Back to the Future with Victorian Facades

A pair of four-story, Victorian-style structures will soon replace the low-slung storefronts and vacant properties that line South Avenue near Martine Avenue. The new buildings will be mixed-use: stores on the ground level, apartments on the floors above. They are part of a larger redevelopment plan for downtown Fanwood, one that seeks to rejuvenate the borough's struggling business district.

The Fanwood Downtown Redevelopment Agency reviewed the building designs and amended its development plan at a meeting last Thursday night. The agency's members, who include the Mayor and all six Borough Council members, greeted the proposals with enthusiasm.

"You have four stories, you come over the Martine Avenue bridge, it's impressive, it's beautiful," Mayor Colleen Mahr said.

The building designs, which are preliminary, incorporate the aesthetic themes reflected by Fanwood's historic train station. The proposed buildings feature peaked, green-shingled roofs, intricate woodwork, brightly colored siding and a plaza.

"It will be a gateway to the community, a crown jewel," said David Checchio, a Scotch Plains native and in-house counsel for Elite Properties, which will develop the properties.

The plaza, which will separate the two buildings, also provides access to the LaGrande parking lot. No longer will Fanwood's train commuters need to walk across the broken asphalt of Sovereign Bank's (now vacant) parking lot to reach the station. Instead, they will be directed through a promenade bordered by borough businesses.

"It includes public space and an outdoor dining area…right there in the heart of the community," Checchio said.

In addition to reviewing the proposed four-story buildings, the agency also amended its overall development plan. It added 16 single-family townhouses along LaGrande Avenue, and shifted units among the South Avenue properties, for a total of 122 residential units.

The plan also includes a preliminary redesign of the LaGrande parking lot. The design eliminates the barrier that divides the parking lot in two, repositions the lot's entrances and brings the total number of parking spaces to 260.

Mahr cautioned that all the plans are preliminary and likely to change. But excitement for the redesigns remained virtually palpable.

"It's very, very, very nice," Council member Joan Wheeler said, smiling.

Checchio, too, said he was looking forward to the project. "It's really exciting to help grow and shape the community," he said. "We grew up here. That's a rare opportunity for a real estate developer." 

He also assured the agency that Elite Properties would remain invested in the project and the proposed four-story structures. "They would continue to be owned by our families, by our companies," he said. "We're making that commitment now. We want to be here for the lifetime of the building."

The amendments to the redevelopment plan will go before the Fanwood Borough Council at the Council's regular meeting Aug. 10. The amendments will then be referred to the Planning Board to review Aug. 18. They will then return to the Council for final approval Sept. 24.

In the meantime, Elite Properties will begin demolishing the vacant properties at the corner of South Avenue and Martine Avenue. By Fanny Wood Day, Checchio promised, "that building [will be] down," and the site will be clean." All that will be left is cleared land, primed for building.