'M Lofts' Apartment Project Gets Green Light From Morristown Council

MORRISTOWN, NJ — This week, Morristown Council members unanimously approved changes to a redevelopment plan which will pave the way for an apartment complex near the new M Station.

SJP Properties and Sotto Properties, who are the developers on the M Station project, pitched this new "M Lofts" apartment plan in mid-March.

The five-story building would contain 150 apartments, and take the place of two old houses and an electrical supply building that sit between Spring Place and Bishop Nazery Way. The M Lofts building would also be across the street from The Edge at Morristown.

Members approved changes to the Spring Street Redevelopment Plan at Tuesday's Town Council meeting, which you can watch here.

This is the third amendment to this plan, which town officials have been fine-tuning for close to 20 years as they seek to revitalize this corridor. The redevelopment area begins at the intersection of Spring and Morris streets (where M Station is in its final building phase), and extends to Water Street/Bishop Nazery Way.

More than 280 people had signed a petition which started by resident Deborah Ryysylainien, asking the developers to preserve some of the character of the vacant electrical building.

Ryysylainien spoke up at Tuesday's meeting, saying the town "is losing so much of what makes Morristown attractive" and categorized the planned look of M Lofts as "another characterless and oversized apartment block."

Included in the M Lofts plan is a small park across Spring Street in a lot backing up to the Presbyterian Church, and restoration of an existing three-story apartment building at 12 Spring Street.

Two residents of this tenement building also expressed worries that the developer would demolish their apartments, leaving them with few affordable options in Morristown. Mayor Tim Dougherty replied that he will include "strong language for the preservation of this property" when town officials go to finalize the redevelopment agreement, saying he would hold firm on the matter.

Dougherty added that the town does have some say in what happens, but ultimately the owner of the property would be the one to decide if it is demolished. The building's owner is listed on the county auditor's website as "10-16 LLC Villa Enterprises."