If Morristown officials invoke eminent domain in hopes of developing a vacant lumberyard, they only will scare off prospective builders, the property’s owner, Lawrence Berger, said this week.
“I think they’re going the wrong way if they think that condemnation will encourage development,” said Berger, who has held the wedge-shaped tract at the bottom of Elm Street since 1993.
With the town’s help, he said, he could entice a “pioneer” builder to invest $100 million in an eight-story, 120-unit luxury condo project to transform that section of the First Ward.
The town council voted on Tuesday to seek planning board advice on whether to condemn the property — designated in 2006 and again last year as an “area in need of redevelopment” — to spur action there.
Berger’s critics have suggested he’s turned off prospective buyers by pricing the land too high, perpetuating an unsightly, fenced-in hole-in-the-ground near the train station. The Harvard-educated lawyer, who is 73, has a reputation for complex and controversial real estate strategies.
“I think I know the value of this property,” he countered. “It’s a function of density, and how easy a town is to work with. It requires balance. If the town would allow the building height increased, and allow a density bonus, we would have a deal.”
Records show Berger bought the former lumberyard for $250,000 in 1993.
For most of the intervening years, he said, nobody wanted to build in Morristown. While the town’s become desirable lately, the economy still is emerging from recession. And, he said, the lumberyard area gives builders second thoughts:
Railroad tracks border the site. It gets less foot traffic than the area around the historic Green. A fire last year left a gaping hole in storefronts on nearby Blachley Place. Morris Street is a collection of gas stations and used car lots.
“Someone has to have guts to go in there” as a developer, said Berger, asserting that three suitors got cold feet partly because of residents’ opposition.
Spanning less than two acres, by Berger’s count, the former Slagle lumberyard is zoned for business use.
The town’s new master plan does not spell out new uses. But it recommends future redevelopment should be four stories tall, with a maximum of six stories, if public benefits like plazas and pretty streetscapes are thrown in.
“If Mr. Berger has a developer and wants to present plans to the town, he should do so,” Mayor Tim Dougherty said on Friday.
Any scenario must acknowledge residents’ concerns and traffic congestion, said Council President Stefan Armington.
Both officials said they are contemplating a comprehensive approach to redeveloping the lumberyard neighborhood, akin to the Speedwell Avenue redevelopment now under way after years of planning.
They are not eager to take on the legal battles and redevelopment headaches that would come with condemnation proceedings. “It’s just another tool,” for use if needed, Armington said.
CONDO COMEBACK?
Berger favors condos for the site, contending Morristown’s trend of apartment construction will lead to a rental glut that could hurt the housing market.
Condos are making a comeback in Jersey City, he said, as buyers realize they can own for roughly what they would pay in rent.
With luxury condos at Morristown’s 40 Park and the Vail Mansion fetching close to $2 million, he said, condos at the lumberyard site probably would sell for close to $1 million.
“The town thinks I should be more flexible. I think the town should be more flexible. Maybe we both should be more flexible,” Berger said, asserting that a marquee project at the lumberyard would lure other developers to the neighborhood.
Neighbors are likely to have something to say about that, however. At Tuesday’s council meeting, the Mayor assured an anxious Hill Street resident: “I’m not going to support an eight-story building behind your house.”
Berger said it’s been about a year since he’s spoken with town officials about the lumberyard, which he cleaned up after a fire in 2003.
A campaign donor to the Mayor, the Harding resident praised Dougherty for Morristown’s resurgence, saying he grasps the cyclical nature of real estate and has made the best of the uptick. Berger also noted the First Ward has a new councilman, Bob Iannaccone, a Republican who succeeded Council President Rebecca Feldman.
“We didn’t always see eye to eye,” Berger said of Feldman, an Independent who has stepped down after eight years.
“I think everyone could give a little,” he added. “If we could get this building built [at the lumberyard], this part of town would change on its own. You wouldn’t need a 10-year plan. People would buy the burned-out buildings [on Blachley Place]. It’s the pioneer, the first guy who goes in there, who needs encouragement.”
Separately, movement may be coming on another vacant Berger holding: The former Calaloo Café on South Street. Last known as Yo & Papa, it closed in 2011.
Sales of that property — one of the few on South Street with parking — and its liquor license are imminent, to different buyers, Berger said.
The developers who took a chance during tough economic times are why Morristown has prospered. The old Epdteins and Woolworth buildings are just a small part of the successful development that has taken place. While some of the uses are not compatible, it is what it is. Politicians sometime make the worst planners. In some cases they want to blame lack of their own foresite on the developers who took the risks to make Morristown what it is today.
this slumlord should be brought to task with his rat infested empty lot on Speedwell, across from the magnificent and architecturally relevant Headquarters Plaza..
I hope they build an 8-story building there.
Six stories, I believe.
How tall – how many stories – is the transit village complex that’s just across Morris Ave?
Perhaps, Mr. berger should take another look at his practically landlocked lot abutting the railroad, with a poorly maintained deeded right of way along the other side. I do agree that we have reached the saturation point for apartments. Some of Mr. burgers other properties in Morristown would be far more suited for new condos than the old lumber yard
I doubt Morristown’s increasing popularity is a result of HQ Plaza or all the new development. Thankfully, the Green is privately owned and remains a charming draw because it create a pleasant oasis in the midst of all the development. To bad there is no such place in Franklin Corners to buffer the increasing congestion in the area of Morris and Elm Streets.
Berger’s been playing the derelict property game in Morristown for decades, and it’s not pretty. An eight story condo at that intersection would create traffic havoc that taxpayers would have to foot the bill to fix while Sir Berger raked in the cash.