After being on the books for two years, plans are moving forward to bring a massive, new, multifamily, residential development on a previously industrial property in southern Bergen County.
According to a legal notice, the “inclusionary” project calls for bringing seven buildings with a combined 208 residential rental units to the properties at 10 and 20 Oak Street in East Rutherford. That’s between Paterson Avenue and Central Avenue, near the borders of Wallington, Carlstadt, and Rutherford.
Each of the buildings will be four stories tall and ADA compliant. The project developer, Livingston-based Sterling Properties’ Oak and Central Developers, LLC, is also planning to include 398 parking spaces on the premises in both surface lots and a parking garage.
Wayne Zuckerman of Sterling Properties reportedly testified before the East Rutherford Planning Board that the complex will have “more of a townhouse/Tudor feeling with earth tones and brick overlay.”
There will be 15 studios, 82 one-bedrooms, 105 two-bedrooms, and six three-bedrooms. Plus, the notice stated that 30 of the units in the building, including six one-bedrooms, 18 two-bedrooms, and all six three bedrooms, will be designated as affordable in order for East Rutherford to comply with the New Jersey Council on Affordable Housing (COAH) municipal obligations.
Balconies, a fitness center, a business center, and an outdoor rooftop area will be included in the new complex. There will also be a commuter shuttle bus between the complex and the Rutherford train station, which runs along NJ Transit’s Bergen County Line, between Hoboken and Suffern, NY, with continuing service on Metro-North Railroad’s Port Jervis Line.
The 7.339-acre tract previously contained several buildings used for industrial and manufacturing purposes, though all of them were demolished over the last decade.
Although the property is still situated in an industrial neighborhood, there are plenty of businesses and services within walking distance, including several shopping plazas, the Carlstadt Stop & Shop, the ShopRite of Wallington, and two steakhouses. Plus, NJ Transit’s bus 703 to Passaic County and the Meadowlands Sports Complex and bus 160 to Union City, Weehawken, and the Port Authority Bus Terminal stop right in front.
Construction was expected to begin in early 2016. Additional hearings held this fall by the East Rutherford Planning Board resulted in the required additional approvals.
“The Board finds that the reuse of a currently vacant, unattractive and environmentally-challenged former industrial property and construction of a 208 unit aesthetically pleasing inclusionary multi-family residential development will be an asset to the Borough and the entire neighborhood,” the legal notice stated.
