A one-story building in Newark’s North Ward that is situated next to a proposed linear park could be adaptively reused and expanded into a five-story mixed-use project.
Jose A. Rodriguez is scheduled to go before the Newark Central Planning Board during a virtual meeting on Monday, November 23 at 6:00 p.m. to seek preliminary and final site plan approval with a number of variances as part of his plans for 881 Mount Prospect Avenue.
The development application states that the proposed project would include nine residential units, office space, and a restaurant that would be located on the ground floor.
The restaurant would have a capacity of 28 seats, have seven employees, and be open daily between 8:00 a.m. and 10:00 p.m., according to a November 18 municipal staff report. The report added that the second floor would include both a 1,290-square-foot office and a 700-square-foot office while the upper three floors would each include three one-bedroom residential units.
Property sales records show that Rodriguez paid a Cumberland County company $255,000 for 881 Mount Prospect Avenue in June 2019. The building was previously home to Vailsburgh Cabinets & Hardware Inc. and Verona Leather.
Located at the corner of Greenwood Lake Street a few blocks south of Belleville, the premises are situated just feet away from the former Boonton Line. As Jersey Digs first reported in July, Norfolk Southern filed a petition with the Surface Transportation Board that mentioned plans to sell the old Boonton Line right-of-way to the Open Space Institute.
If these plans for the former railway continue to advance, the right-of-way could be converted into the Essex-Hudson Greenway, allowing walkers and bicyclists to travel from Montclair to Jersey City.
Note to readers: The dates that applications are scheduled to be heard by the Newark Central Planning Board and other commissions are subject to change.
