The fourth phase of Morristown’s massive Speedwell Avenue redevelopment was not expected to happen for years . . . if at all.
Enter CVS.
The national chain wants to build a pharmacy right now, at the corner of Spring Street and Speedwell Avenue, the designated tract for phase four. With swift town approvals, the pharmacy could open its doors next August–well before completion of the redevelopment’s first phase, a 268-apartment complex across Speedwell that has not broken ground yet.
Town Redevelopment Attorney John Inglesino on Thursday asked the town council to consider accommodating CVS by amending the Speedwell redevelopment plan by November. Proposed changes to phase four would include:
- Lower density housing, less retail space and fewer parking stalls than originally planned, and…
- Improvements to the clogged intersections of Spring and Speedwell, and Speedwell and Early Street, that eventually would add one extra northbound lane on Speedwell extending from Spring Street to just beyond Flager Street, and…
- Naming CVS as redeveloper for this portion of the project.
Council members, residents and property owners at the sparsely attended council meeting raised numerous questions and concerns.
Is lower density the best use of the 2.8-acre property? Wasn’t redevelopment intended to bring more housing, and with it, more affordable units? Will traffic improvements come at the expense of pedestrians, who will have even narrower sidewalks and more dangerous lanes of traffic to cross? Will a national-brand pharmacy create another generic storefront, diminishing the character of the neighborhood?
“I’m afraid this is the kind of strip-mall, drive-by approach that the people of Morristown don’t want to see,” said Councilwoman Rebecca Feldman.
Council President Michelle Dupree Harris, on the other hand, grew up in the Speedwell neighborhood and fondly remembered the former Shalit drugstore. Residents would benefit from a convenient pharmacy, especially if it hires Morristown High School students and workers with disabilities, she said.
LESS IS MORE?
Last October the council approved a redevelopment plan calling for 812 apartments and up to 85,000 square feet of commercial space built in four stages.
The fourth phase was earmarked for 150 residential units, between 25,000- and 45,000 square feet of office space, and 480 parking spaces.
Now, town planners are recommending shaving those fourth-phase numbers to 36 housing units, 23,600 square feet of retail and 107 parking spaces.
And that would come in two steps. CVS would erect a 15,000-square-foot pharmacy and 73 parking spaces on the site of an old Lincoln Mercury car dealership that has been vacant for more than a decade.
At some later date, with some future redeveloper, the residential units and remaining commercial space and parking would be built on an adjoining parcel that formerly housed a Blockbuster video store. The housing probably would rise three- or four stories above the commercial space, according to Phil Abramson of Jonathan Rose Companies, the town planners.
For years, state and local officials have debated how to alleviate traffic congestion along the Speedwell corridor. A 2006 proposal to connect Spring and Early streets would have cost upwards of $6 million and required demolition of many properties.
After poring over a traffic report completed earlier this year, and brainstorming with three traffic consulting firms, the planners now recommend a modified version of another recommendation from the state Department of Transportation, which would cost an estimated $2.6 million.
If CVS completes its purchase of the former car dealership from the Lotz family, and obtains redevelopment approvals from the town council and planning board, it will donate property fronting Speedwell Avenue that can be converted into another northbound lane.
The result would be two lanes for through-traffic to bypass the left-turn lane for motorists heading from Speedwell to Early Street.
Motorists driving from the Morristown Green up Speedwell also would encounter a reconfigured interchange that would require them to stop at a light and make a left turn to continue on Speedwell.
Experimental “pedestrian beacons,” synchronized with traffic signals to guide people at crosswalks, also are envisioned under this plan.
CVS would contribute about $175,000 worth of traffic improvements, including a better right-turn signal for Early Street and realigning the CVS driveway with Early Street. Conceivably, motorists could bypass the Spring/Speedwell interchange by entering CVS at Spring Street and cutting through an interior roadway to the Early Street entrance.
Who would pay for the rest of the traffic fixes is an open question. The state DOT is a potential source, according to Phil Abramson.
‘NEW AND FAMILIAR’
As for the pharmacy’s appearance, he said there had been extensive discussions about copying aethetic elements from 14 Maple Avenue, an environmentally advanced building that houses the Morristown Parking Authority and the Geraldine R. Dodge Foundation, and the Origin restaurant building on South Street.
The aim, Phil said, was to be “new and familiar at the same time.”
Councilwoman Raline Smith-Reid, whose Second Ward includes the proposed CVS site, said she would organize a community meeting to discuss the plans, which she contended were sprung on the council without sufficient time for review.
To Councilwoman Alison Deeb, the planners’ attempts to make Speedwell Avenue faster for motorists and friendlier for pedestrians seemed “contradictory.” Stefan Armington, the council’s liaison to the planning board, said he looked forward to scrutinizing the traffic plan.
An ordinance to amend the redevelopment plan could be ready for the council’s Oct. 11 redevelopment meeting, said Attorney John Inglesino. After vetting by the planning board, the measure could return to the council for a public hearing on Nov. 8, the lawyer said.
MORE ABOUT THE SPEEDWELL REDEVELOPMENT
The building can be re-used. The owners have been asking so much that only a national-cookie cutter entity can buy it. What about the housing element – people want housing.
The CVS would be a million times better than an building that has been sitting there empty for 10 years. Anyone that says otherwise is an idiot.