial space along South Avenue and includes a stormwater management basin designed to detain rain runoff of up to 7,200 cubic feet in an underground detention system.
The development falls within Plainfield’s Transit Oriented Development Netherwood – South Avenue Redevelopment Plan, which was created in 2017 to revitalize an underutilized area. The property is a short walk from NJ Transit’s Netherwood Train station, which runs along the Raritan Valley Line.
803 South Avenue is the second significant project to move forward in the redevelopment plan’s area within the last year, as Paramount Assets broke ground on a 70-unit development directly next to the train station back in December. The activity indicates that Plainfield, a city home to 50,000 residents and loads of historic properties, could emerge from the shadows of more prominent Union county towns like Westfield or Cranford and draw more new developments.
Valerie Jackson, Director of Plainfield’s Department of Economic Development, told TapInto back in May that if the 803 South Avenue project gained approvals, it would break ground later this year.
