Jones Lang LaSalle
Parsippany gets plan for condos, temple
Tuesday, February 28, 2006
BY AL FRANK
Star-Ledger Staff
Those old steel bones that have served as an accidental landmark along Route 80 in Parsippany for 17 years may finally come to life.
A Warren County developer has filed plans with the township that would transform the four-story hulk of rusting steel into two-bedroom condominiums and add two other buildings for 90 apartments in all.
Given the site's visibility to thousands of motorists daily, the project will provide a "tremendous aesthetic improvement," applicant J.G. Petrucci Co. said in a filing with the board of adjustment.
The immediate neighbor to the L-shaped lot readily agreed.
"I'd be happy to see something done there because nothing has happened for so long," said the Rev. Donald Bragg, pastor of Parsippany Presbyterian Church.
Bragg was equally welcoming to a proposal for a Hindu temple on another parcel that adjoins the historic church.
Plans filed with the township by the International Swaminarayan Organization propose a 12,200-square-foot building with three shikaras, or towers, topped by flags. The design also shows six domes, one on either side of the roof and four above the temple's portico.
Both applications are awaiting hearings before the board of adjustment, which is holding hearings on a plan for another Hindu temple proposed for a warehouse on Entin Road near Lake Parsippany.
Bragg said the Route 46 temple would be no surprise in a town where 4,100 of the township's 50,000 residents are of Indian heritage, according to the 2000 U.S. Census. That's up from 753 in 1980. "We always welcome new neighbors and we believe this is the heart of Parsippany," he added.
The condominium proposal is not the first for the dormant site.
In 1998, another developer failed to bring another office plan to completion. Then, in 2002, the township was hopeful a new state law, which put a four-year time limit on abandoned construction projects, would force things to happen. The new plan arrived a year before the deadline.
The saga began in 1984, when the township planning board gave its approval to a project calling for a Bennigan's restaurant and two office buildings off eastbound Route 46 near Vail Road. The restaurant went up, as did the steel girders for the four-story office building and a foundation for a five-story office building. When the tenant defaulted, owner William Foody halted construction.
According to the current plan, the steel frame would house 40 units while the other 50 units would be housed in two three-story buildings. Also part of the project is a 3,600-square-foot club house and a pool.
Neither new homes nor houses of worship are permitted in the office zone. In addition, the temple needs a variance for its overall height of 55 feet, or 10 feet more than allowed.
The temple would include a basement with a kitchen and dining area, a prayer hall for 340 people on the first floor, where an apartment for the resident priest and his family also would be located, behind the altar. The second floor, with a balcony ringing the prayer hall, would also include a multipurpose room, classrooms and a meditation room.
Township planner John Chadwick has not yet filed a report on the condominium plan but, in comments about the temple, he said more information was needed on the temple's proposed operations. An accompanying police report also indicated more parking would be needed.
The temple's plans come as other congregations are also seeking permits to expand or build.
The zoning board is also considering plans by Christian Testimony Church, formerly on Tabor Road, to relocate its sanctuary to a former wire fabrication factory at 42 Intervale Road. The Chinese congregation began with seven families in 1980 and now has more than 300 members.
Meanwhile, a 7,600-square-foot church with a 50-foot steeple is proposed by the National Organization of the New Apostolic Church of North America for an Edwards Road lot near the Rutgers Village and Partridge Run apartment complexes. The two-story church would have 266 seats, according to the application.
Al Frank covers Parsippany. He may be reached at afrank@starledger.com or (973) 539-7910.
© 2006 The Star Ledger
© 2006 NJ.com All Rights Reserved.
Parsippany gets plan for condos, temple
Tuesday, February 28, 2006
BY AL FRANK
Star-Ledger Staff
Those old steel bones that have served as an accidental landmark along Route 80 in Parsippany for 17 years may finally come to life.
A Warren County developer has filed plans with the township that would transform the four-story hulk of rusting steel into two-bedroom condominiums and add two other buildings for 90 apartments in all.
Given the site's visibility to thousands of motorists daily, the project will provide a "tremendous aesthetic improvement," applicant J.G. Petrucci Co. said in a filing with the board of adjustment.
The immediate neighbor to the L-shaped lot readily agreed.
"I'd be happy to see something done there because nothing has happened for so long," said the Rev. Donald Bragg, pastor of Parsippany Presbyterian Church.
Bragg was equally welcoming to a proposal for a Hindu temple on another parcel that adjoins the historic church.
Plans filed with the township by the International Swaminarayan Organization propose a 12,200-square-foot building with three shikaras, or towers, topped by flags. The design also shows six domes, one on either side of the roof and four above the temple's portico.
Both applications are awaiting hearings before the board of adjustment, which is holding hearings on a plan for another Hindu temple proposed for a warehouse on Entin Road near Lake Parsippany.
Bragg said the Route 46 temple would be no surprise in a town where 4,100 of the township's 50,000 residents are of Indian heritage, according to the 2000 U.S. Census. That's up from 753 in 1980. "We always welcome new neighbors and we believe this is the heart of Parsippany," he added.
The condominium proposal is not the first for the dormant site.
In 1998, another developer failed to bring another office plan to completion. Then, in 2002, the township was hopeful a new state law, which put a four-year time limit on abandoned construction projects, would force things to happen. The new plan arrived a year before the deadline.
The saga began in 1984, when the township planning board gave its approval to a project calling for a Bennigan's restaurant and two office buildings off eastbound Route 46 near Vail Road. The restaurant went up, as did the steel girders for the four-story office building and a foundation for a five-story office building. When the tenant defaulted, owner William Foody halted construction.
According to the current plan, the steel frame would house 40 units while the other 50 units would be housed in two three-story buildings. Also part of the project is a 3,600-square-foot club house and a pool.
Neither new homes nor houses of worship are permitted in the office zone. In addition, the temple needs a variance for its overall height of 55 feet, or 10 feet more than allowed.
The temple would include a basement with a kitchen and dining area, a prayer hall for 340 people on the first floor, where an apartment for the resident priest and his family also would be located, behind the altar. The second floor, with a balcony ringing the prayer hall, would also include a multipurpose room, classrooms and a meditation room.
Township planner John Chadwick has not yet filed a report on the condominium plan but, in comments about the temple, he said more information was needed on the temple's proposed operations. An accompanying police report also indicated more parking would be needed.
The temple's plans come as other congregations are also seeking permits to expand or build.
The zoning board is also considering plans by Christian Testimony Church, formerly on Tabor Road, to relocate its sanctuary to a former wire fabrication factory at 42 Intervale Road. The Chinese congregation began with seven families in 1980 and now has more than 300 members.
Meanwhile, a 7,600-square-foot church with a 50-foot steeple is proposed by the National Organization of the New Apostolic Church of North America for an Edwards Road lot near the Rutgers Village and Partridge Run apartment complexes. The two-story church would have 266 seats, according to the application.
Al Frank covers Parsippany. He may be reached at afrank@starledger.com or (973) 539-7910.
© 2006 The Star Ledger
© 2006 NJ.com All Rights Reserved.
posted by Jones Lang LaSalle NJ News Blog at 10:58 AM
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