Battle lines drawn over Westfield downtown redevelopment plan
WESTFIELD – Battle lines are being drawn before Tuesday's town council meeting when an ordinance approving the Lord & Taylor and train station redevelopment plan is scheduled to be introduced.
Members of a recently formed citizens group, Westfield Advocates for Responsible Development, are expected to show up in force to call for a pause in the One Westfield Place project so more public input can be heard and alternate plans developed. The group held a rally Sunday at the train station to encourage residents to attend the meeting.
The Westfield One Redevelopment Plan is more than just the vacant Lord & Taylor property on North Avenue.
The plan for the 7.3-acre Lord & Taylor site calls for the adaptive re-use of the existing building into 100,000 square feet of office space; two residential buildings with 138 age-restricted units, 21 of which will be affordable; 16 townhouses for residents 55 and older; 13,300 square feet of retail space and another residential building at the corner of North Avenue and Clark Street with 28 market-rate units and six affordable units.
To the east of the train station on the North Avenue side of the tracks, the plan calls for a .22-acre section of Parking Lot 8 to have one residential building with 29 market-rate apartments and six affordable loft-style apartments; 2,110 square feet of retail at the corner of North and Central avenues and a public parking garage with 300 spaces.
By the train station on the south side of the tracks, the plan calls for a two-acre portion of Municipal Parking Lot 3 on South Avenue to have two buildings with a 210,000 square feet of office space, 12,000 square feet of retail along South Avenue and the new Boulevard extension and a new public parking garage with 200 spaces.
Earlier:Shuttered Lord & Taylor at center of major downtown Westfield redevelopment plan
After public comment when the plan was introduced last fall, numerous changes were made including changing some proposals for apartments to townhomes, the addition of age-restricted units, traffic improvements and upgrades to Quimby Place.
But Westfield Advocates for Responsible Development, which has posted an online petition that has gathered more than 2,000 signatures, argues that the development may be too big for Westfield and will generate more traffic downtown.
The group also contends that not enough public input was solicited in the development of the plan.
Email: mdeak@mycentraljersey.com
Mike Deak is a reporter for mycentraljersey.com. To get unlimited access to his articles on Somerset and Hunterdon counties, please subscribe or activate your digital account.
This article originally appeared on MyCentralJersey.com: Westfield NJ redevelopment plan draws pushback
