Development News

Fair Lawn seems likely to reject town house plan (March 23, 2007)- A controversial project to build 178 town houses on a contaminated site may be in jeopardy now that two more council members have announced they won't support the plan. Read More

Housing plan's polution issues to be aired (March 8, 2007)- The Borough council will hold a specialhearing to discuss environmental issues associated with a plan to build 178 town houes on the polluted site of a former chemical factory along the Passaic River. Read More

Council to seek public input on Clariant property (February 21, 2007) - At the end of last year when the council had a tough time deciding the fate of two controversial topics it turned to residents for their opinions at open forum meetings. Read More

Fair Lawn's plan to build on polluted land hits delay (February 15, 2007) - Borough officials are holding off on a vote that would pave the way for a high-density town house development on the polluted site of a former chemical factory along the Passaic River. Read More

Zoning change moves forward, questions raised (January 31, 2007) - Split down party lines the council voted at the Jan. 23 meeting in favor of the first reading of an ordinance to change the zoning of the Clariant property located on Fair Lawn Avenue and 3rd Street from an Industrial site to a planned residential community. Read More

Town-house plan for polluted site divides Fair Lawn (January 26, 2007) - A proposed development that would transform a polluted chemical factory into 178 town houses moved a step closer after an ordinance was introduced to rezone the 13-acre site from industrial to multifamily residential. Read More

On the road to revival. Fair Lawn district makes progress - A walk along River Road, the borough's most important commercial district, reveals both the promise and problems of revival in a town surrounded by giant shopping centers and strips malls. Read More

Borough's Planning Board approves former Interstate Glass site for renovation - An aging building at 10-16 River Road will be renovated in order to accommodate 5,000 square feet of commercial space, after action this week by the borough's Planning Board. Read More

Costly groundwater cleanup needed at Home Depot site - Waiting for state environmental staff to approve construction of a Home Depot on Route 20 is like having a crush on a woman, says Gordon LaForge, who owns the land slated for the big-box store. Read More

Fair Lawn declares areas "in need of redevelopment" - The planning Board is recommending that two areas be declared "in need of redevelopment." Read More

Fair Lawn told three sites need overhaul - Two of the four sites studied are underutilized and in need of improvement, the report said.One is a 13.5-acre chemical plant, owned by Clariant Corp., at Third Street and Fair Lawn Avenue. The other is the KEM auto parts manufacturing company and an adjacent parking lot at Maple Avenue and River Road. Read More

New Home Depot waiting in wings - While the proposed Home Depot site looks like an abandoned dirt field, progress has been made to bring the big box store to the silk city. Read More

Fair Lawn approves revised housing Plan - The zoning board has approved plans for a scaled-down development on Lamring Drive and River Road, where an earlier proposal to build town houses drew strong opposition from neighbors. The plans call for two new single-family homes on Lamring Drive and a building on nearby River Road that would have three commercial units and eight apartments on the second and third floors said Frank Horesta, assistant zoning officer for the borough. Read More

New Article Series - Read in-depth articles on improvements made to River Road in a new 5-part series in the Fair Lawn Focus:

Part 1 - Financial Institutions
Part 2 - Sign & Awning Grant Program

Part 3 - Traffic Improvements

Part 4 - Planned Property Investments

Part 5 - Highlights

Art Center Sells for $975,000 - The bidding started at $600,000 and quickly soared to almost $1 million before the gavel came down Tuesday night on the auction of Fair Lawn's Old Library Theatre building on River Road.The successful bidder was Mike Katznelson of M&R Development in Fort Lee, who then handed borough officials $97,500 in cash and cashier's checks, 10 percent of the $975,000 selling price. Another bidder, who gave his name only as Mr. Nadani, bid against Katznelson in $25,000 increments until hitting the $975,000 price and then fell silent while Mayor David Ganz sought other bids. There were three other potential bidders in the council chambers, but they did not raise their hands during the 25-minute auction. Read More.

Easing Rules on Sidewalk Cafes - The Borough Council is looking to remove what it has considered hassles in the approval process for establishing sidewalk cafes. During a recent meeting at Westmoreland School, the council - urged by Deputy Mayor for Community Affairs Steven Weinstein - unanimously removed certain regulatory requirements for getting Planning Board to approve street-level eateries. Streetside cafes are popular and quite prevalent in major cities such as New York, and, in this area, are well known in Hoboken. Read More.

River Road 'springs forward' with maintenance program - Spring has sprung...and at this time of year, the River Road Improvement Corporation (RRIC) "springs forward" with an expansion of a maintenance program now in its third year.The RRIC began to supplement the public and private sectors own efforts at the maintaining the district when the RRIC saw the opportunity to expand the services provided to borough's taxpayers at an even higher level as a result of the partnership between the borough and the district to offer the higher level of maintenance needed to maintain the completed Streetscape Improvement Project which included brick pavers, new trees and new planting areas and planters. Read More.