A growing city in Bergen County could soon have nearly a hundred new units within its borders.
A new four-story residential development has been proposed on the west side of Englewood for 40 Bennett Road and the property across Elmore Avenue at 51 Lafayette Avenue. According to a legal notice from the city, the 99-unit project is being proposed by Claremont Properties, Inc. The Far Hills, Somerset County-based company, which is responsible for projects such as Third & Valley in South Orange and the Marin Residences in Jersey City, is seeking Preliminary and Final Site Plan approval with variances and waivers for front yard setback, parking, and number of trees in connection with this project.
Bergen County records show that Claremont Properties submitted site plans to the County in May 2017, and that the company is planning to provide 76 parking spaces.
The property on Bennett Road currently contains a one-story office building that was previously occupied by a wellness center, a healthcare resource center, a Korean Community Center, and a motor vehicle agency, while the Lafayette Avenue tract contains a building that has housed a check cashing business and the Circle Square West Indian American Restaurant. In 2015, Englewood Mayor Frank Huttle III and RSC Architects proposed converting the Bennett Road building into a multipurpose municipal community center. However, the project was opposed by Councilman Eugene Skurnick and other officials, according to The Record, and the city never ended up acquiring the structure.
These 1.59-acre sites are conveniently located along West Englewood Avenue in the Downtown District Zone and are a short walk away from Englewood’s main business district along Palisade Avenue. Plus, the Mackay Ice Rink, Englewood City Swimming Pool, H Mart, and New Jersey Transit’s 178, 186, 756, and 780 bus lines to Hackensack, Passaic, Fort Lee, Paramus, and Manhattan’s George Washington Bridge Bus Station are also nearby.
The Englewood Planning Board was scheduled to hear this proposal during its meeting on December 28th.
