I think one question that has not been clearly answered yet (and is a concern to residents): What happens if Prism has trouble renting these apartments? I think we can all agree the apartments are not cheap and the overall economy is not in great shape. Granted, it will be at least 2-3 years before the project is completed and people actually move in. A lot can change between now and then, but what are the impacts to the town if there becomes a high vacancy rate in that complex? I know the "studies" don't show this to be the case, but no study can guarantee success.

Mr. Englert,

You may advocate for this project because you have zero risk. You do not live in town. What is your vested interest?

The amount of the tax abatement that the redeveloper will receive has never been provided by the Council.

There is a thirty year tax abatement. Based on a construction cost of $ 110,000,000, and a presumed assessed value of $ 110,000,000, the taxes that would be paid under the current property tax rate would be approximately $ 3,300,000 annually. Under the proposed financial agreement between the Township and the developer, the developer is paying between only $ 450,000 and $ 760,000 per year as an annual service charge in lieu of taxes.
That is a potential tax abatement of more than $ 2,000,000 per year.

It has never been disclosed by the Township Council the net amount that the Township will receive from the annual service charge paid by the redeveloper, in lieu of taxes, after the Township makes payment of municipal bond principal and interest related to the project, fees to the West Orange Board of Education for students from the redevelopment project attending West Orange public schools, payments to the County of Essex, payment of additional municipal services required by the redevelopment project, and any other anticipated expenditures by the Township related to the project. In other words, this project could actually result in the taxpayers subsidizing it for decades.

The number of parking spaces that the project is providing is 70 spaces deficient of what the West Orange zoning ordinance requires for a project of this size.

There has not been a Main Street traffic study in five years and the Council has refused to order an updated study of traffic and parking on Main Street

According to a traffic study conducted in 2002, the morning and evening rush hour traffic levels of service at the intersections of Park Avenue and Main Street, and Washington Street and Main Street are level D. This will only worsen with 330 more apartments from the project.

The names and addresses of all investors in the limited liability companies involved in the Main Street redevelopment project have not been disclosed and the Council refuses to demand this information of the developer.

Audited financial statements of all companies involved in the Main Street redevelopment project have not been provided and the Council refuses to demand this information from the developer.

The Council has not provided a written report of the number of children from the redevelopment project that are expected to attend the West Orange public schools and the methodology for the estimate

The amount of interest that will be paid annually by the Township on the $6.3 million municipal bond issuance that the Council has proposed has not been provided by the Council.

An estimate as to the nature and the dollar amount of additional municipal services that the Township of West Orange will be required to provide to the project has not been provided by the Council.

The Council has not conducted its own market study as to the projected rental rates and occupancy rates for the project to determine whether the apartments on Main Street may reasonably be expected to rent for $ 1,800.00 to $ 3,000.00 per month

Copies of the letters of “no further action” from the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection for this project have not been provided by the Council.

Shall we discuss the Modification Agreement and Eminent Domain or the additional $6.7 million dollars in RAB bonds for COAH.

All of the above are either obuscations of fact or are questions long since answered to the best of anyone's ability and given the constraints on all parties involved.

The developer has submitted a proposal and the relevant financials upon which it is based.

It is really not for us to speculate as to whether or not their business decisions are sound nor is that within our right to alter and our risk remains the same regardless of everyone's very subjective opinions on the matter.

The point still remains that we have elected people to govern and five people with the authority (and more in-depth knowledge of the subject than most) made the decision that they did.

Anyone thinking there are a myriad of options before us and that throngs are waiting in the wings to do anything else with the site are simply being unrealistic.

Far, far too many open questions regarding this initiative that anyone with a clear conscience, integrity, and sound mind would oppose it without further investigation. Those jumping to trivialize the impact on the hard pressed taxpayers and promote the tyranny are clearly standing on thew wrong side of the aisle here.

Out of all the areas of West Orange, why would one think that people would be dying to move to the downtown main street area? And for a price like that? That makes absolutely no sense at all. For one thing there's nothing in that area that would attract someone with a significant income to be lured into living there. It's not like we are minutes away from NYC or a walkable distance to a safe and reliable train station. This is almost certain to be one of the biggest flops this town has faced. It's like screaming for you NOT TO DO THIS. With all due respect that area is not the most appealing to look at let alone want to hang out and raise a family. And if you could see from the all the patch crime reports that do get published it does not seem to be the safest and I cant imagine it getting any better. Lastly, Mr. Englert you're not a resident of West Orange yet you are a council member? If that's true you must legit have some other side interest into foreseeing that this project goes through. Let's face it the track record of politicians speaks for itself. They all have their hands in more than one pocket.

@ jamie: Suggesting I'm not a resident of West Orange is without basis in fact and doing so from behind a screen name while revealing nothing of yourself is ludicrous.

I am not, however, a Council member and do not represent myself as being one; I'm simply a long involved citizen who has been paying attention...and, absent your making the investment in the project, your personal opinion of the business plan is meaningless.

Lastly, the allegation that anyone in office, past or present, has something personally to gain from all of this is without basis in fact.

I didn't know you were a blogger! FYI... you can disable comments if you don't want to deal with spam.

I look at it a very different way. There will be no well-off renters in this building, as a matter of fact, there will be no well-off renters within a square mile of the Edison site.

Why? Because the place is surrounded by junkyards, auto body's, bus parking lots, whole-in-the-wall bars, warehouses, towing company's, run down two and three family homes and two blocks to the east is now home to one of the top 10 crime ridden areas in the state of New Jersey - Orange.

You want wealthy renters? Get rid of the eyesore, and there is a lot of it!

Or else you will get Section 8 renters and this will lead to crime and over populated class rooms. Then in return West Orange will need to hire more police officers to combat the crime and build new schools and hire staff for the schools.

So that $24 dollars at worst - has now just risen every tax paying citizen in West Orange $324 per year and it will keep going up every single year.

Adam... Lol. You posted your response on a different article! But what do you mean by.'government'?

Gary,

Prism doesn't care if they get there money from a wealthy couple or the State of New Jersey with the help of Section 8 - because wherever the money comes from - it's still green.

Your right, the $324 isn't projected, it's foreseen. See Gary, what I'm trying to say is once this project brings 300 new school aged children and quality of life crimes, us tax payers will have to pick up the cost with the average yearly increase in our taxes of $324...

If the tax payers can see this, why can't you? Again, this is the wrong project to build.

Gary, nobody is looking to attract low income renters, but the fact stands that in the area Prism is looking to build, the income level that will be attracted to the area is low income renters. Look at the Colonnade Luxury High-rise Apartments in Newark - they have a doorman and 24 hour security. I can assure you that there is no luxury in the Colonnades. The only thing the Colonnades have over the Edison property is that you can look out the window of the Colonnades and see a beautiful park, what is there to see looking out the window where Prism plans to build? Again this is the wrong project in the wrong town. Sorry

While there is always a degree of risk in life, the pronouncements of gloom and doom are not predictable either.

At the end of the day reason and intelligence will prevail and the voters will have their say via the referendum ballot and all public funding of millioinaire developers will be repealed.

Prism and their investors may then proceed on their own with their project pending the proper government board reviews and approvals.

Really? You don't live in this town GE? Wow! What a revelation! So has the town hired you as a spokesman? Just trying to figure out your role here.

There's no way. Just no way. Where did these people do their research? I feel like a general survey would show you given the facts about the location and proximity to its surrounding crime stricken neighborhood that no one in their right mind would cough up that much money for nothing in return but misery for an investment gone down the toilet. IF this project goes through it will surely become the biggest flop and burden this town will have ever faced. And if your got an outside source to investigate this deal surely it will turn out what no one would be surprised to hear..that someone got some paybacks or some money transferring took place between the developers and the people of this proposal. If history serves us well its only a matter of time. In 2012 nothing can be hidden anymore . I hope by then the housing market picks up well enough to the point were my parents can get rid of this property in a town they are clearly paying wayy too much for.

@Cynthia - you mentioned the developer spoke about why they think this is a good area to develop. Since I did not attend the council meeting can you give us a summary of what their reasons are? I'm curious to the reasons, as a lot of people seem to have strong doubts against the project's success.

Hi Tom,
Gary did a good job recapping what Mr. Diaz said. I spend Sunday afternoon watching the town council meeting (all of it, not just what I stayed for), and found Mr. Diaz's comments to be positive, confident and backed up by a lot of facts. As a former New Yorker, I can tell you that what the apartment is like and what it offers, plus affordability is way more important than the view out the window. Which, compared to many other areas commanding higher rents in NY, is far from the Fort Apache picture that many would portray. He told the story of a realtor (Gary, do you remember who it was) coming out from NYC to view the property, and when he picked her up at the train station, she was...happy, saying how 'easy' that was. Additoinally, people have been calling Prism to see if the apartments are available yet. So while some folks here choose to view downtown a certain way, not everyone does. The meeting, especially the last two hours, is well worth the watch.

Even if this project succeeds , it still fails. Turning downtown into a mini city. Good idea ! The already over 10 min drive from end of Main street to the other, deters me and many others, from shopping, eating, or doing anything in that area anymore.

Traffic issues will have to be addressed throughout the course of the project. Yes, it will be an inconvenience during construction and as traffic patterns are changed. But that doesn't equate to failure.

@Cynthia - I think Paul P. is concerned about additional traffic from residents traveling to and from the apartment complex once it is completed. I agree Main St. is currently very slow, but the biggest problem isn't the number of vehicles, it's the poor timing of the traffic lights. For example, the intersection of Main St. and Franklin Ave. (across from Washington School) is basically a 3-way light, but stays red much too long for cars traveling along Main St. I waited almost 2 minutes while no vehicles entered Main St. from Franklin or Llewellyn Ave. Then drive just 50 feet and you have another traffic light at Main St. and Washington. By increasing the length of green along Main St. it would easily help move traffic along more efficiently. This is something that could (and should) be done now.

As a downtown resident, traffic along Main Street is sometimes backed up, especially at certain times of the day. I would think that the developers and township will figure out alternative entrances/exits and traffic patterns to accommodate the development and the town residents as well. Since this is the oldest part of town, the two lane road that is Main Street has most definitely been problematic. This would have to be addressed in creative and manageable ways by Prism and the town.

You said that potential renters already live within a 5 mile radius. What towns are within 5 miles of main street? Hmm. That's exactly the population West Orange needs to attract which it seems to have already i.e. the spike of crime being reported in this town. And again what makes West Orange a spot where successful young adults would be willing to relocate to? There's nothing here that would remotely make me want to move to West Orange as oppose to moving to Hoboken or Jersey City. Those towns have a nightlife , convenience because of its close proximity to NYC, and accessible transportation throughout the day. That would be a better investment than to get a condo in downtown West Orange. Lastly, an anonymous poster would have no name associated with their posts. You keep replying with the same response to anyone who seems to disagree or have an opinion other than what you are willing to hear. I'm writing from the fact that I fit the demographic of what these builders assume would be interested in moving to these condos and frankly I don't see that as true. If west orange wanted to revitalize that area of West Orange there's got to be a better idea

You dont get elected into your position I take it because if you spoke with this demeanor I would find it hard to believe that you come across as likeable. Also do you get paid to keep an eye on this site and just blog? Seems like that's where you spend most of your time.

Towns within a 5 mile radius? Montclair, Maplewood, South Orange, Caldwell, Cedar Grove, Verona, West Caldwell, and Livingston, to name a few... not just the towns you're implying. And again, just because you're not part of the demographic that the project would appeal to doesn't make it a failure.

All personal and subjective opinions aside, can anyone possibly suggest that Edison Village won't happily fill the specific needs of a scant 333 future renters, in a state with a population of over 8 million?

No, of course you can't and thus is the fundamental problem with the basis of any such argument.

@Gary - while I am in favor of this project, nobody can guarantee it will be successful any more than anyone can guarantee it won't be. I'm sure every developer who has ever built an apartment complex thought it would be easy to fill a "scant" number of apartments, but we all know not every apartment project is a success. I have read bad reviews of alleged "luxury" apartment complexes in Bloomfield and East Orange (you can find them on the city-data.com NJ forum). People complained of bug/rodent infestations, excessive rent increases, etc. I'm not suggesting that will happen with this project, but just putting it out there that these types of things can happen and are unpredictable.

@ Tom G: We've long since reached a point where those voicing objections to the project begin their commentary with "I don't think..., I wouldn't pay...or I'd rather see...," all of which are very subjective, individual opinions with neither the requisite historical perspective nor any personal financial commitment.

Fact: The discussion of what to do with the battery factory has been going on for 50 years, earnest work on redevelopment for 22 years and a fundable plan in place for most of the last decade.

Fact: The challenges presented by the building (historic designation, inability to demolish and environmental site remediation) call for an in vestment of +/- $112 Million to construct what will have an assessed value of $80 Million; this is why it was designated a redevelopment project and why tax abatement (PILOT) is essential to its success.

Fact: The Council's redevelopment sub-committee labored for 18 months to arrive at the best possible deal for the Township and to draft the relevant ordinances. Mr. Krakoviak had ample opportunity to address his concerns and seek whatever amendments he thought necessary but, rather than do that, agreed to bring the matter to a vote for what appears to be political grandstanding. This served nobody well.

(To be continued...)

Fact: you use the word fact the proceed to state your opinion.

Fact: what most residents are concerned about is the unknown costs of this project if it doesn't go according to projections. Namely, what if the developer can't rent the 333 units at the prices he wants. Naturally, having invested money into the project, prism would lower the rents until he achieves occupancy. That would have an impact on school projections, police, bond payments, etc. it's not magnitude of pontential tax increases that upsets people, it's the idea of them period. I don't care if it's $1, I'm already taxed enough!

Opinion: "the best possible deal for the Township"
Opinion: "Mr. Krakoviak had ample opportunity to address his concerns and seek whatever amendments he thought necessary but, rather than do that, agreed to bring the matter to a vote for what appears to be political grandstanding. This served nobody well."
Opinion: "common sense tells me (and the folks putting their money where their mouths are) that finding 333 willing tenants in a pool of 8 Million won't be akin to crawling over hot coals and busted glass."
Opinion: "The "risk" to the Township (and the individual taxpayer) has been identified, contained and is, at worst, remote."

Just thought Id help you out by pointing out the above. Look, Im not saying you are not entitled to your opinion, we ALL are.

Ill agree with you about one thing, this was over long before it began. The only way to truly affect change going forward is to vote for new leadership. Joe K voted no on this project, he therefore has my vote in the upcoming election and anyone else associaed with him. I encourage others to do the same.

@ Will Rod:

That Mr. Krakoviak sat for 18 months on the committee charged with forging "the best possible deal for the Township" is a fact.

The risk HAS been identified and is quantifiable and, all things being relative, the risk IS minimal...as it is little more than we routinely do on a regular basis but, without benefit of a specific income source to fund it.

That Mr. Krakoviak had 18 months "to address his concerns and seek whatever amendments he thought necessary" is also a fact and if it walks like a duck and talks like a duck, chances are it's a duck...and I didn't have to get hit in the chest with an AK-47 round to know that Communist aggression was a factor in Indochina.

The conversation I, and everyone else should be having with Joe Krakoviak is why he agreed to bring this thing before the Council if he didn't think it was ready?

And what did he accomplish by sitting on that committee for 18 months, if not addressing these concerns and forging the best deal possible for West Orange?