Council Approves Plan To Expand Redevelopment Area 5

Borough officials unanimously approved an amended plan that would add a local clothing store and several pieces of borough-owned property to Redevelopment Area 5 during a special meeting of the mayor and council Thursday night. 

Cosmos Boutique, at 179 Main St., is being claimed for redevelopment as part of a plan that would expand Area 5 by about two-thirds of an acre to the roughly 16-acre area.

Cosmos' owner, D. J. Lee, is hoping for fair compensation from Tucker Development Corporation, the borough's designated redeveloper for the western half of Area 5.

But for now, the future of Lee's business remains in limbo.

"We did not get any offer yet," said Lee, a longtime Main Street business owner who expressed his support for the redevelopment of Area 5 after the meeting. 

"I hope the project will be successful," he said. "But, I want to be protected."

Lee said he had been informed that his store had been declared blighted in a letter from the town dated Dec. 9 — one day after the borough voted to introduce the amendment to the plan adding the Main Street address to Area 5.

The letter indicated that if negotiations between Cosmos and the redeveloper were not successful, the borough could exercise its eminent domain right and take the property, Lee said.

"We felt a little bit uncomfortable," Lee said.

A meeting between Tucker and Cosmos representatives is scheduled for Dec. 23, said Bill Harrison an attorney representing the redeveloper.

When asked by a resident during the meeting if the governing body would use eminent domain to take the property, Mayor Mark Sokolich declined to rule it out.

The Cosmos property is “smack in the middle of the western parcel,” Sokolich said after the meeting. “This is a critical piece of property to this development.”

Sokolich said Cosmos' owner “has constitutional guarantees that he is going to be justly and fairly compensated,” adding, “More than that, I am hopeful that he ends up as one of the key and critical retailers in the west parcel once the redevelopment properties are done.”

In adopting the redevelopment ordinance, the council essentially approved a zoning overlay for Area 5, explained Sokolich, as he addressed approximately 25 people on hand for the meeting.

Area 5, which consists of 16 vacant acres bordering Lemoine Avenue between Bruce Reynolds Blvd. and Main Street, has a "very, very checkered past," and redeveloping it is of critical importance to the borough," Sokolich said.

"Tonight is a milestone evening," Sokolich continued, "A milestone in the sense of finally getting that property developed and putting it on the books here in the Borough of Fort Lee, and it no longer remaing a drain on not only resources but an eyesore to the entire public.”

Sokolich estimated that the current plan for the property would create $10-15 million in tax revenue for the borough. The mayor also expressed hope that the development will benefit the entire business community by creating “an atmosphere so people can walk and shop and eat.”

Dae-Ki Min, an attorney representing the Han Sang Club, the Korean American Businessman's Club of Fort Lee, spoke at the meeting on behalf of the organization. His remarks highlighted the tension between desired improvements at Area 5 and a positive outcome for existing businesses, especially Cosmos.  

Han Sang supports redevelopment at Area 5, Min said.  

But, the group also would like the governing body's help to insure that Cosmos would be able to "survive this transition and be able to maintain their business in the vicinity...either by getting a substitute space at the redevelopment area or elsewhere in Fort Lee."  

Council President Armand Pohan echoed the same sentiment in his reassurances to Min about the borough's commitment to both Cosmos and progress at Area 5.

"We are going to do our best to see that a fair settlement is achieved in this matter," Pohan said. "So that the project goes forward, and Cosmos knows that it has a home."

The borough owns the other lots being added to the redevelopment area. Some residents questioned the council about the transfer of borough property to the developers.

“I think we should focus on the bigger picture and not on these slivers of property that are worthless,” Sokolich said.

The lots in question are unbuildable, Sokolich said. And, in their current state, they are not on Fort Lee’s tax roles. By folding them into the project, the borough will get tax revenue for years.

Councilman Joseph Cervieri, who has consistently recused himself from votes related to Redevelopment Area 5, was absent.