Tick, tick, tick: Merchants at Morristown’s strip mall face uncertain future as M Station looms

Peter Rizzo, an owner of the Morristown Burger King franchise. He has been there since the restaurant opened in 1979. Photo by Kevin Coughlin
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UPDATE: Information from Cluck-U Chicken has been added to this story.
By Tyler Barth and Kevin Coughlin

At a packed public meeting last June, the spokesman for the proposed M Station office redevelopment pledged an “unprecedented effort” by the developer to help relocate Morristown businesses that will be displaced by the project.

Eleven shops and restaurants in the soon-to-be-defunct Midtown Shopping Center must clear out by the end of March 2020.

So far, the Morris Pizzeria has announced a future home, on South Street at the former site of Boutique 161. The L.A. Perfection Nail Salon has told customers it’s moving to Martin Luther King Avenue. Cluck-U Chicken says it may have good news soon. Panera Bread is heading to Whippany.

Some other tenants say their prospects aren’t so rosy, and they have yet to see much help from their landlord, Scotto Properties, or from Scotto’s M Station partner, SJP Properties.

“We never heard anything from anybody,” except for an early December letter from Scotto with the spring lease termination date, said Peter Rizzo, a partner in the Burger King franchise where he has worked since it opened in 1979.

Green Life Market is having a liquidation sale. Photo by Kevin Coughlin

Jon Lin, owner of the Midtown Wine Merchant, said the only assistance he received after getting his lease notice was names of two realtors.

“That was the only help we got,” Lin said. “Is it that hard to give the name of two realtors way before that?”

The developers — scheduled to appear before the town council at 7 o’clock tonight, Thursday, Feb. 13, for their official designation as M Station’s redevelopment entity — say they have reached out to tenants and remain willing to help them.

Statements to the contrary, they contend, are a “patently false…divisive” attempt to undermine the project.

“While it would be unfair to the retailers to prematurely discuss the details of leases that are not completed, we know that, fortunately, many tenants are making positive progress in their discussions and negotiations for new locations,” Scotto and SJP said in a joint statement to MorristownGreen.com.

“We are sensitive to the questions and concerns expressed by some about the fate of these retailers, and have taken many proactive steps to facilitate their transition to new locations,” the developers said.

Starting more than a year ago, they said, “every retailer impacted by the development has been contacted on numerous occasions about the site’s potential redevelopment, and all of them have been offered information, assistance, and support.”  (The full statement appears at the bottom of this story.)

Approved last fall by a unanimous council vote, M Station will consist of nearly 400,000 square feet of offices in two multi-story buildings, with ground-floor retail, a five-story parking deck, a pair of plazas, a tree-lined promenade, and a traffic “roundabout” at the intersection of Morris and Spring streets.

Big Four accounting firm Deloitte has been announced as the anchor tenant. Construction is anticipated to take at least 18 months.

Scotto and SJP Properties have pitched M Station as a magnet for good jobs, a boon for area businesses, and a fix for traffic snarls.

Opponents have warned it will hasten gentrification, striking a blow to low-income residents of the Second Ward who can’t afford pricier dining options.  The Midtown Shopping Center also has one of Morristown’s last free parking lots.

NO SECRET

Town officials noted this project was no secret– back in the early 2000s, the town designated the strip mall for redevelopment. And four months’ notice of termination is more generous than the 60- to 90-days notice in most leases.

“We have helped. We’re willing to do more. Whatever these tenants need, they should be reaching out to the Scottos,” said Frank Vitolo, attorney for M Station.

Panera Bread is closing on March 8, 2020, after eight years in Morristown. Photo by Kevin Coughlin

When residents voiced concerns last year about losing affordable eateries such as Macho Nacho and Cluck-U Chicken, and the convenience of Molnar Pharmacy, Vitolo gave a “personal promise” of an “unprecedented effort to keep any retail that wants to remain here, here.

“That’s happening, and it will happen. And I assure you of that. That’s going to happen. Because I live here, too,” Vitolo said at the time.

At Tuesday’s council meeting, First Ward Councilman Robert Iannaccone labeled the relocation assistance “disappointing.”

Town Administrator Jillian Barrick defended Scotto–asserting the landlord even hired an engineer to help a tenant assess another location–and she praised behind-the-scenes work by the Morristown Partnership, a downtown business organization.

However, Barrick also voiced frustration with the developer.

“I think that there should have been better communication with the town as far as the timeline,” she said at Tuesday’s council meeting. ““I continue to express to the property owner and developer that they need to communicate better with us, so that everybody understands what’s going on with the property.”

 

M Station pedestrian promenade: Rendering courtesy of Gensler, 2019.

Jennifer Wehring, executive director of the Morristown Partnership, said “active negotiations” for relocations are occurring. She declined to share details, explaining she did not want to say anything that could harm such talks.

The plight of Midtown Shopping Center restaurant owners and employees, in a town where prime business locations are coveted and costly, continues to worry some longtime customers.

BEFORE: This is how Morristown’s Midtown Shopping Center looks as of June 2019. A developer wants to erect nearly 400,000 square feet of offices and retail space here. Photo: ScottoProperties.com

“Is the town doing all it can for these merchants?” resident Ken Hoffman asked council members on Tuesday. “The small-town appeal of Morristown is going fast and most residents and small merchants do not want it to change.”

A Molnar customer named Melody said on Wednesday she is rooting for the pharmacy to find a new home.

“They’re old-school. They take care of you, like you matter,” she said of the staff.

Panera Bread, a tenant at the Midtown Shopping Center for eight years, will close its doors on March 8.

All 20 employees will move next month to a new shop on Route 10 in Whippany, said Pierre Solomon, general manager of the Morristown Panera. Some of them may end up at another Panera scheduled to open next year in Morris Township, across Hanover Avenue from ShopRite, he said.

Marvet Yassin, who opened the Green Life Market health store at Midtown three-and-a-half years ago, said she wishes there was more time to nail down a new venue.

“You can’t just go and open a new location overnight,” she said, behind windows plastered with “Closing Sale” signs.  “You have to make sure the town’s going to let you open a grocery store, you have to build a kitchen, there’s so many things.”

The Morris Pizzeria will be moving to 161 South St., after 31 years in the Midtown Shopping Center. Photo by Kevin Coughlin

Andres Hernandez has worked at Cluck U-Chicken since 1995.  He said the restaurant’s 20 employees are keeping their fingers crossed.

“Every customer asks, ‘Where are you guys going?’ I can’t say till I know. We have to wait until something comes up…or not,” he said.

His boss, Neil Goldrosen, said Cluck-U soon may have a new home, within walking distance of the storefront it has occupied since he opened the business in 1993.

Although prior discussions with Scotto Properties about moving Cluck-U into the empty former Cy Drake Locksmiths Cy’s Brakes building, behind the Morristown Diner, fell through, Goldrosen said he’s optimistic.

“We’re going to be in town, definitely in town,” he said.

Meabwhile, the clock is ticking at Top’s China, a Chinese restaurant. The landlord showed the owner a storefront on Speedwell Avenue, but it lacked parking, said employee Shelly Chen.

“We’re still trying” to find someplace, Chen said.

Peter Rizzo has not given up, either, though he knows it’s a long shot that Burger King will find a Morristown location that can accommodate a drive-through window, which he said accounts for upwards of 60 percent of his business.

“We’ve got customers telling us where to go,” Rizzo said. “This is the only place in town with free parking. People used it.”

MORE ABOUT M STATION


 

Statement from Scotto Properties and SJP Properties:

We are making exciting progress on the proposed M Station project – most recently with the announcement that Deloitte has officially signed a lease to be the anchor office tenant for the project’s first building. At the same time, we continue to engage in discussions to support the relocation of existing retailers of the Midtown Shopping Center, both with the town and with the retailers themselves. We are sensitive to the questions and concerns expressed by some about the fate of these retailers, and have taken many proactive steps to facilitate their transition to new locations.

The fact is, starting more than a year ago, every retailer impacted by the development has been contacted on numerous occasions about the site’s potential redevelopment, and all of them have been offered information, assistance, and support. It appears that misinformation is being spread in an attempt to undermine the M Station project – actions that are divisive and unfair to residents and the community at large, who deserve to know the truth. Public statements implying that retailers did not get help from the property owners/developer are patently false.

The facts are as follows:

    • Retailers of the Midtown Shopping Center have known for years that the site lies within an area slated for redevelopment by the Town. Scotto Properties has been transparent with all tenants that the property would likely be redeveloped, and that redevelopment would mean that tenants would need to find alternate locations.
    • Every existing retailer of the shopping center had a lease that naturally expired over the last few years, with Scotto granting short-term extensions upon lease expirations that included a hard lease end date of 12/31/2020 – a date that was chosen to provide the town and the redevelopment team with some flexibility around the timeline for approvals for the proposed redevelopment plan.
    • Scotto intentionally did not push tenants to market rental rates at the time of their most recent renewals in order to offset retailers’ risk as it relates to the proposed redevelopment. Midtown Shopping Center rents are in the mid $30’s per square foot (psf) while Morristown retail rents overall are in the mid $40’s psf.
    • Each lease renewal contained language allowing the Landlord to “recapture” the tenant space for the explicit intent to redevelop the center if the redevelopment needed to begin before 12/31/2020. Multiple times during each renewal negotiation, every tenant was told that there was progress being made on the redevelopment, and that there was a strong likelihood that there would be an imminent start to the redevelopment in advance of lease end dates. Additionally, each tenant was explicitly advised not to wait for the start of redevelopment activities to identify alternate space.
    • Most of the short-term extensions signed with retailers allowed the landlord to recapture the space with either 60 or 90-days advance notice (terms that retailers clearly agreed to). The notice to vacate by the landlord to retailers ultimately provided retailers with 120 days advance notice, exceeding what was required by most leases.
    • Scotto, in coordination with SJP Properties, has had numerous conversations with every tenant, and gave most tenants advance warning by several months that the recapture notice would be sent in November or December of 2019.
    • The Morristown Partnership has been communicating on a regular basis with the shopping center’s tenants. The Morristown Partnership has been working to match center tenants with landlords and spaces, which has resulted in warm introductions for multiple tenants with landlords that have available space.
    • The development team also went above and beyond to engage retailers in discussions about potential alternative locations where the likelihood of the redevelopment plan being approved was discussed explicitly, and offers to assist were repeatedly made:
      • Morris Pizza has found an alternative location and signed a lease on South Street in Morristown. Morris Pizza has already posted a sign indicating that it will be relocating to this new location.
      • Scotto offered several tenants the opportunity to exit their leases early, at no penalty, if they found alternate space prior to their forthcoming lease termination.
      • Scotto provided tenants with market intelligence about space options in Morristown as well as in secondary/tertiary markets that tenants indicated they were interested in learning more about.

While it would be unfair to the retailers to prematurely discuss the details of leases that are not completed, we know that, fortunately, many tenants are making positive progress in their discussions and negotiations for new locations. We will continue to reach out to the tenants, and remain open to any requests for assistance.

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41 COMMENTS

  1. What has helped Morristown remain successful through the downturns that ruined most of Hew jersey’s County seats, was the decision by the governing body in the 1970s, to make its residents and their neighborhoods a priority. At that time the zoning required business and residential areas to be separated. The downtown then became deserted and unsafe at night Permiting residents to live in the business zones, returned our downtown to a place where residents and visitors alike would feel safe.
    The renovation and redesign of the Green by its trustees and the establishment of the Morristown Partnership, by a group of residents and local businessmen, led to a series of events that drew visitor from far and wide to discover Morristown. The next downturn resulted when in an effort to become a financial center led to a proliferation of financial institutions resulting in a reduction fo the kinds of businesses that attractive to the public at large. Compare the success of the Franklin Corners neighborhood and the amount of ratables generated by their varied housing opportunities to HQ Plaza on Speedwell, where the zoning defeated by residents appealing zoning decisions by the Town in court for a similar project were won.

    Ar each step along the way, required traffic solutions in every part Town were never implemented, while more traffic generating plans were approved.. The now proposed roundabout is doomed to failure, unless the other long dalayed solutions are not implemented first.

    Sadly, attorneys often represent clients, who generate the highest fees rather than clients fighting for what is best for the community, misleading many to believe their clients vision for the community is the wave of the future, in an attempt to profit from what our residents have fought so hard to preserve.

  2. The Mid-Town Wine Merchant is planning to relocate to Speedwell Avenue, pending A.B.C. review.

  3. Tragic. Been a loyal Cluck U customer for 20+ years; really hope they find a new home with some parking. Living in Mendham for a long time and can attest that the 7/11, and other eateries are the only convenient things to hit on the way home off of 287. Glad I finally moved last year largely because I was so sick of the traffic everyday at rush hour. Adding a roundabout at that intersection will do nothing to change that btw. The only real solution to Morristown’s traffic problem is to tear down the Green, make a circle there, and widen the streets.

  4. @ Margret – instead of us, why dont you just look to what I’ve been repeating nonstop. Look at the rising home values, rents, and restaurants and bars packed with people and ask yourself how can this possibly be happening if everyone hates the ongoing development of town?

    You, Charles, mtwngirl and Kelly need to figure out that question and answer before you keep repeating your alarmist tactics. A simple lesson in basic economics will help you all – unfortunately you all refuse to learn it.

  5. @Margret if you actually READ my comments, I have said many times in live on south st in Morristown. Why show my last name so people like you can terrorize me?

  6. At least we can count on Connor, JT, Jeff and Matt , who never reveal their last names or where they live or work, to always bash any valid concerns about any project.
    Nothing seems to excite them more than the possibility of giant traffic jams, ugly buildings and developers, making more profits at the expense of Morristown taxpayers..

  7. I don’t know how many do. Do you? No. And Deloitte is moving to a place like Morristown to attract younger talent who will certainly look to live in the area. Nearly every study and trend supports companies moving to urban centers to attract younger talent, which want to be able to walk or bike to work, and have plenty of places for drinks, eating, shopping, and entertainment right in the vicinity. Why else would they move and pay a bunch more rent and deal with traffic?

    As for your traffic concerns, perhaps then you can educate the traffic consultant company themselves and all of us with your superb knowledge of traffic, and tell us exactly what needs to be done that they are not doing in order to get you across town 5 minutes faster in the middle of rush hour.

  8. Please….educate me as to how many of their employees live in Morristown? How many drive to work to their current location? Do you think their employees are going to sell their homes and move to Morristown because their office moved 6 miles down the road?
    There has not been a thorough traffic study submitted by the applicant, just concepts

  9. who cares wasnt in relation to development. It was a comment to prove the point that 1000+ jobs and people living, working, and supporting the businesses in town is much better than bashing the project because it extends the 287 to BK time in a car.

    Do you know how many of Deloitte workers will commute as oppose to living right in town and walking to work? No, you don’t. How can we ever get to a live, work and play vibrant downtown if every development project needs to have a parking spot for every single person’s car? How would that work in a larger city? You need to compromise on certain parking zoning laws in order to scale up downtown development.

    Your suggestions for additional lane etc are fine. Glad to see you have ideas for improvement of the plan, but are you saying you do not agree with the professional traffic study that was done, and their assessment is wrong as opposed to yours?

  10. @Connor…yes the ‘who cares’ approach to smart development, brilliant. And I would imagine the staff of Deloitte will not be pleased when they cant park where they want to after queuing up on 287 to get to their office…tough luck, come in earlier? The improvements in front of the property for traffic circulation do nothing to alleviate an already problematic traffic situation. This is not a small project, more needs to be done to get it compliant with appropriate standards. Perhaps an additional lane?
    Zoning guidelines determine the development potential of a property…a ratio of square footage to the number of parking spaces required. If the building is too big, you wont have room for parking and vice versa. The garage does not provide the standard number of spots per the Morristown ordinance, yet complies with a specialized requirement for this project. Parking garages are expensive, they made a deal to lower the requirement to the detriment of the project

  11. @mtwngirl – I’m glad you at least say you are for development. See answers below.

    -What infrastructure improvements have any of these large scale projects done in town? Road widening, sewer or water upgrades? What would you like them to have done that they have not. The current proposal is to redo that entire intersection, its roads, and expand pedestrian sidewalks. They will also pay hefty water and sewer bills like the rest of us so SMCUA and others can budget accordingly with the revenue. They also pay other infrastructure set up charges as well.
    -What is the current travel time at rush hour from the BK site to Rt 287? What will is be after development? Who cares. If this matters I’m sure the traffic study can answer this for you. How can we have a work, play and live downtown if were against any big companies bringing jobs in because it takes me 5 min longer to drive through town now during busy times? Jobs and people in town are more important than having to sit in your car an extra 5 min in rush hour.
    -What parking standards are they utilizing? Other Towns require a lot more parking than Morristown. Poor parking or lack of parking has a negative impact on the usability and viability of any project….. Multiple parking decks are being built alongside the construction of this proposal that should help. Unfortunately not every one who wants a parking space in an urban popular downtown will find one right where they want it.
    -A hotel was approved with NO PARKING…I used to get my nails done on Maple, I will never find a parking space there again, and I will go out of Town where it is more convenient. … and many people will replace your spot at that business since they pay a higher price for the convenience of living within walking distance to everything. You going somewhere else is your choice.
    -Do you know there is an assisted living facility located behind the existing strip mall?? How is the added height going to impact their facility, what about the construction noise and ultimate noise from a parking deck proposed along their property line? …So we can never build anything there because building things makes noise. Im sure the parking garage will be designed to make the disruption of cars in it as less disruptive to neighbors as possible. Do you have any suggestions here?
    -How do you sign leases for a project that has not only NOT been approved yet, hasnt even been in front of the planning board yet?? Easily. Many many many projects are leased before things are built. They are built to accommodate long term lease tenants needs. Most warehouses and offices follow this protocol.

  12. Answer me this…
    -What infrastructure improvements have any of these large scale projects done in town? Road widening, sewer or water upgrades?
    -What is the current travel time at rush hour from the BK site to Rt 287? What will is be after development?
    -What parking standards are they utilizing? Other Towns require a lot more parking than Morristown. Poor parking or lack of parking has a negative impact on the usability and viability of any project
    -A hotel was approved with NO PARKING…I used to get my nails done on Maple, I will never find a parking space there again, and I will go out of Town where it is more convenient
    -Do you know there is an assisted living facility located behind the existing strip mall?? How is the added height going to impact their facility, what about the construction noise and ultimate noise from a parking deck proposed along their property line?
    -How do you sign leases for a project that has not only NOTbeen approved yet, hasnt even been in front of the planning board yet??
    I am a property owner and very high property tax payer in Town and love the convenience of the town. I am for development but you have to do it responsibly. If a project cant comply with industry standards, you dont change the standards to fit what they can build…you modify the project to fit what is right, its the basis of zoning

  13. @ Charles
    Yes, all important concepts you can learn by listening. And I don’t understand your last comment – are you calling yourself an imaginary opponent?

    I’ve asked this before but you couldn’t answer, but please tell me, what should the rent be on a 2BR according to the Charles Sprickman pricing mechanism? I can’t wait to hear this one. (We need specific dollar amounts)

    What is the official Charles Sprickman traffic to job ratio threshold where people start getting run over by cars in the street?

  14. Charles Sprickman, just admit it – you are nostalgic for 1970s and 1980s Morristown. I get it, some people live in the past and reminisce about the (not so) “good” old days.

  15. Luv 2 Attend the Connor _________ Re-Education Camps, where I learn things like “actually $5K rents on a 2BR are good!”, “trickle-down, it’s your friend!”, and “traffic – you may get run over, but think of how many jobs that just created!”, and my favorite “Strawman 101 – when your goal is PR talking points, just spout them at imaginary opponents!”.

  16. Not a great argument there, Rosary. I’ve said many times I live in town – its a personal problem for anyone who wants to believe what they want.

  17. Charles – I consider this teaching rather than arguing.

    And there we go, thanks for letting us all know what you think of the developers and the tens of thousands of people they attract to the town with their projects (these are “not normal” people though according to you). I’m sure many people think of you the same as you think of the developers.

    So whats your solution to lower rents? Curb development and reduce housing inventory? Legislate in some rent control, because Charles Sprickman knows pricing better than the free market? Again, your lack of passing econ 101 is shining brightly again.

    Now that I kind of got out of you that you would like to ban all development, never supported a single development project in town in the last decade that you can admit to, despise any drinking establishments in town, and have a fundamental lack of basic economics, I hope everyone here can take your opinions with a grain of salt.

  18. It’s been said that traffic is a sign of a healthy city. Imagine Morristown with very little traffic. Transportation, in, out, around, and through a city is a vital sign. No one likes traffic but they do like what it brings. Take away the traffic and you have a place where no one wants to be.
    Morristown is hardly unaffordable. If it were, apartments units, storefronts, condoes, etc. would drastically reduce their prices or they would stay empty.
    There are folks, like Charles Sprickman who yearn for the bad ol’ days of the ’70s and ’80s, when Morristown was on the skids.
    A salute the developers here. Downtown has been re-born. It’s better than it has been in decades. I have a feeling that there is more to come. I hope so.

  19. Connor, I enjoy you arguing with this caricature of me. Please continue.

    The only affordable rent in town is living in your head rent-free.

    Developers are scum, they are greedy and talentless hacks. They reject compromise and the town is awful at requiring anything that benefits normal people.

  20. What are you even saying “Its all a scam” ? All the new development, restaurants, businesses, activity, etc etc etc is some kind of illusion?

    You can see people “love it” by how many people want to live and spend time in the town. What is your answer to what attracts all these people taking your parking spots in downtown? What is your answer to the highly increasing property values? What is your reason for someone paying higher rents to live near downtown Morristown rather than 10 miles away for half the price? Why are all the restaurants and bar full with people willingly spending their time and money there?

    The problem is you offer no compromise. As I said you offer no new ideas or suggestions for discussion when a project is proposed – you just call any investor greedy and try to shoo them away, all with the notion that doing so is better for the town and you somehow know what residents want. You have no answers to the above questions because back to my other point, you fundamentally don’t understand econ 101 and what drives demand in a free market.

  21. The banks came here when NO OTHER tenant wanted to. It was before the development. People would rather have a fun downtown to walk around to shop, eat, work and live than abandoned storefront after storefront.. Look around Charles, times are good in Morristown.. Sure, growth has its problems– but a new parking garage and other enhancements can ease some of these concerns. Your negativity helps no one

  22. It’s all a scam, Connor.

    You should probably just take a day wandering the town and asking people how much they love the traffic and the crappy parking and a bank every block. I’m sure they all love it, I’m sure your attitude that citizens are too dumb to have opinions, and real estate developers are the real saints here, and no reasonable compromise is worthwhile, just bow to what the developer wants, it would go over great.

    And yes, there’s so much sockpuppetry here, there’s nothing to stop it.

  23. @ Charles
    sockpuppets – lol . Does that go along with your assumption I don’t live in or care about the town?

    You offer no solutions or ideas, you just sit back and insult developers and call anyone investing in the town a money grabber because you fundamentally don’t understand economics. You also refuse to answer any project you were for in town, because as Matt pointed out, you think Morristown was better off 20 years ago with desolate buildings, no nightlife, no bars, and limited businesses, but the wonderful ability to park for free next to a dilapidated building in downtown.

  24. It’s all a scam. History will prove those of us that aren’t in on it correct. 🙂

    People have lost their way when they start thinking real estate industry folks are the real truth-tellers.

    Connor and the other sockpuppets, I owe you absolutely nothing.

  25. Charles – what development were you for in town? Tell us your great ideas you had for town which would have been so much better. Still waiting. This is what, the 15th time, I’m asking?

  26. This project is GREAT and more like it needed in Morristown, retail is very different today and the developer is being smart and adapting to what is needed; i.e. housing and office. Morristown and the surrounding areas have so much restaurant and retail vacancy, so there is no reason the current places can’t find comparable locations. They have been spoiled by super low rents and short term leases which give the developer the right to recapture the space and them flexibility to adjust. This has been public and in the works for years, so the boo hoo’ing of we didn’t know is really disingenuous on the retailer side.

  27. The headline here: Haven’t broken ground, already breaking promises and victim-blaming. Wait until they start building…

    And of course, the obvious from Rizzo:

    “We’ve got customers telling us where to go,” Rizzo said. “This is the only place in town with free parking. People used it.”

    I mean, what, are people going to go into a parking garage and pay to park to get a whopper? Even more upscale stuff, I leave town rather than pay for inconvenient parking. Got a parking ticket a few weeks ago for daring to shop local without pocket change, what is even the point of paid parking in retail areas???

  28. Kicking out businesses already, before the project is even approved. Has an application been submitted for Site Plan yet? How will it be served by sewer and water, seems like a very high demand.
    And now that the complex will be vacant, will they higher security to patrol? Seems like an attractive nuisance for vagrants and trouble and will be a burden on our police force

  29. “Although prior discussions with Scotto Properties about moving Cluck-U into the empty former Cy Drake Locksmiths building, behind the Morristown Diner, fell through, Goldrosen said he’s optimistic.”

    The location behind the Morristown diner was CY’s Brakes a auto parts dealer, not CY Drake Locksmith.

  30. I feel this construction project is the best thing for Morristown. It will provide new business opportunities for the residences let alone bring monetary funding especially numerous jobs which should put people to work and off the streets let alone out of WELFARE while these people become a better and stable let alone positive role model in Morristown’s Society.

  31. Deloitte will bring hundreds of employees, most of whom will be eating lunch within walking distance of the office. Seems like there is a lot of available space in the immediate area, whether its suitable or not is another story.

  32. Midtown Liquors should move to Cedar Knolls where the old liquor store closed last year. There is still space available in the plaza by Mintea and 7-11 and the people in that area really miss the liquor store. It’s a hassle to go to Shop Rite.

  33. At least Morris St. has four lanes, if they deployed their original plan on South St, it would have been even more catastrophic.
    Why Deloitte has Morristown in it’s sites is anybody’s guess. It would be more understandable if it were a telecom or pharma, but why an accounting firm.
    Inevitably, they do get what they want.

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