Verona Plans To Buy Our Lady of the Lake Parking Lot On Lakeside Avenue

VERONA, NJ — Verona plans to buy and develop the Our Lady of the Lake parking lot on Lakeside Avenue, which can hopefully help meet a growing need for more parking spaces – while also making some money for the township, officials recently announced.

The plan is part of an ongoing effort to “revitalize and support Verona's downtown economy and local businesses,” town officials announced this week.

Here’s the concept, officials said:

“To ease the strain on existing municipal lots and free up spaces for both downtown businesses and Verona Park, the proposed parking lot will offer around 140 metered spots along with overnight and commercial parking permits. Additional revenue streams will come from electric vehicle (EV) charging stations. These projected revenues offset project costs and lead to a point at which the site is generating revenue for the township.”

A bond for the purchase was approved during the Verona Township Council’s meeting on Monday (watch the video below). To support the project, the township has applied for grant funding from the New Jersey Economic Development Authority to cover up to 80 percent of the acquisition costs.

According to a post on the municipal website, other details include:

• “A new traffic signal to help safely manage the increased foot traffic, will be installed by Essex County. The county is currently designing a signal at the intersection of Lakeside Avenue and Pease Avenue and is aware of the township's proposed project.”
• “Solar canopies which will offset the township's energy usage are currently being analyzed for the site. Solar canopies will reduce the township's annual energy costs while taking advantage of state and federal tax credits.”

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