Morristown’s Speedwell Phase Two: Stoops, a pool and a…woonerf?

By Kevin Coughlin

The next round of apartments in Morristown’s Speedwell Avenue redevelopment will have front stoops, two-tone brick with metal trim, a rooftop terrace and courtyard swimming pool and… a woonerf.

That’s European for a wide boulevard where motorists and pedestrians vie for supremacy.

It’s among the design details presented Thursday to town council members by representatives of Mill Creek Residential, developer of the proposed 185-unit complex known as Phase Two of the redevelopment.

“We’d like to build as quickly as possible,” said Mill Creek’s Rich Murphy.

Mill Creek opened Phase One — 268 apartments collectively named Modera 44 — almost a year ago.   It’s fully leased, Murphy said.

Phase Two construction is anticipated to take 22 months. But first the council must approve a schedule of payments-in-lieu-of-taxes, and a redevelopment agreement spelling out the builder’s obligations.

Approvals are likely to wait until new council members take office in the new year; the council is scheduled to meet only once more in 2015.  It takes two meetings for an ordinance to become law.

The council lacked a quorum on Thursday– only Toshiba Foster, Stefan Armington and Raline Smith-Reid showed up–and members only just received the redevelopment agreement, according to Armington. Town redevelopment Attorney John Inglesino said these documents cannot be released publicly prior to a council vote.

PARKS AND POOLS

Architect Bruce Stieve gave a brief presentation describing how Phase Two will complement the adjacent Modera 44 structure.

Both projects occupy land across from Morristown High School, property that formerly housed the town public works department. The Morristown Ambulance Squad soon must vacate its headquarters there as well.

Phase Two will be set back farther from Early Street than its neighboring apartment building, for wider sidewalks and more trees, Stieve told the council.  Apartments fronting Early also will have stoops leading to private entrances.

Brick exteriors will have just two colors, to provide a textured look without mimicking the busier design of Modera 44, the architect said.  A passive-recreation park  stretching from Speedwell to Prospect Street will be designed by the town, according to Murphy.

The woonerf will wind around the new complex, which will boast a swimming pool in a courtyard, Stieve said.

“Can we get membership to the pool?” Foster, the council vice president, said with a laugh.

“Yeah — Burnham Park,” interjected Mayor Tim Dougherty, referring to the the town pool.

Sixty of 274 parking spaces beneath the four- to six-story structure will be reserved for public use, under management of the Morristown Parking Authority, Stieve continued.

Some 28 apartments — 15 percent of the total — will be designated as “affordable” units, to be filled by a lottery, the same way Modera 44 filled its affordable units. Five of these will have three bedrooms, Murphy said.  All other apartments in Phase Two will have one- (60 percent) or two (40 percent) bedrooms.

Market rents are anticipated to be about $2,200 per month for a 750-square-foot single bedroom unit, and around $2,700 for an 1,050-square foot two-bedroom apartment, Murphy said.

Both apartment buildings cater to “renters by choice”:  Professionals, divorcees and empty-nesters who enjoy walking to the downtown, Murphy said.

“I think it’s a fantastic development,” Councilman Armington said of the Phase Two proposal. “The quality of the design and materials is top-level, and representative of the town as a whole.”

Mayor Dougherty described the pending project as “well thought out.

“Mill Creek has shown that it built what it said it would build in the first phase,” he said. “This is another outstanding job.”

MORE ABOUT THE SPEEDWELL REDEVELOPMENT