An improved retail space and an expanded residential component should be coming soon to a storefront in The Heights, as the zoning board approved plans last week to overhaul an old building at 511 Palisade Avenue.
The existing three-story building on the land consists of a storefront and one apartment each on the top two floors. The ground floor space is home to Oasis Tavern. To prepare for the building’s overhaul, the property owner met with the Riverview Neighborhood Association back in September last year to present their plans.
On May 24, it was the zoning board’s chance to weigh in on the proposal, and they approved the application with conditions by a 7-0 vote. The owner is now free to expand the building into their envisioned four-story structure that will include seven total apartments and keep the retail space intact.
Designed by architect Debra David of Upper Montclair, the first floor will sport 1,245 square feet of renovated retail space, which the application says would be built to suit any future tenant that decides to take up residence. The remainder of the first floor will include a 306-square-foot studio and a small paved courtyard on the south side of the property.
The six other apartments on the top three floors will consist of three 555-square-foot one-bedroom units and three 736-square-foot two-bedroom dwellings. A major overhaul to the building’s exterior is also in the works, as bay windows will be added to the center section. Aluminum siding on the building will be removed and brick facing will be used on the renovation, in addition to cast stone on the base of the property.
The overhaul of 511 Palisade was made possible by the board granting three variances for building coverage, lot coverage, and density, which were needed due to R-2 zoning that’s in place for the land. The approvals come at a time when the debate about development in The Heights has reached a fever pitch, and just off the heels of recent approvals that were granted to redevelop the former Palisade Lumber property into a mixed-use building.
