Westfield Councilman Leaks Plans For Lord & Taylor Redevelopment

WESTFIELD, NJ — Last week, Westfield Councilman Mark LoGrippo shared early plans for a redevelopment project at the vacant Lord & Taylor property — a site that has been slated for redevelopment since the pandemic.

The entire Town Council, except for LoGrippo, approved a redevelopment plan for the downtown in Nov. of 2020, which included revitalizing the current Lord & Taylor properties, the South Avenue train station parking lot and several other municipal parking lots. On his Facebook page, LoGrippo posted preliminary plans for the redevelopment on Tuesday, April 19.

The Lord & Taylor property is owned by Hudson's Bay Company. Streetworks Development, an arm of Hudson's Bay, is working with the town on redeveloping this area.

According to LoGrippo's post, the current plan is to convert the existing Lord & Taylor building into office and commercial use, with 10,000 square feet of retail space. LoGrippo said new residential buildings will be constructed on each side of the building.

One of the new buildings will contain 60 residential units, and the other 50 units, LoGrippo wrote. He added that one of the two new buildings could be age-restricted to 55 and older.

In addition, he said ten townhouses are proposed to be built on North Avenue directly across the street from the Lord & Taylor site, with a separate building housing 20 affordable units planned for the parking lot closest to the YMCA.

Affordable housing units were also recently approved to be built at Williams Nursery, which includes 162 units.

Read more: Westfield Approves Affordable Housing Unit Amid Resident Concerns

LoGrippo also said the current plan for the South Avenue train station parking lot is two buildings containing 110,000 square feet each of commercial spaces, 15,000 square feet of retail and 60 residential units.

Lastly, he said a parking deck is proposed for the corner of North and Central Avenues.

"I will reserve final judgment on the redevelopment plan until all information is finalized," LoGrippo wrote.

In Mayor Brindle's April 22 update, she said that the preliminary concepts posted "prematurely" by LoGrippo do not reflect the final proposal and that plans are subject to change.

"Please be assured that there will be a robust public input process, the details of which will be provided in the weeks ahead," Brindle wrote.

She said the next phase will include a public presentation by Streetworks Development of their proposed plans in July.

The official ordinance for the Lord & Taylor redevelopment can be viewed on the town's website here.

The next Town Council meeting will take place on Tuesday, which will include a traffic impact study on the Ferris/Prospect Street development.

Read more about that development here: Westfield Residents Voice Concerns Over Ferris Place Development

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