Morristown agrees to sell HQ Plaza; deal includes public park

Movies are returning to Headquarters Plaza in Morristown.
Headquarters Plaza in Morristown.
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To some, it’s an eyesore. But at least it won’t be the town’s eyesore much longer.

And something green actually may blossom as a result, officials hope.

On Wednesday the Morristown council unanimously approved the sale of Headquarters Plaza, a complex with nearly 600,000 square feet of high-rise offices plus a hotel, mall and parking garage.

Movies are returning to Headquarters Plaza in Morristown.
Headquarters Plaza in Morristown. Pioneer Park is in the foreground.

More precisely, the town is selling the municipally owned land beneath this complex to the Olnick Organization and Fisher Development, joint owners of the structures.

The town will receive $1.6 million, representing annual lease payments that otherwise would have been spread over the next five years, town planning board Attorney John Inglesino told the council when the ordinance was introduced last month.

This accelerated schedule hastens an ownership transfer that would have occurred  in 2019 for $1. It also frees the town from making $675,000 in disputed bond payments, Mayor Tim Dougherty said in October.

FACELIFT FOR PIONEER PARK?

Sweetening the deal is a pledge from Olnick & Fisher to spend between $500,000 and $1.15 million to spruce up Pioneer Park, the property’s barren, wind-swept plaza.

The partners agreed to grant an easement allowing the town’s perpetual use of this park, an arrangement also approved unanimously by the council on Wednesday. (Councilman Michael Elms was absent.)

Recommendations on what to do with the park —  markets, performance spaces and beer gardens  have been suggested — will be solicited at three public meetings over the next nine months, Inglesino told the council.

“The opportunity is here to make that plaza a viable public space,” he said.

Town officials always contended Morristown held rights to the park, but a 1979 agreement was unclear, the attorney said. The new agreement spells it out.

The town also will have access to Headquarters Plaza’s 3,000-space garage during declared emergencies, according to Inglesino.

To carry out these transactions, the Mayor must reform the moribund Speedwell Avenue Development Corporation.  Five trustees must be appointed, Inglesino said.

‘I DIDN’T BUILD IT’

Although the 256-room Hyatt Morristown appears to be doing well, the 100,000-square-foot mall is not the bustling hub that was envisioned when the urban renewal project was undertaken decades ago.

A 2009 planning report blamed the fortress-like design of Headquarters Plaza for creating a “pedestrian dead zone” that divided the town.

“For the last 30 years, that building has been an eyesore,” said Councilwoman Raline Smith-Reid, who asked if money could be earmarked to beautify the backside of the complex, which towers over the minority community in Morristown’s Second Ward.

Beautification grants may be available, the Mayor said. Meanwhile, he said, the deal approved by the council makes the best of the situation at HQ Plaza.

“We inherited it. You didn’t build it. I didn’t build it,” he said.

Renovations to the cineplex  at HQ signal that Olnick & Fisher are serious, the Mayor said. While they are tough businessmen and negotiators, he said, “I think their commitment to Morristown is real.”

“I appreciate all the efforts by everyone to ensure that Headquarters Plaza becomes again a major force and gathering place for the town,” Council President Rebecca Feldman said when the ordinances were introduced.

IN OTHER BUSINESS…

Councilwoman Alison Deeb continued to press for a law enabling the town to charge fees for “excessive” emergency calls.

Her request was prompted by problems at a group home on Headley Road, where town officials say more than 130 calls to police and firefighters have been logged over the last year.

But special fees would be a “very slippery slope,” cautioned town Attorney Vij Pawar. His research found no similar ordinances elsewhere, other than a special agreement by the Rockaway Townsquare Mall to pay for local services, he said.

The Mayor said he would not support any measure that might discourage residents from calling 911.

“I don’t care if a homeowner has to call 100 times,” he said. “If they think there is a dangerous situation that affects them, they always should call.”

Neighbors on Headley Road have complained for months about poor supervision of troubled teenaged boys by the Devereux organization. The nonprofit intends to relocate the boys, according to its president.

 

 

10 COMMENTS

  1. I definitely think the park is a great idea – but the back side of the building needs to be addressed. The park is just the surface area above – not the rear of the parking garage.

  2. Morris Arts and Morristown Partnership, Grow it Green, the. Master planners have been creating some amazing events and programs in Morristown.
    Give Morris Arts, and Morristown Partnership and grow it green the opportunity to create an authentic vital and exciting place where community, arts, businesses can utilize our unique diverse community and make something awesome happen in that area. Morristown is ready.

  3. Does anyone have an idea of when and where the public meetings to solicit ideas for the plaza will be held?

  4. The wall is an eyesore. The open pit that sat there for many years was a worse eyesore, and much of the housing that was torn down on Spring Street and Water Street had been eyesores since the 1800’s. You have to go back to the early 1800’s to talk about that area being an attractive or desirable part of town.

  5. I’m disappointed to hear about this. Think about what the land looked like before Headquarters Plaza! It was horrible! It was a huge dirt hole with a wall separating Spring Street from Speedwell Avenue. A park? If Headquarters Plaza Hotel is doing well, then that means Morristown is getting help. Am I missing something here?

  6. The ongoing enforcement of H Q Plaza commitments was to be handled by the Speedwell Development Group, appointed by a Mayor, who was not reelected and never continued by several later mayors, once the agreement was enacted. Does anyone even remember who the members of the Speedwell Development group appointed by that Mayor and his predessor.
    Sometimes leaving development in the hands of elected officials, who come and go is not a wise idea. The best intentions of one group is often forgotten by those who follow them in office.

  7. That issue of the wall on Spring St was an integral feature of the design from the early 1970s. It was essentially a wall designed to divide the town and to let people know they were not welcome. It was wrong then but it would probably require a conplete rebuild to fix.

  8. Council-woman Raline Smith-Reid is absolutely right on – the backside of HQ Plaza is a disgrace. Not only is the building stained and poorly maintained, the dumpster area isn’t properly screened, the gates are rusting, the landscaping is all but gone, the sidewalk crumbling – it is beyond unfair to have residents of Spring Street have THAT as their view each and every day.

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