Local zoning board approval was considered the key, however. The vote this week came after nine often contentious hearings over the last year. Local groups actively protested the proposal based on issues of traffic, flooding and water pollution (the Passaic River is nearby). The local fire department even cast doubts on whether the community's water system could generate enough pressure in the event that a disaster struck the complex.

Ultimately, "this project will be a benefit to all citizens of Elmwood Park," zoning board chairman Ralph Alvarez told attendees after the vote was completed. According to Langan Engineering head Bernard Langan, the project will generate almost $1.5 million in property tax revenues once it's built out.

The Langan organization, incidentally, is mostly involved in engineering, environmental and related services and assignments. One of its specialties, however, is brownfields redevelopment, having been involved in the development of projects in Jersey City, Trenton and Camden in New Jersey, and a number of projects outside of the Garden State.

The Langan proposal calls for a six- or seven-story hotel, three office buildings ranging up to a dozen stories, plus a restaurant, bank, two parking garages and a parking lot. The project required a total of nearly 30 variances from the zoning board, many of them relating to height. Langan has also agreed to pay for the cost of widening the portion of River Drive that runs along the front of the site.

If the county and state approvals fall into place, as expected, Langan is looking to break ground late this year on a first phase that would include the hotel, a four-story office building and a parking facility. The bank and restaurant would also likely be part of phase one. Phase two, two larger offices buildings and more parking, would follow in an unspecified time frame that local officials say could be as much as five years down the road.

Elmwood Park is a community of about 20,000 just outside of the city of Paterson.

Instant Insights /

Planning Board Approves $100-Mil Mixed-Use Complex

Related Stories

Recommended For You