Posted on 09/19/2005 6:22:17 AM PDT by gridlock
Builder won't raze wing at Rahway site for luxury structure
The developer of a luxury hotel for downtown Rahway has revamped his plans in an attempt to preserve part of a neighboring church building.
Planning board members Tuesday night approved a new site plan for the Silcon Group Inc. to build the Carriage City Hotel & Tower at the corner of East Milton Avenue and Irving Street. The luxury $80 million structure will include hotel rooms, condominiums and retail space.
The layout includes a delivery and emergency access driveway in the rear of the building. That driveway would require part of the education wing at Trinity United Methodist Church, located at the corner of Main Street and East Milton Avenue.
The original plan would have required demolition of the entire education building, a proposal that drew the ire of church and community members. Carlos J. Silva, chairman and chief executive officer of the Silcon Group Tuesday night said he revised the plan so it would be less intrusive on the church parcel, "in the spirit of trying to work this out."
Silva approached the pastor and church members after the board unanimously approved the site plan and tried to assure them that he would try to work in good faith with the congregation. "Contrary to popular belief, not all developers are about land-grabbing," Silva later said during an interview. "We were under the impression that this property was being underutilized."
Church members have balked over the idea that their property is being underutilized. Two congregations use the sanctuary, Trinity United Methodist Church and Faith Filipino Mission United Methodist Church. A Spanish-language Pentecostal congregation uses the chapel in the education building for Sunday services and the other congregations rely on the structure for Sunday school and outreach.
(Excerpt) Read more at nj.com ...
The portion of the structure to be demolished includes the classrooms, the bathrooms, handicap access ramps and the kitchen. The remaining structure would be basically non-functional at that point.
In a blatant attempt to twist arms, the town has told the church that if they do not approve the sale, they will send an inspector through the entire property, including the sanctuary, to document any code or building deficiencies, and the estimated cost of correcting these deficiencies will be deducted from the compensation under any eminent domain proceeding.
Makes...blood...boil...
And there you have the underlying premise: use it or lose it.
I wish we could take back our tax dollars that are under-utilized.
You and me, both, baby...
Developers coast to coast are salivating over the chance to develop urban properties. And all those big old churches are just sittin' there...
There are few urban parishes in the country that is not "underutilized", from a developer's point of view. That church sanctuary looks like a great place to put dumpsters. After all, it is only used once a week for a couple hours. Those folks could just as well rent a meeting room down at the Ramada...
I wonder if the Church can't make this work to their advantage. Being next to a hotel with condos and shops could increase their attendance on Sundays. Whenever I am visiting other places, one of the first things I check out is where I can go to Mass. Some of these urban churches could potentially benefit from the arrangement. I do not condone the use of eminent domain for this purpose however.
Around here, if you don't have a functional Sunday School, you will not have a church for long. This project will make the Sunday School untenable. After that, it is just a matter of time before the congregation fails.
Then the developer will be able to pick up the rest of the property for a song!
If the hotel management people were smart, they would offer them space for Sunday school in their conference rooms. It is rare that hotels will have conferences going on at the same time that Sunday school is held.
The developer does not have to be smart, or nice, or cooperative. All they have to do is point their finger, and the town will do their dirty work. They want the space to put their dumpsters and their truck turnaround, and they will get it.
Don't know much about the town. What are the demographics and economics of Rahway?
The thing is, is that a lot of churches are used more than is realised during the week. Just because it doesn't LOOK like it's being used because there is not a steady stream of people coming and going all the time doesn't mean a thing. There are TWO congregations using that church, which is pretty good. I'd also hazard a guess that they have a food pantry and offer counseling to people. They do a lot more good for a community than is evidenced by their apparent lack of busyness.
Developers are salivating over Downtown Rahway. Everybody thinks it is going to be the Next Big Thing.
Thanks.
The other thing about churches is they don't pay local property taxes. Towns would just love to convert church buildings to ratables, just for the increased money to spread around.
And that does not even count the bribes. And, here in NJ, there's a whole lot of bribin' goin' on...
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