Pleasantville closes the deal on $150M housing and retail project
Signing positions the city to make a comeback
Nov, 24-2009 10:51 am
“This has been nothing short of a miracle. It’s a tremendous success story against the most unbelievable odds.”
By R.J. LIBERATORE Jr.
Staff Writer
PLEASANTVILLE – Work on the $50 million first phase of the Center City Redevelopment Project could begin in 2010 now that the city and River Development officials have formally signed a redeveloper’s agreement.
Mayor Jesse L. Tweedle Sr. and Warren S. Waters, company chief executive officer, inked the 400-page document before city, county and state representatives on Thursday, Nov. 19.
The 30-minute ceremony occurred at the same time as the 94th annual conference of the New Jersey League of Municipalities and in a first-floor executive room of the Atlantic City Convention Center
“We may not have it all together,” Tweedle said, “but together we can have it all.”
The agreement sets down the responsibilities of the city and River Development on a project that will eventually cost $150 million and transform 30 acres of downtown Pleasantville into a modern retail and housing center.
“Expect to see some very good things in Pleasantville,” Waters said. “We chose Pleasantville because it’s a place that needs it and because it’s impossible to find property to build affordable housing on in Atlantic City.”
The first phase is a 300-unit, one- and two-bedroom apartment complex and 20,000 square feet of retail space to be constructed on a four-acre downtown site that once housed Tri-County Building Supplies. The location is bordered by Washington and Milan avenues and Main and North Second streets.
The area is known as Block 85 on the city tax map. It once contained buildings that dated back to the 1890s.
“A lot of people counted Pleasantville out in these difficult times,” said Marvin D. Hopkins, city administrator. “This took a lot of work and a lot of time.”
City officials and River Development executives negotiated the agreement during a two-year process in which the nation’s economy suffered its worst setback since the Great Depression.
The initial construction phase will create nearly 500 construction jobs and 100 permanent jobs, officials said.
“This has been nothing short of a miracle,” said state Sen. Jim Whelan, D-2. “With capital in such short supply, you were able to put together a project that will provide affordable housing, jobs, and economic opportunities. It’s a tremendous success story against the most unbelievable odds.”
Most of the property purchases in the zone have been completed, as has much of the demolition, according to said Roger Tees, the city’s Urban Enterprise Zone coordinator. The state UEZ is expected to approve funding for the remaining acquisitions and demolitions by spring.
Tees said the UEZ spent $6.1 million to purchase the properties in the area.
Waters said the company will now begin to secure the permits needed to allow construction to begin.
“Once we get those,” he said, “we are ready to go. We want to demolish any existing structures so we can start with a clean slate.”
The buildings will be constructed in order, Waters said.
“We will have people living in the first building while we are completing the last building,” he said.
Waters said designs haven’t been formalized yet, but the apartments will be “work-force affordable.”
Waters said the Pleasantville site offers a great location for casino workers who want to commute by train to work.
He also offered ideas of what the retail portion of the first phase will look like.
“You might see a UPS, a small coffee shop, a dry cleaners, a health and fitness center,” he said.
Waters said 85 percent of the funding will come from private lenders and the remainder from government sources.
The timetable for the rest of the project will be come clearer in the next year, he said.
