Apartments Pitched For Morristown Green Inch Closer To Development

MORRISTOWN, NJ — A housing development that would add more than 50 new apartments to Morristown has taken another step forward.

On Tuesday, July 11, the council voted 6-0, with Councilman Stefan Armington absent, to introduce an ordinance establishing a plan for the properties at 2, 6, and 10 Washington St. on the corner of Bank Street.

If passed on second reading next month, the redevelopment ordinance will pave the way for 54 units with ground-floor commercial space at the corner of Bank Street.

The plan was first introduced last month during a redevelopment meeting where Accurate Builders & Developers presented plans to redevelop the three adjoining properties into a five-story structure with apartments and 2,000 square feet of ground-floor retail.

The approval vote on Tuesday came after a second presentation, this time by town planner Phil Abramson, who created the plan after the development firm presented the proposal last month.

According to Abramson, the process for the redevelopment began back in 2020, when the council authorized a preliminary investigation to determine if the site would qualify as an area in need of redevelopment with condemnation.

After hearings beginning in the fall of 2020, the Planning Board recommended that the council declare that the property needed to be redeveloped, which it did in March 2021, Abramson said.f

"Then it went quiet for a little while. Last month we were here with the architect and the redeveloper to present a concept," Abramson said. "These are vacant properties in the heart of your downtown, vacant properties that people look at every day. Morristown is thriving and successful, also despite the fact that it has these vacant properties in it."

According to Abramson, redeveloping these properties will "add fuel to an already thriving community," bringing more people to the downtown and creating more housing options.

The redevelopment plan calls for up to 54 residential units on the property, with a maximum building height of five stories. A minimum of eight units, or 15 percent of the total, must be affordable family units.

The plan also calls for the preservation of at least half of the facade, which residents argue is an important part of the downtown's identity.

"This will require historic preservation," Abramson said.

Last month, Dean Marchetto, the development's architect, stated that the units will be divided into 15 studio apartments, 16 one-bedroom apartments, two one-bedrooms with a den space, and 20 two-bedroom apartments.

Although the presentation included a rendering of the new potential development, Abramson stated that they are still working to refine the architecture of the building.