Hightstown Rug Mill Redevelopment Lawsuit Dropped

A redevelopment company that was working with Hightstown Borough to revitalize the rug mill property voluntarily withdrew lawsuits they filed against the Borough almost four years ago.

“There is no longer a challenge to the redevelopment plan,” said Borough Attorney Frederick C. Raffetto, of Ansell, Grimm & Aaron, P.C., on Wednesday. “The litigation is over. The Borough can now move forward with the planning and redevelopment effort concerning that site without the cloud of litigation overhead.”

The lawsuits, which cannot be brought back against the Borough since they were ended with prejudice, date back to 2008 when Greystone Capital Partners NJ, LLC filed two civil suits against the Borough, mayor and council, in January and November of 2008.

The suits wanted the court to determine if several ordinances surrounding the redevelopment plan were “arbitrary, capricious and unreasonable,” and wanted the Borough to pay back $250,000 in escrow that the company paid over the years, according to court documents and Raffetto.

“We strongly contested that [the $250,000 in escrow] because they were aware when they posted those funds that there was no guarantee that they were ultimately going to be designated the redeveloper of that site,” Raffetto said, noting attorney Hussam Chater from Ansell, Grimm & Aaron, P.C. worked on the Borough’s litigation with him.

The lawsuit was dismissed Dec. 8, the day before the next deposition was scheduled, Raffetto said. The attorney for Greystone Capital Partners NJ, LLC did not return a call for comment Wednesday.

Mayor Steven Kirson said the lawsuit dismissal removed a burden that was standing in the way of moving forward in the mill redevelopment. Redevelopment talks began in 2004 with Wolfington Companies, which is a

Raffetto also recommended the council and planning board take a fresh look at the redevelopment plan with “2012 eyes.”

“Certainly that is going to be on the agenda for next year, how quickly I don’t know, but that’s something I would like to see addressed as early as possibly,” Kirson said.

Kirson said he would like to see something that would attract people to move into the Borough, such as residential rental property, commercial property and nice apartments, but said he will leave it to the planning board to bring different ideas forward. 

“I do believe that this project is so important to Hightstown and the revitalization of downtown that we must do this right,” Kirson said. “This the last real big piece of property to be developed. We’re looking forward to getting something done.”