The Montclair Township Council recently voted to approve the transfer of a 30-year tax break for a mixed-use development that has been in the works for the last six years.
Council voted 3-2 to approve the transfer of the 30-year payment-in-lieu-of-taxes agreement on September 15, with council members Erik D’Amato and Aminah Toler voting against the adoption of the legislation.
A report in Montclair Local says the financial agreement involves the partially built 74-unit apartment building located at 59 and 65 Church Street. Lakewood-based developer Accurate Builders & Developers exited the project in September 2025 as part of a foreclosure sale totaling $24.6 million.
The building was about 60% complete by the time it was foreclosed, according to the report. It includes 3,936 square feet of retail, a 2,773-square-foot plaza and a small arcade along its western side. The residential portion of the project consists of one studio, 34 one-bedrooms, 35 two-bedrooms and four three-bedrooms. Eight apartments have been set aside for affordable housing.
The ordinance that was adopted states the financial agreement has been transferred at least three times since it was approved in December 2021. The limited liability firm that secured the PILOT, 65 Church Street Urban Renewal, transferred ownership of the property and the financial agreement to May Montclair Urban Renewal LLC in September 2022.
The property went into receivership in April 2025, and by August of that same year, a limited liability firm named S&N Developers New Jersey LLC entered into a purchase agreement for the partially built structure.
S&N then transferred the property to 59 & 65 Church St Urban Renewal LLC in April. May Montclair then opted to assign the financial agreement to 59 & 65 Church St Urban Renewal.
The Montclair Planning Board approved a final site plan for the project in January 2021, nearly a year before the township council voted to grant the original 30-year PILOT to 65 Church Street Urban Renewal.
Another report in Montclair Local says the township has been trying to redevelop the site on Church Street for nearly two decades. The site used to serve as the parking lot for the former Hahne & Co. department store, which closed in 1989 and was replaced by The Siena condominiums in 2007.
Although the property served as a surface parking lot for many years, it was not zoned for residential use until 2018, when the township council amended the site area’s redevelopment plan. Other plans for the site were also considered by the township, including a hotel and an assisted living facility.
