Developer Unveils New Plan
In a surprise item Monday, the City Council heard a presentation by developer Frank Cretella for a promising office project on the Tepper's block.
Cretella, whose previous focus has been on the North Avenue Historic District and an extension to the west, is now promoting development on the Tepper's block to the north. The site includes a warehouse for Appliance-Arama and two city-owned lots that Cretella intends to transform into a project that will employ 90 people, including 75 new jobs. He told the council that the appliance store now on West Second Street will be a tenant, as well as an optical store, an architect, a training school and physical therapists.
A main feature of the proposed new structure will be an opening that will connect the city parking lot at the rear to West Front Street. Cretella said it will be an attractive, well-lit passage from the rear lot.
Financing will come from the New Markets Tax Credit program of Chase Manhattan Bank, he said.
The council had already heard from Cretella in closed session, and in the agenda-fixing portion agreed to consider his firm for conditional designation as the developer of the site at the Oct. 6 meeting. The next step would be to have a redeveloper's agreement negotiated and approved by the December deadline to apply for the funding.
The unexpected and quick presentation did not allow for Plaintalker to ask how the North Avenue redevelopment project was going, but we plan to follow up. To see more blog posts on Cretella, put his name in the "Search" box at the top of the blog.
--Bernice Paglia
Cretella, whose previous focus has been on the North Avenue Historic District and an extension to the west, is now promoting development on the Tepper's block to the north. The site includes a warehouse for Appliance-Arama and two city-owned lots that Cretella intends to transform into a project that will employ 90 people, including 75 new jobs. He told the council that the appliance store now on West Second Street will be a tenant, as well as an optical store, an architect, a training school and physical therapists.
A main feature of the proposed new structure will be an opening that will connect the city parking lot at the rear to West Front Street. Cretella said it will be an attractive, well-lit passage from the rear lot.
Financing will come from the New Markets Tax Credit program of Chase Manhattan Bank, he said.
The council had already heard from Cretella in closed session, and in the agenda-fixing portion agreed to consider his firm for conditional designation as the developer of the site at the Oct. 6 meeting. The next step would be to have a redeveloper's agreement negotiated and approved by the December deadline to apply for the funding.
The unexpected and quick presentation did not allow for Plaintalker to ask how the North Avenue redevelopment project was going, but we plan to follow up. To see more blog posts on Cretella, put his name in the "Search" box at the top of the blog.
--Bernice Paglia
posted by Bernice at 9:28 PM
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