Construction equipment can be found where commercial buildings used to stand at two locations in Springfield as work continues on two major developments in the suburban Union County township.
For 17 years, the old Saks Fifth Avenue building on Millburn Avenue in Springfield by Short Hills sat vacant, but the structure was torn down earlier this year so that work could get underway on a predominantly residential project known as The Metropolitan.
A sign on the premises advertises that this will be a development from Garden Communities. As Jersey Digs reported in 2019, when completed, The Metropolitan is expected to include 270 residential units.
“Of the 270 residential units, there will be no less than 41 units dedicated to low- and moderate-income tenants,” according to Springfield’s municipal government. The Township of Springfield previously announced that the complex will also contain around 5,000 square feet of commercial space, a fitness center, a pool, and a parking garage.
Standalone department stores were once a trend of sorts in suburbia, but have all but faded from the region. Two of the last remaining ones, Lord & Taylor’s Westfield store and the Sears store in Watchung, have each gone out of business.
Saks Fifth Avenue left Springfield for The Mall at Short Hills in 1994, but the Short Hills location ended up closing several years ago as well. After the Millburn Avenue store closed, Stop & Shop planned to open a supermarket at the site, but the plan was controversial among Millburn Township officials and never ended up being able to come to fruition. A proposal for a library on the property never moved forward either.
Although the site has been cleared and machinery is on the lot, as of earlier this month, no significant construction appeared to have begun on the new building.
Roughly a mile away, construction is taking place on a mixed-use project that will take up a significant portion of Springfield’s downtown. The development at 259-263, 265-273, and 275-279 Morris Avenue is being built where two commercial buildings used to stand.
The demolished structures on Morris Avenue had been home to businesses such as Bagels-4-U, Runway Hair Studio, Picante, Gerondelis Brothers Tailors, and Pizza Rustica.
In their place, a four-story development is planned. The building will include 140 residential units and retail space, according to The Musial Group’s website.
Unlike many other suburban communities where mixed-use construction is occurring, Springfield does not have a train station within its limits. However, the township is served by Routes 22 and 24, Interstate 78, a jitney to the nearby Short Hills train station, and New Jersey Transit bus service to Elizabeth, Newark, and Manhattan.
