A new development proposal could transform half a dozen properties in the heart of a small borough in Morris County.
Bloomfield-based Wharton CHA Urban Renewal, LLC is proposing a four-story mixed-use complex along with a project consisting of townhouses in the downtown area of Wharton.
The company’s site plan application shows that the four-story building would be situated along North Main Street and consist of 50 residential units. One of the units would contain three bedrooms while 20 would feature one bedroom and 29 would consist of two bedrooms. The ground floor of this building would include 7,740 square feet of retail and commercial space and 3,138 square feet of “residential amenity space.”
On nearby Second Street, Wharton CHA Urban Renewal, LLC is envisioning a 16-unit two-story townhome development, according to the application. Eight of these units would contain one bedroom while two bedrooms would be included in the remaining half of the townhome project’s units.
A July 2 letter from planner Jessica C. Caldwell mentioned that “the Redevelopment Plan requires that any redevelopment with residential uses include an affordable housing set-aside,” adding that “the developer has entered into an agreement with the Borough” to provide nine “affordable units.” However, Caldwell’s letter indicates that three of those units would be rentals on the premises while the remaining units would be in a “six-bedroom group home at an off-site location.”
The proposal covers 8, 10, and 14 North Main Street along with 15 and 17, 19-21, and 27-29 Second Street, but Wharton CHA Urban Renewal, LLC’s application shows that the company only owns three of the parcels. Two of the remaining tracts are owned by Wharton’s municipal government while the third is reportedly owned by an individual.
The application also states that Wharton CHA Urban Renewal, LLC is owned by Wharton Opportunity Fund, LLC, which itself is owned by Metro Real Estate Companies, LLC. William J. Colgan, William T. Colgan, and Steven Rosefsky each reportedly have a 32 percent interest in Metro Real Estate Companies, LLC.
The developer is scheduled to go before the Wharton Borough Planning Board during a Zoom meeting this Tuesday, July 14 at 7:00 p.m. to seek approval and variances in connection with the project.
The application listed the number of parking spaces in the proposed complex as “unknown at this time,” though Caldwell’s letter referenced plans for 83 spaces. New Jersey Transit’s Morristown and Montclair-Boonton rail lines run through Wharton, but there are no stations in the borough. The 880 bus provides service from Wharton to Dover, Denville, Morris Plains, Morristown, and the mall in Rockaway Township.
Should this project come to fruition, it would be the second development of its kind in this part of Wharton. The Port Oram Village building was recently constructed at the corner of North Main Street and Kossuth Avenue.
Note to readers: The dates that applications are scheduled to be heard by the Wharton Borough Planning Board and other commissions are subject to change.
