The long-awaited redevelopment of North Park Place and 2-10 Washington St. — centerpieces of Morristown’s downtown — may have to wait a little longer.
A prospective redeveloper claims it was jilted at the altar, and seeks $64 million in damages from the properties’ owner, the buyer and the town.
In a 40-page lawsuit filed this month, TAG Development, LLC, of Union and its subsidiary, North Park Place Holdings, LLC, (NPP) of Elizabeth, claim they performed years of unpaid, expensive spadework to advance the project — only to be swapped out last month for SJP Properties.
TAG/NPP allege the town continued to feign progress on a redevelopment agreement with them, even after — the suit claims — town officials knew SJP had already secured the property under contract. TAG separately alleges it had an understanding with SJP itself to jointly pursue the project, sharing years of proprietary planning and legal work with the company before being cut out.
TAG/NPP contends the town continued collecting their escrow payments — which totaled $307,000 over the last few years — during this alleged charade. The suit further claims town officials knew about, but concealed, owner Dave Brown’s June sale of the vacant storefronts and offices to SJP, while continuing to negotiate with the plaintiffs as if nothing had changed.
Damages include lost profits and unreimbursed expenses, in addition to the escrow payments, according to the plaintiffs, who are represented by the Princeton law firm Hill Wallack LLP
The town council stripped TAG/NPP of its redeveloper status last month, handing it, along with the plaintiffs’ preparatory site work, to SJP — even though the latter company failed to bid for the project, the civil suit further asserts.
At the time, town Administrator Jillian Barrick suggested SJP’s “successful track record” in town — it built the M Station office complex during the pandemic — boded well for reinvigorating properties around the historic Morristown Green that have sat “vacant for way too long.”
The parcels include the former Century 21 department store, vacant since 2020, and the former Schenck Price law offices at 2-10 Washington St., empty since 2010.
Those buildings, along with and other storefronts along North Park Place, were deemed “blighted” by the council and threatened with eminent domain if Brown did not sell them to redevelopers. A number of purported deals fell through in recent years, until last month’s announcement of SJP.
SJP Morristown Green LLC intends to build approximately 160 residential units, and 100,000-120,000 square feet of build-to-suit office space with ground floor retail and parking along North Park Place, and another 54 residential units with retail and parking at 2-10 Washington, according to the resolution approved by the council.
The town of Morristown, SJP Morristown Green LLC, SJP Properties, and Morristown Green LLC (David Brown’s entity) are named as defendants in the suit, the latest litigation in a saga that has kept attorneys busy for years. (NOTE: This publication is not affiliated with any of the entities mentioned above.)
Mayor Tim Dougherty, who returned this week from a vacation, said he hadn’t read TAG’s Sept. 3 complaint and, citing the ongoing litigation, declined to comment beyond saying he wasn’t “overly concerned,” and that negotiations between Brown and interested buyers were a private matter not involving town officials.
“The courts and the lawyers” will determine the outcome, he said.
Brown declined to comment. SJP’s counsel, Frank Vitolo, called TAG’s claims “entirely without merit.
“TAG was initially designated redeveloper for this site in November 2024. After nearly two years, TAG was unable to gain control of the Brown properties, and its plans did not meaningfully advance beyond the concept stage,” Vitolo said in a statement to Morristown Green.
“SJP, which has a proven track record of delivering transformative developments and attracting premier tenants to Morristown, currently has the Brown properties under contract and is preparing plans to bring another landmark mixed-use project to the community.”
The attorney described TAG’s lawsuit as “nothing more than an attempt by a disgruntled former redeveloper to interfere with a project it was unable to advance. SJP intends to defend these claims vigorously.”
MORE COVERAGE OF NORTH PARK PLACE
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