Over the last few years, despite a few notable exceptions like Sussex Avenue Urban Renewal, most proposals for new multi-family developments in East Orange have been for properties that are either along the South Harrison Street corridor or are near the Essex County city’s two train stations. However, a new proposal could bring a residential building to a property that sits several blocks away from where similar projects have recently been planned.
A new building with 123 apartments is on the books for 45 South Grove Street, a property located at the corner of Sussex Avenue just east of the Garden State Parkway/Route 280 interchange. A legal notice shows that the East Orange Planning Board is scheduled to hear an application for Site Plan approval in connection with the project during its meeting this Wednesday, October 3, at 7:30 p.m. The developers, listed solely as 45 South Grove Street Urban Renewal, LLC and 45 South Grove Street II, LLC, are planning to include 117 parking spaces instead of the 185 that are required for the site.
A resolution designating 45 South Grove Street, LLC as the redeveloper of several properties in the Sussex Avenue Redevelopment Area was expected to be heard by the East Orange City Council on September 24, according to an agenda for the meeting. Filings from the New Jersey Division of Enterprise Services show that LLCs called 45 South Grove and 45 South Grove II were registered in April and June out of West Orange and East Orange, respectively.
Currently, the lot contains a vacant one-story building that is labeled as the Ballantine Memorial. The structure was previously occupied by the Blood Center of New Jersey before the non-profit organization closed in 2014 after 67 years. The site was later put on the market by The Goldstein Group.
Located near the Calvary Baptist Church and the Bailey-Holt Tower, the property is served by New Jersey Transit’s 90 bus to Newark, Bloomfield, and Irvington.
