Developer Wants To Build New Apartment Complex In West Orange

WEST ORANGE, NJ — A developer is seeking the town’s permission to build a 142-unit apartment complex at 200 Pleasant Valley Way in West Orange.

The West Orange Township Planning Board will hear an application from Redwood LLC at their public meeting on Wednesday, June 7 at 7:30 p.m. People who want to attend the meeting virtually can find login instructions online here. See the meeting agenda and supporting documents here.

According to a memo sent to the planning board on May 31:

“The applicant is seeking preliminary and final site plan approval to construct a 142-unit multi-family residential building at the site. The building will be five stories high with four stories of living space over parking. The apartments will consist of 12 one-bedroom units, 110 two-bedroom units and 20 three-bedroom units. Of these, 28 will be affordable units, consisting of four one-bedroom units, 16 two-bedroom units and 8 three-bedroom units. In addition, parking is proposed for 338 vehicles, including 170 spaces inside the building and 168 spaces outside the building. In addition, a pool, a lounge, a game room, a yoga spa, a community kitchen/party room and a grille station are proposed. Access will be provided to the site via an existing driveway from Pleasant Valley Way.”

The property is currently vacant. It was the subject of a Zoning Board development application in 2017, prior to the property being rezoned as part of a settlement of affordable housing litigation. The IHO-2 Inclusionary Housing Overlay Zone was adopted in 2020 for the subject property, and the proposed development complies with the requirements of this zone, according to an April memo from township planner Paul Grygiel.

Local advocacy group Our Green West Orange has expressed concern about the proposal, which would be located at the old JT's skatepark site behind Brighton Gardens senior homes.

"Don't let the name 'The Redwood' fool you," the group claimed. "This development has no respect for trees, nor steep slopes, nor wetlands. The developer is also relying on stormwater permits that were granted before state regulations were strengthened."

Our Green West Orange continued:

"The application dates back to 2018, when the developer filed a builder's remedy lawsuit, allowing it to ram through a project the public doesn't want — all for the sake of about 20 units of affordable housing. The large majority of these apartments — 130 units — have two and three bedrooms, meaning our cramped school system will be flooded with hundreds of new students. And still we have no study about how it will impact our public schools."

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