Chatham Borough residents now have a 100-unit rental building on the way to River Road after the Planning Board formalized its approval of the project at the board's Aug. 5 regular meeting.
The board adopted the written resolution for AJDM Chatham LLC's four-story mixed-use building at 29-39 River Road, following a 5-0 vote to approve the preliminary and final major site plan at a special meeting on July 16. Board chair Susan Favate, Thomas Belding, William Heap, Borough Administrator Steve Williams and Council Member Jocelyn Mathiasen voted in favor. No member of the public attended the July 16 special meeting, according to TAPinto Chatham.
The project will rise on 2.92 acres in the Gateway Overlay District 1, about 1,000 feet from the intersection of Watchung Avenue. It includes 15 affordable housing units (three one-bedroom, nine two-bedroom and three three-bedroom), 2,370 square feet of ground-floor retail and approximately 207 parking spaces in a basement garage plus 31 surface spaces.
No variances were required.
The building will stand 53.95 feet tall. The site sits within the Gateway Overlay Affordable Housing Zone District, adopted as part of Chatham's Mount Laurel fair share plan, which received Superior Court approval on Feb. 12.
Design concerns addressed
The approval came after three hearings, beginning May 6 and continuing June 3 before the July 16 vote. At the June 3 session, Favate said the building appeared too similar to a repurposed office building and lacked sufficient architectural detail. Mathiasen noted residents had expressed concerns about the visual mass of recent developments and asked the applicant to explore ways to reduce the building's perceived width.
Jonathan Schwartz, principal of AJDM River Road, told the board at the June 3 hearing that the development team intended the project to create a mixed-use environment complementing Chatham and serving as a secondary commercial focal point.
The board selected dark maroon brick for the exterior from four color options presented.
Mathiasen, attending the July 16 special meeting via Zoom, asked for the vote to be carried to the next meeting because four regular board members were absent. Board Attorney Vincent Loughlin said that was not a reason to delay the vote.
Two more applications on the docket
The Aug. 5 agenda also listed two other applications as new or returning matters, according to the board's posted agenda:
South Passaic Avenue (PB #26-04): 23 South Passaic Owner LLC and 33 South Passaic Owner LLC are seeking preliminary and final major site plan approval for properties at 17, 23 and 33 South Passaic Ave. (Block 121, Lots 10, 12 and 13). The application, known as "Vertical Chatham," submitted documents including a LEED residential scorecard, an environmental impact statement, a traffic study and a Historic Preservation Commission recommendation report dated Aug. 4.
548 Main Street (PB #26-02): 548 Chatham LLC is seeking a change of use from residential to commercial at 548 Main St. (Block 33, Lot 7), with two variances requested for parking and signage.
Meeting minutes from the Aug. 5 hearing have not been published for either application.
The Borough Council voted 5-1 on June 22 to halt a broader River Road redevelopment plan that would have allowed up to 720 additional apartments. The AJDM project, located in the pre-existing Gateway Overlay District, was unaffected by that vote.
The next Planning Board meeting is scheduled for Sept. 2 at 54 Fairmount Ave. Meetings are open to the public.
