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RussianBergen county news with an emphasis on aspects affecting real estate, residency and community issues.
Bergen County – Luxury townhouses come up
New ruling against eminent domain
Bergen County gets grants
Bergen County housing, not so bad
Bergen County golfers get lightening detection system
Bergen County – Luxury townhouses come up
Luxury townhouses, stores, upscale retail outlets, restaurants, offices and a waterfront sidewalk are all coming up in the Gold coast region of Bergen County. Known as the Edgewater Square Development, this project is the brainchild of National Resources, a Greenwich based real estate investment trust.
The complete project is expected to comprise of retail stores topped by residential units. With approximately 20 retail tenants, 75 units will also be assigned for affordable housing. The organization had purchased the land four years ago from Unilever, which at that time had closed down its 300 people strong R&D division in the region.
The land was then rezoned in the year 2006, after which the developers received approval for the first phase of development. This includes the construction of 480 luxury townhouses and development of 60,000 sq ft of land as retail and restaurant space. The river walk promenade of 1900sqft has also been approved in this phase of development. With the best planned for this region, it has become a hot property and many businesses and homebuyers are trying to get a good deal. While all seems well, many people and state officials still do have their concerns regarding contamination in the region. A few instances of where the developers have not met the requirements of cleanup have been recorded.
New ruling against eminent domain
In a new ruling that was made by the Supreme court on Wednesday, June 13, 2007, towns in New Jersey will have to consider various parameters before exercising their right of eminent domain on seizing private properties for development. As per the ruling, these properties must be blighted and not just underused. The term blighted here would refer to properties that have stagnated with time or those that have been unproductive but can be rehabilitated. The ruling also stresses upon the statement that town officials do not have the rights to seize property just because they feel that the properties can be put to better usage.
Real estate agents in Bergen County and the neighborhood stressed that the law is finally going to curb the unrestricted power of municipalities towards private properties. As per state officials, this ruling can help various property owners in different parts of New Jersey to fight for eminent domain on their properties. Many residents, who had initially been affected by the state exercising eminent domain, are now breathing a sigh of relief. A few added that this ruling would help them fight for their property.
Three schools in Bergen County were awarded federal facilities grants. Announced early in June 2007, these grants have been given out to River Dell Regional, Englewood Cliffs and South Hackensack. These grants vary and would be used for diverse purposes to suit the needs of the schools in question. The amounts are $55,000 for River Dell and $75000 for Englewood Cliffs.
Amounts here would be used to make schools more easily accessible to people with disabilities. This may include special seating arrangements or special constructions in schools and inclusion of slopes for easy transportation. In the case of South Hackensack, an amount of $123,327 has been earmarked for a sewer management system. These funds come from the total sum of $15,747,359 that has been granted to Bergen County entities for the year 2007. The amount also known as facilities grant was given by the Department of Housing and Urban Development and is meant for improving facilities in the regions.
Bergen County housing, not so bad
While the home prices in Bergen County and other parts of New Jersey have gone down, experts state that the housing slump is not as bad as it seems. In fact many experts feel that the crisis is more a man-made and psychological one and with a little care and thought, buyers can invest in purchasing property. A few housing analysts went on to state that the portrayal of the slump is overblown. The crisis of the sub-prime lending market is also affecting the buying patterns of people who plan to wait and watch rather than invest in housing at the moment.
Figures indicate that housing prices in varied parts of New Jersey have declined from 5% to 10% (in the year 2006) depending upon the location of the property. However the first quarter of 2007 had its stabilizing effects on the housing market and prices have become stable in most parts of the County. Most houses are purchased during the spring season and while sales have shown a rise since March, the figures are not as great as always. The strong housing markets in New Jersey include Manhattan, Gold coast of Hoboken and Jersey City and Hudson County. The Bergen County is another region where the housing market seems promising along the Midtown region.
Bergen County golfers get lightening detection system
Bergen County is demonstrating it’s usage of high-end technologies for public good, in the implementing new lightening detection system. This system which is up at the Knickerbocker Golf club in Bergen County, will help alert the club members of dangerous lightening in the region when a lightening storm approaches. As many Bergen County residents who are avid golfers play in the rain and also carry metal clubs on their back, officials from the golf courses feel that such a system could prove useful during a thunderstorm.
This new system works by sounding a siren and activating strobe lights when it detects lightening within a predetermined radius to the course. The software that comes along with the system also allows officials to track the speed and direction of the storm.
The lightening detection system was first felt a necessity, when lightening killed two teenagers who were playing soccer on a soccer field in 2006. Statistics also report that 20 golfers were reported to be killed by lightening throughout the nation from the years 1995 to 2004. This amounts to 5% of all deaths by lightening. Officials stated that the need is even greater for golfers as they are exposed on an empty field and often the tallest and most likely hit by a lightening.
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