A Preview Of One Westfield Place: Walking Tour Led By Mayor Brindle

WESTFIELD, NJ — Planners and officials from New Jersey towns and media representatives were invited to the first of many walking tours for the One Westfield Place project.

The American Planning Association, NJ Chapter along with Mayor Shelley Brindle hosted the walking tour of Downtown Westfield and the One Westfield Place Preview Center on Friday.

The ambitious, massive, and controversial plan was approved in a 7-1 vote on Feb. 14 by the Westfield Council.

The plan for One Westfield Plaza is to transform a total of 14 acres in town to connect the north and south sides of town. Seven of those acres are from the vacant Lord & Taylor store and the rest are acres already owned by the town including the Westfield Train Station.

In summary, the plan will construct 138 55-and-older residential units (including 21 affordable ones), 16 age-restricted townhomes with a public dog run, 16 non-restricted townhomes with a public community garden, 100,000 square feet of office space, and 27,410 total square feet of retail space across the project and 13,300 square feet at the former Lord and Taylor building.

Westfield Advocates for Responsible Development (“Westfield Advocates”) - an independent, non-partisan, not-for-profit organization - has since filed a lawsuit in Superior Court of Union County against the project.

The Tour

The tour led by Mayor Shelley Brindle and Town Planner Don Sammet offered a look at what is to come. It included visits to the One Westfield Place redevelopment sites, with a discussion about the redevelopment process and plan. It concluded at the Preview Center at 76 Elm St. with a Q&A session.

The tour kicked off at the Preview Center and stopped at the green area at the intersection of Elm Street and N Ave W (in front of the train station). This will be the "anchor of One Westfield Place, said Brindle.

The area will include two parking garages, an office building, a green space, and two plazas on each side of the station. The town will also use $1 million to improve the tunnel running under the train station with better lighting and access.

The station will also house a new Mexican restaurant, Maize Cocktails & Cocina, being opened by Food Network's Chopped Champion Chef Jesa Hennebery. Read More: New Opening Date Set For Mexican Restaurant, Cocktail Bar In Westfield

"Our plan is to connect the north and the south side," said Sammet.

Bike improvements and improvements to 10 different intersections in Downtown Westfield are planned.

"When you build for cars you get cars. When you build for people you get people," said Brindle.

Along the way from the station to the vacant Lord & Taylor store, Sammet noted that pedestrian and bike paths by circle will be widened and the walkway under the train bridge will also be widened.

The tour then made its way to the Lord & Taylor store, which was built in 1962. It was "the last significant investment to Downtown Westfield," said Brindle.

At the time the store was built, Brindle noted that newspaper headlines said the store would destroy the town but it turned out to be loved.

Sammet said there will be an adaptive use for the existing store with office space and medical use planned along with retail, and apartments and townhouses.

The new buildings will be LEED silver or platinum rated and built with natural construction versus steel. There will also be a reduction of 30 percent of stormwater with the project.

Brindle said the plan will help bring back the 2,200 employees that have been lost since 2015.

More walking tours are planned for the future. The tours and the preview center were set up to help educate residents and others about the project.

To stay informed of the project or for more information the Preview Center at 76 Elm Street is open Tuesday to Friday from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. and Saturday from 1 to 4 p.m. More information is also available at westfieldnj.gov/one-westfield-place or onewestfieldplace.com.

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