Updated CVS plan, adoption of Morris Street redevelopment before Morristown council, Nov. 8

Artist's conception of proposed CVS pharmacy for Morristown. Photo by Kevin Coughlin
Artist's conception of proposed CVS pharmacy for Morristown. Photo by Kevin Coughlin
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Revised plans for a CVS pharmacy proposed for the corner of Speedwell Avenue and Spring Street will be presented tonight, Nov. 8, to the Morristown council, at 7 pm in town hall.

The council also is likely to approve a redevelopment plan for apartments at Morris Street and Ford Avenue.

And there may be discussion about how many bars to allow in redevelopment zones–and how to define “bars” in town regulations.

JOBS AND FACADES

CVS seeks expedited approvals for what the town had envisioned as the fourth phase of a massive redevelopment of Speedwell Avenue that has not started yet. This phase would move to the head of the line if approved by the council. CVS wants to open a 15,000-square-foot pharmacy at the corner site by next summer.

Artist's conception of proposed CVS pharmacy for Morristown. Photo by Kevin Coughlin
Artist's conception of proposed CVS pharmacy for Morristown. Photo by Kevin Coughlin

The national chain has offered to donate frontage property for an extra lane on Speedwell, to ease the congested intersection at Spring Street.

Reconfiguration of that intersection is among some $2.6 million of traffic improvements envisioned for that corridor, though it’s not clear who would pay and when the work would be completed.

Area business owners and residents have welcomed the prospect of having a national business invest in a neighborhood that lacks a convenient pharmacy and needs jobs.

Members of the town’s historic preservation commission have objected to the proposed demolition of a former car dealership, a brick building with a distinctive facade dating to 1903. Others have questioned whether an internal roadway at CVS would become a cut-through by motorists seeking to avoid the Speedwell/Spring intersection, and whether the proposed layout and extra lane run counter to planning goals of creating broad, pedestrian-friendly sidewalks in the Speedwell redevelopment zone.

COUPLES AND COMMUTERS

The Morris/Ford project calls for 74 rental housing units, including eight affordable units, and up to 99 parking spaces on two adjoining parcels spanning 1.5 acres.  The council unanimously introduced the redevelopment plan last month. It was scheduled for scrutiny by the town planning board.

If the council adopts the plan, the next step is an agreement laying out what is expected of the two owner/redevelopers, Leona Development LLC and Mountain Realty LLC. After that, the planning board must vote on a site plan showing the final layout.

Singles, young couples and commuters who would walk to the train station are envisioned as tenants for this project. It’s hoped that the train station will be reopened by the time the apartments are built. The Morris & Essex line sustained “catastrophic” damage from Hurricane Sandy, according to an NJ Transit spokesperson, who could not predict when the line will be reopened.

 

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