Wednesday, May 28, 2003

By CHARLES AUSTIN
STAFF WRITER
NORTH JERSEY NEWS

FAIR LAWN - 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.

Katznelson said he was planning to raze the nearly century-old building and construct a building that would probably have a retail establishment on the first floor and apartments on the second and third floor.

Don Smartt, director of the River Road Improvement Corp., the special district including the lot, said he felt the town was fortunate to get such a price for the building. Earlier expectations had been that the site would not draw much more than the $600,000 set as the minimum bid.

The building was once the town's library, and was then converted to other uses. For the last 40 years, it housed the 100-seat theater and has rooms for other community groups that meet there.

The announcement of the sale this year disturbed the members of the Old Library Theatre troupe who - at first - were given 30 days to vacate the building, which would have left them without a stage for their final production of the season. But the sale was delayed and the show went on, with the group staging six performances of "The Foreigner." The last was May 18.

Though beloved by the actors and the Old Library Theatre crews, the building is a somewhat rickety red barn showing signs of age. Town officials are talking about building a modern theater in the recreation building, with more seats and professional sound and lighting. But Old Library probably will have to look for a temporary stage next year, because renovations are expected to take as long as 18 months to complete.

The cost of those renovations could run from $1.4 million to more than $6 million, depending upon what is included in the final plans. The borough also may provide a floor of office space for the Board of Education, but it was not yet clear whether the board would pay for the construction or rent the space from the borough.

Because the old theater building is in the special improvement district, Smartt said, the buyer can build as high as three stories, something not permitted in other commercial zones, and may be allowed to provide fewer parking spaces if they are shared with nearby businesses. The town recently passed an ordinance allowing buildings in the special improvement district to have apartments on both the second and third floors as an additional incentive to buyers.

Closing on the sale is expected in about a month.

Charles Austin's e-mail address is austin@northjersey.com