Teaneck—A unique party venue, amusement facility and exhibit complex could soon be flying elsewhere. World of Wings, which opened in 2012, was put up for sale about a year ago and may make way for an apartment complex bringing in more property taxes to the revenue-strapped township.
AvalonBay, known for their luxury apartment complexes up and down the east coast and California, has petitioned the Teaneck, NJ township council to change the zoning of the 5.88 acre museum property on Windsor Road to accommodate their proposal. A sale of the property is contingent upon a change in the zoning.
On May 19, Ron Ladell, Senior Vice President of AvalonBay Communities, Inc., and Matthew Giammanco, Development Manager, made a presentation to the Teaneck Council requesting the initiation of a study on the effect of rezoning the museum property to allow for a multi-family, 248 unit complex. The property, which had been a perfume factory before the museum purchased the property, had already been rezoned from industrial use.
The proposed four story mid-rise elevator buildings will have 70 units each. They will consist of some studio apartments as well as, one, two and some three bedroom apartments, each over a parking deck or alongside a parking deck. The complex will have a wrap around configuration around the parking deck so that residents can park on a deck even with their floor. The complex will also have courtyards with recreation areas and a park.
While the World of Wings presently pays abut $200,000 into Teaneck’s property tax coffers, AvalonBay estimates it will be paying about $1 million.
In answer to questions asked by Council Member Henry Pruitt about the January fire that engulfed the AvalonBay complex in Edgewater, NJ, Ladell said that notwithstanding the present code (which is controlled by the state and has not been significantly updated in many years) the company decided to voluntarily enhance the fire suppression system in two projects in New Jersey presently under construction in Princeton and Maplewood.
While the investigation into the Edgewater fire is ongoing and no report has yet been issued, it has been reported that the overall sprinkler design was deficient in that it was built to preserve life but not to save the structure.
AvalonBay will be going to what is called a “13” instead of a “13R” code. The code change, which has to do with the fire suppression system, is under review by the Department of Community Affairs. Ladell had met with Bergen County Executive James Tedesco III who is the former fire chief in Paramus who said upon hearing about the voluntary change in fire suppression systems, “That’s exactly what needs to be done to protect residents and firemen, should a fire ever occur.”
Ladell told JLNJ that since the council meeting, several Teaneck residents have called, saying that there is a demand for this type of complex and they are in support of the project. This was reflected by the response of the Teaneck Council which voted unanimously for the project to be referred to the Planning Board which is the next step, which they did on June 9.
Ladell could not tell JLNJ when it will be reviewed by the Planning Board. The length of the process and the time it will be reviewed is up to them.
Ladell said that they are in the preliminary stages of the proposal. “We have to apply for a zone change and then apply for a site plan approval. “We are many, many months away from getting to a site plan review.”
Council Member Mark J. Schwartz, who is also JLNJ’s co-publisher, said the township council voted to refer the request for rezoning to the township’s Planning Board, of which Schwartz is the council’s liaison. He said the Planning Board will hear the matter and vote on their recommendations to be sent to the council. However, AvalonBay can also apply for rezoning directly with the Planning Board as there are various intricacies on how it can work.
The council also voted to have the township’s planner, Richard Preiss, and his firm study the matter. They voted to approve AvalonBay paying the approximately $20,000 in fees. If the governing body (the council) sees fit to move forward on the zoning request they do so by ordinance.
AvalonBay is presently also applying for a use variance in Wayne for another complex and they are also building in Wharton, Union and Roseland.
AvalonBay has $22 billion in market capitalization and owns 85,000 apt. homes in 6,500 communities in New Jersey—Jersey City, Hackensack, Woodridge, Florham Park, Long Branch, West Windsor and Bloomingdale.
JLNJ previously reported that the Avalon representative told the council that the company was flush enough to finish the project regardless of market fluctuations. “We don’t borrow money to build projects. We are large enough and have cash flow enough that we build out of our own equity.” Information regarding AvalonBay can be found on its website at http://www.avaloncommunities.com/about-us.
By Anne Phyllis Pinzow
